Grade 1 winner SIDNEY’S CANDY (Candy Ride [Arg]) would have been the heavy
Sadler told Daily Racing Form that Sidney’s Candy is “off
The chestnut exits a 7 1/4-length romp in the opening-day Sir
Sidney’s Candy established himself as top Kentucky Derby (G1) contender with
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Next entered in the Oak Tree Mile (G2), Sidney’s Candy was a surprise
withdrawal, reportedly because of a pending sale. The deal was never finalized,
though, and the colt went straight to the Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) without a
prep, weakening to sixth. He bounced back with a vengeance in the Sir Beaufort.
In his absence, the San Fernando is suddenly up for grabs. Grade 3 winner THISKYHASNOLIMIT (Sky Mesa), who
will stretch back out to two turns following a sixth in the Malibu S. (G1),
has now been installed as the 5-2 morning-line favorite. The
Steve Asmussen colt recorded a good second to Lookin at Lucky in his last route
start, the October 2 Indiana Derby (G2).
Jockey Garrett Gomez expects Thiskyhasnolimit to improve off the Malibu.
“He loomed up like he was going to run pretty good in the Malibu,” Gomez
said. “Then he kind of flattened out and stayed where he was. On Saturday, I
think he’ll be more forwardly placed and better than he was. He should get into
a rhythm that he’s comfortable with. He’ll be fine. It’s two turns, and that in
itself should help him.”
INDIAN FIREWATER (Indian Charlie)
didn’t put up much of a challenge when second in the Sir Beaufort, but the colt
shows improving form for Hall of Famer Bob Baffert and will be looking for his
10th straight top-three finish on Saturday. Hollywood Derby (G1) hero HAIMISH HY (Ecton Park) will go turf
to dirt for trainer Art Sherman, and stakes winner MAKE MUSIC FOR ME (Bernstein)
will be switching to the main track for Alexis Barba.
The San Fernando will share the spotlight Saturday with a pair of graded
stakes for three-year-olds, the $100,000
Sham (G3)
for males and $150,000
Santa
Ynez (G2) for fillies.
Four of the five runners in the 1 1/16-mile Sham are exiting maiden wins,
including the visually impressive UNCLE SAM (Tapit). Trained by Baffert, the
gray ridgling rolled by 2 3/4 lengths when making his career debut on December
27, and he figures to be a solid favorite Saturday with a returning Rafael
Bejarano. TAPIZAR (Tapit) and ANTHONY’S CROSS (Indian Charlie) are a couple of
promising colts exiting convincing wins at Churchill Downs, with the former
scoring by 10 1/2 lengths and the latter by 2 1/2. Both succeeded at
Saturday’s distance.
CLUBHOUSE RIDE (Candy Ride [Arg]) is the only member of the Sham field with
experience against winners, finishing third in the CashCall Futurity (G1) and
Delta Jackpot S. (G3) in his last two outings, and the Craig Lewis trainee is a
stakes winner on dirt, having captured the Barretts Juvenile at Fairplex Park.
The seven-furlong Santa Ynez features a pair of fillies that were declared
from last Saturday’s Santa Ysabel S. (G3), PLUM PRETTY (Medaglia d’Oro) and ZAZU
(Tapit). Plum Pretty exits a wire-to-wire debut maiden win at Hollywood Park for
Baffert, and Moccasin S. runner-up Zazu will look to improve upon a fifth in the
December 11 Hollywood Starlet S. (G1) for Sadler. CALIFORNIA NECTAR (Stormy
Atlantic) is the most accomplished member of the seven-horse field, winning the
December 27 California Breeders’ Champion S. over the track last out, and the
California-bred filly recorded a decent fourth versus open rivals in the grassy
Miesque S. (G3) two starts back for Doug O’Neill.