Going into Friday's opening day of Keeneland's fall meet in Lexington, Ky., Todd Pletcher had won a remarkable 192 Grade 1 races since taking out his trainer's license in 1996. One race that had eluded him in his Hall of Fame career was the day's feature race, the Grade 1, $600,000 Darley Alcibiades Stakes for 2-year-old fillies.
That box has now been checked.
Under confident handling from Luis Saez, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners' Candied made a powerful move on the stretch turn to inhale the front-runners and score by one length in her second career start and her first try around two turns. The win in the Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In” Challenge Series race secured the Candy Ride filly a spot in the starting gate for the G1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies to be run Nov. 3 at Santa Anita. The Alcibiades is also an official points race on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks, giving the top five finishers 10-5-3-2-1 points, respectively.
“I thought the filly had the talent to do it,” Pletcher said of Candied, who broke her maiden first out in a six-furlong test at Saratoga Aug. 20. “I was just concerned about her seasoning.”
As she did in her debut, Candied raced down the stretch on her left lead, though Saez said, “She ran a pretty professional race.”
Sent off at 4-1 odds, Candied paid $10.16 after covering 1 1/16 miles in 1:44.17. V V's Dream, the 7-5 favorite for Ken McPeek (a five-time Alcibiades winning trainer), finished second, with pace-setting Alys Beach third. Shimmering Allure, Brightwork, Creazy Cami, Alpine Princess, and Wine On Tap completed the order of finish.
Fractions in the race were :23.84, :48.25, 1:12.67 and 1:37.67.
“Several of the fillies in here that we had to beat today had good, solid campaigns and she was just making her second start,” said Pletcher. “But I'll tell you, she trained impressively before her debut and she then just kept getting better afterwards. She was finishing her works and galloping out like she wanted more ground. Like (jockey) Luis (Saez) said earlier, he's been pretty high on her since he first worked her at Saratoga, so we're happy to see her meet expectations.”
“She's a filly who keeps learning; she has a big future,” said Saez. “The first time I got on her in the morning, I knew she was pretty special.”
Bred by Buck Pond Farm and sold by her breeder for $165,000 to Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners at the 2022 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky July Yearling Sale, Candied was produced from the stakes-winning New York-bred mare Toni Tools, by Roaring Fever. Pletcher also trained Toni Tools.
The post Candied Gives Pletcher First Alcibiades Triumph On Keeneland’s Opening Day appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
