Capt. Candyman Can captured the $75,000 Super Stakes Feb. 5 after a 15 month layoff when he outdueled Legal Move at Tampa Bay Downs (VIDEO).
Capt. Candyman Can settled behind early leaders in the opening stages of the seven-furlong Super Stakes before beginning his stretch duel. He won by a half-length after surviving both a stewards’ inquiry and a jockey’s objection. Freddie Lenclud was the rider.
The 5-year-old gelded son of Candy Ride had not been to post since finishing eight in the Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Sprint (gr. I) at Santa Anita Park. His biggest wins came in the Hutcheson (gr. II) and NetJets King’s Bishop (gr. I) earlier that season. This was his fifth stakes victory.
Ian Wilkes trains Capt. Candyman Can for Rosemary Rauch and David Zell.
Wilkes said of Capt. Candyman Can’s future: “Let’s get him back and see how he comes out of this. Obviously the Carter (Handicap, grade I at Aqueduct April 9) is on our radar, and the long-range goal is the Breeders’ Cup. It’s great to see that after such a long layoff he hasn’t lost it. He was blowing after the race; he got a little tired. But it was great to see him back.”
Wilkes added that Joseph Rauch, Capt. Candyman Can’s co-breeder and partial owner who passed away just before the gelding’s 2009 Breeders’ Cup Sprint performance, would have celebrated his birthday on Saturday.
Capt. Candyman Can improved to 7-2-1 from 13 starts and earnings of $700,423.
