Mila Candy finally switches to grass in Brookmeade

Mila Candy, a 4-year-old filly trained by Ilkay Kantarmaci, will make her highly anticipated turf debut in the $125,000 Brookmeade Stakes on Saturday at Colonial Downs. Her trainer always intended on switching to the turf, but her success on dirt delayed those plans by several months.

“We knew that she was turf, but we just ran on the dirt because there was no turf [in New York] at that time,” Kantarmaci said.

Based on her pedigree alone, it made sense when Mila Candy went off as a 36-1 longshot in her April debut, an $80,000 maiden special weight on dirt at Aqueduct.

Her sire, Twirling Candy, is best known for producing multiple graded stakes winners on turf. Through her unraced dam, Filia, she is a half-sibling to 6-year-old gelding Determined Kingdom, a 10-time winner on the grass. She was simply on the wrong surface, which made it all the more surprising when she outran her odds to finish second.

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If her first start encouraged Kantarmaci to stay the course, then her next effort practically forced his hand. With Flavien Prat aboard in May, the filly improved on a sloppy Aqueduct track to earn a three-quarter-length victory with an 81 Beyer Speed Figure.

After taking a step too far and finishing fifth in the $150,000 Jersey Girl at Saratoga last month, Mila Candy will stretch out to 1 1/16 miles against state-restricted turf rivals at Colonial. She is the 8-5 morning-line favorite in the field of six.

After their respective last races aboard the filly, Prat and Silvestre Gonzalez – who is back aboard Saturday – both told Kantarmaci that the filly had trouble focusing in company. The trainer didn’t want to rush into an equipment change at Saratoga, but he will add blinkers this time.

Glenn Petty Stakes

Mystic Seaport, a 5-year-old mare trained by Jamie Ness, will be an overwhelming favorite in the $125,000 Glenn Petty Stakes on Saturday at Colonial Downs. The versatile sprinter has won five of her last six starts on turf and kicked away to win this 5 1/2-furlong race by three lengths last year.

“We’re coming in third off the layoff and we’re defending champions, so I think it’s our race to lose,” Ness said.

When Ness claimed Mystic Seaport for $16,000 in October 2023, the trainer immediately moved her back to the dirt for the winter, kicking off a string of four victories in five starts.

In the past year, however, the mare has gradually developed a firmer identity on turf. Last summer at Colonial, she won as a heavy favorite in this race before taking on stronger sprinters in a state-restricted $150,000 handicap. She finished second by a neck.

“She ran really well that day, better than the day she won the stakes,” Ness said. “She ran a winning race, just unfortunate that she lost a head-bobber. She deserved a vacation because we knew this race was coming up next year.”

After a dismal dirt start at Parx Racing to kick off her 2025 campaign, the speedy mare showed a new dimension on the turf at Penn National, closing from sixth to win by a neck.

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