Candy Ride-Giant's Causeway cross produces class and winners

The cross of Argentinian champion Candy Ride over European champion Giant’s Causeway proved potent with Horse of the Year Gun Runner. Mixing the bloodlines of these stallions has continued to pay dividends, producing an American classic winner last year and a number of stakes-performing 3-year-olds already this year.

Crossing Candy Ride over mares by the late Giant’s Causeway – who entered stud several years earlier, and thus has a few more daughters and sons in production – has produced more than two dozen winners, with three stakes winners led by Gun Runner, who is out of Grade 2 winner Quiet Giant. Candy Ride also has sired Grade 2 winners Liora and Rideforthecause out of Giant’s Causeway mares.

Candy Ride’s young sons at stud include Twirling Candy, standing alongside his sire at Lane’s End. Twirling Candy sired his first classic winner last year in Preakness Stakes victor Rombauer, out of a mare by Giant’s Causeway’s son Cowboy Cal. He also is the sire of Pinehurst, winner of the Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity and now the Saudi Derby last Saturday. Pinehurst is out of the Giant’s Causeway mare Giant Win.

Giant’s Causeway’s son Not This Time has emerged as a standout young sire, with a number of colts on the Kentucky Derby trail this year. Those include Epicenter and Simplification, both out of Candy Ride mares. Epicenter, racing for Winchell Thoroughbreds, which campaigned Gun Runner, won the Grade 2 Risen Star in February. Simplification, winner of the Mucho Macho Man and second in the Grade 3 Holy Bull, is expected to contest the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth on Saturday.