Pair of 'Candys' strong on synthetic

In a tumultuous year for Thoroughbred racing, synthetic surfaces again became a major point of discussion. A number of major racetracks switched to synthetic surfaces in the 2000s, including the Southern California circuit – which found itself in the center of the storm regarding equine welfare in 2019 – and Keeneland. However, most tracks eventually reverted back to traditional dirt surfaces, as they struggled with maintenance or faced complaints from a variety of racing groups, including breeders, handicappers, and trainers. Data from synthetic tracks has shown that horses may suffer fewer catastrophic injuries on them – and the debate over if tracks should move to or return to synthetics is expected to intensify as animal-welfare and animal-rights organizations seize on that narrative.

A number of stallions would be poised to capitalize if additional tracks installed synthetic surfaces – notably Twirling Candy and his sire, Candy Ride, both versatile stallions standing at Lane’s End. Among Kentucky stallions, the two finished first and second, respectively, by all-weather surface earnings in 2019 – and among all North American sires, they trailed only Canadian stallions, thanks to their proximity to Woodbine, one of the major tracks on the continent that has retained a synthetic surface as its main track, along with Arlington Park, Golden Gate, Presque Isle Downs, and Turfway Park. Candy Ride also had the standout figures for Kentucky stallions on the Beyer Sire Performance Standings for synthetic surfaces, with eight benchmark figures of 90 or higher recorded by his progeny there.

Candy Ride was a champion in his native Argentina, where he was a multiple Group 1 winner on the turf. He later came to the United States to conclude his career unbeaten, highlighted by a track record-setting performance winning the Grade 1 Pacific Classic on dirt. He has proven a similarly versatile sire, as evidenced by his three stakes winners on synthetic surfaces in 2019. Desert Ride took two legs of Canada’s Triple Tiara for fillies, winning the Woodbine Oaks on synthetic and the Wonder Where Stakes on turf. Special Forces, winner of the Grade 2 Autumn Stakes on Woodbine’s main track, also is a winner on turf, while Nun the Less, who won the Kentucky Cup Classic and Prairie Bayou Stakes at Turfway, also was Grade 3-placed on dirt in 2019 and was a stakes winner on turf several years ago.

Candy Ride’s versatility is further shown in his other standouts. He is the sire of three Eclipse Award winners in Horse of the Year Gun Runner and juvenile champions Game Winner and Shared Belief, who did most of their work on dirt; Shared Belief also a Grade 1 winner on synthetic. Misremembered was a Grade 1 winner on synthetic and graded winner on dirt; Sidney’s Candy was a Grade 1 winner on synthetic and graded stakes winner on both dirt and turf; and Twirling Candy was a Grade 1 winner on dirt and graded winner on both turf and synthetic. Candy Ride’s other Grade 1 winners also include a top-flight turf performer in Ascend.

Twirling Candy’s biggest victory came in the Grade 1 Malibu Stakes on dirt, a surface on which he also won the Grade 2 Strub Stakes. He also won the Grade 2 Del Mar Derby and Oceanside Stakes on turf, and the Grade 2 Californian Stakes on synthetic. He earned two additional Grade 1 placings on synthetic, in the Hollywood Gold Cup and Pacific Classic, beaten a neck or less each time.

Twirling Candy has followed in the mold of his sire’s versatility with a wide-ranging résumé, which can be seen in his 2019 results alone. His top synthetic performer was One Bad Boy, who won the Queen’s Plate on Woodbine’s synthetic surface before going on to finish second in the second leg of the Canadian Triple Crown, the Prince of Wales Stakes, on Fort Erie’s dirt track. Twirling Candy’s other standouts in 2019 included the turf filly Concrete Rose, whose unbeaten campaign included the Grade 1 Belmont Oaks; Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap winner Gift Box, a main-track route standout; graded stakes-winning turf sprinter Morticia; the sprinting juveniles Fore Left, who won the Tremont Stakes, and Collusion Illusion, who beat that one in the Grade 2 Best Pal; and Gamble’s Candy, another synthetic stakes winner in the Ruling Angel at Woodbine.

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