Warrens Candy Girl finds stakes-debut win in Solana Beach

DEL MAR, Calif. - On consecutive Sundays at Del Mar this month, Warrens Candy Girl has flashed through the stretch to win lucrative purses on turf.

On Aug. 14, Warrens Candy Girl closed from eighth to win a $98,760 allowance race at 1 1/16 miles by a half-length.

On Sunday, Warrens Candy Girl closed from fourth on the turn to catch even-money favorite Eddie’s New Dream in the final sixteenth and win her stakes debut in the $151,000 Solana Beach Stakes for California-bred fillies and mares at a mile.

At the start of August, Warrens Candy Girl had career earnings of $188,456. By Sunday evening, the total had swelled to $337,916.

Warrens Candy Girl’s rapid recovery from the Aug. 14 race gave trainer Craig Lewis the confidence to try the 4-year-old filly in the Solana Beach.

“That’s the reason I ran her back – she only ran an eighth of a mile” last week, Lewis said. “That’s all she had to do.”

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Warrens Candy Girl had to work a bit harder to win the Solana Beach. Ridden by Umberto Rispoli, Warrens Candy Girl was fourth on the backstretch, following pacesetter Harper’s Gallop, who had a clear lead of 23.31 seconds for the opening quarter-mile and 47.54 for a half-mile.

Rispoli followed the leaders around the turn and moved Warrens Candy Girl to the outside entering the stretch. Eddie’s New Dream took the lead in early stretch with a three-wide move, and led by 2 1/2 lengths with a furlong remaining. She was unable to sustain the advantage.

“She took a while to switch leads and I think that probably cost her,” said Ben Cecil, who trains Eddie’s New Dream.

Warrens Candy Girl ($12.20) won by a head, finishing in 1:35.23. She earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 80.

Barrister’s Ride (18-1) finished third, followed by Pulpit Rider, Harper’s Gallop, Sassyserb, Rose Dawson and All Dialed In. California Kook and Sunshine Babe were withdrawn earlier on Sunday.

Pulpit Rider, who won the Solana Beach in 2020 and 2021, was beaten 2 3/4 lengths.

Warrens Candy Girl, by Clubhouse Ride, races for owners and breeders Ben and Sally Wilson. The Solana Beach Stakes was her third start of the Del Mar summer meeting. Warrens Candy Girl was a fast-closing fourth in an allowance race at a mile on turf on July 23.

She earned a vacation after the Solana Beach.

“We’ll let her down a little bit,” Lewis said.