The Flat season is now entering its final few weeks but one trainer who does not want it to end is Henry Candy, whose charges have bagged three important Group races in the past fortnight, and who has ambitious plans for his in form stable stars.
The Kingston Warren handler is enjoying his best season for prize-money earned with almost £700,000, and he has high hopes of adding considerably more with Twilight Son, Limato and La Rioja all being targeted at important contests.
Last weekend at Doncaster the headlines concentrated on the controversial disqualification of Simple Verse, but the performance of Limato in the Group Two Park Stakes was right out of the top drawer, as the son of Tagula powered away from a quality field by three and three quarter lengths. The time was two and half seconds faster than the impressive Emotionless clocked 70 minutes earlier and it was his first attempt beyond six furlongs.
Candy said: “The way he quickened over seven furlongs on Town Moor was extraordinary by anybody’s standards and I would definitely be prepared to try him over a mile next year. People said the ground was soft at Doncaster but they are talking bollocks as I could not get my heel in. It was perfect.”
Initially it was suggested Limato would be aimed at the Prix de la Forêt but his trainer clarified plans, saying: “He does not want it too soft and although the Forêt is a Group One, he will be aimed at the Challenge Stakes at Newmarket where he should get his ground. A trip to France is extremely unlikely now as I can only see the ground getting softer.”
Candy houses an embarrassment of sprinting riches in his Oxfordshire stables with Twilight Son staking a strong claim to being champion three-year-old speedster. The unbeaten Kyllachy colt, who had been purchased by Cheveley Park Stud prior to his win in the Group One Haydock Sprint Cup, is being aimed at the Champion Sprint Stakes at Ascot next month.
Candy reported: “He goes to Ascot all being well, but if he goes in his coat beforehand that will be it. But the good news is his owners are to keep him in training next season, which is very exciting.
“There is no doubt he had a hard race at Haydock but Chris [Richardson of Cheveley Park Stud] came down three days after the win and he said the horse looked like he had hardly had a race. He does look superb, but it is dangerous to take the view that he has recovered just on appearance. What I will say is the soft conditions we expect at Ascot will not be a problem. It is not going to hard ground,” he explained.
The news Twilight Son will race on as a four-year-old is great for racing, but Candy already has a potential star for next year’s three-year-old sprint division.
La Rioja looked a potential world beater when landing the Group Three Dick Poole Fillies’ Stakes at Salisbury this month and big plans have been made for her.
He revealed: “She has progressed with each run and we feel it is worth supplementing her for the Cheveley Park Stakes at Newmarket [on 26 September]. She is in grand form and deserves her chance.”
September is only halfway through but so far it has been a wonderful month for Henry Candy and with such powerful ammunition primed for the next few weeks there is every reason to believe that his Group race winning streak is someway from coming to an end and that his Indian summer is set to run and run.
