By T. D. Thornton
Trophy Chaser (Twirling Candy) romped to a 15 3/4-length victory in a six-furlong Gulfstream Park maiden special weight Aug. 25. The 96 Beyer Speed Figure he earned for that 1:09.50 clocking vaulted him to the top of the list for the highest Beyer rating recorded by a juvenile so far this season.
Bet down to 4-5 odds Saturday after running second, beaten a neck, July 15, Trophy Chaser broke smoothly, stalked in second, and always appeared primed to pounce while forcing the issue outside of and about 1 1/2 lengths behind a 14-1 pacemaker.
Three-eighths out, jockey Leonel Reyes nudged Trophy Chaser to advance to the lead over the sealed and sloppy surface, and the colt poured it on while sailing three wide off the turn and through the stretch. He widened to an insurmountable winning margin while only having the reins shaken at him and being shown the whip briefly, finishing under his own power and not fully extended.
Trophy Chaser is owned by JCA Racing Stale LLC and is trained by Juan Carlos Avila. The colt sold for $35,000 at KEENOV in 2016, RNA'd for $55,000 at KEESEP and was bought by his current owner for $42,000 at OBSMAR.
Chance Timm, the director of stallion seasons at Lane's End, which stands Twirling Candy, said Trophy Chaser's 96 Beyer caught his eye, and it could be indicative of the stallion's “speed that carries” trait that is always in demand in the marketplace.
“I was super-impressed by that performance,” Timm said. “Any 2-year-old that goes 1:09 and change for six furlongs second time out, it's certainly worth noting. It looked like the horse galloped out big as well, so it looks like he's got a big future.”
Of Twirling Candy, Timm said “I think he's exceptional value, and at his point, we hope he's sitting on a breakout couple of big crops. This crop now is the first crop of bigger and better-bred books off the back of his early 2-year-old sales results. And at $25,000 [stud fee] I think he's a very solid, proven sire option at that number.”
The other juveniles to run a 90+ Beyer so far this season are:
•94 = Bellafina (Quality Road) in the Aug. 5 GII Sorrento S. at Del Mar
•92 = 'TDN Rising Star' Instagrand (Into Mischief) in the Aug. 11 GII Bet Pal S. at Del Mar
•91 = 'TDN Rising Star' Tale of the Union (Union Rags) in an Aug. 26 MSW at Del Mar
•90 = 'TDN Rising Star' Mucho (Blame) in an Aug. 4 MSW at Saratoga.
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
