Candy Ride expanded his California influence from the racetrack to the sale ring Jan. 24, when his daughter Smoothe as Candy topped the Barretts January mixed sale at $70,000. That exceeded the 2010 sale’s top price of $65,000 for the filly’s half sister Gentlemen’s Crown, in foal to Candy Ride.
The sale topper was the only horse sold by Jenny Craig at the sale. Craig and her late husband, Sid, campaigned Candy Ride. The mixed sale grossed $1,361,600 for 257 sold, averaging $5,298, with a $2,500 median. The average was down 27.6% from 2010 and the median represented a decline of 21.9%. In 2010, when the catalog contained a major reduction of Craig’s holdings that grossed nearly $700,000, there were 275 horses sold for a gross of $2,013,000 and an average price of $7,320.
“We were about where we were last year without the Craig horses,” said William S. Baker, vice president and controller of Barretts. “Our buy-back rate, however, improved considerably over last year’s sale.”
A total of 91 horses (26.1%) of the 348 through the ring did not sell this year compared with 2010, when 172 (38.5%) of 447 did not sell.
Smoothe as Candy sold as a broodmare prospect to Narvick International Inc., which was buying her for Marsha Naify. The 4-year-old daughter of the Seattle Slew mare Crownette is a full sister to El Camino Real Derby (gr. III) winner Chocolate Candy and a half sister to graded stakes-placed Crowning Storm.
“The filly is from an exceptional family,” said Mary Knight, who represented Craig’s Rancho Paseana as agent. Knight manages the training center and also handled a large consignment for other clients under the Rancho Paseana banner. “Jenny Craig sold this filly because she breeds almost exclusively to Candy Ride. Chocolate Candy has gone back to the track with trainer Jerry Hollendorfer, and the mare’s 3-year-old filly, Jenny’s Candy Bar, is doing very well in training.”
The family has paid dividends before. The colt that Gentlemen’s Crown was carrying at last year’s sale sold for $300,000 at this year’s Keeneland January mixed sale to lead all yearlings.
A daughter of Tribal Rule—Miss Peggy, by Fitzcarraldo, topped the 2-year-olds at $38,000. From the consignment of River Edge Farm as agent, the filly is a half sister to three stakes winners. Trainer Marcelo Polanco bought her.
The top-priced horse of racing age was the 6-year-old winning gelding Slam Slew, a gelded son of Grand Slam--Slew of Comfort, by Seattle Slew consigned by Sam Hendricks as agent and sold to Mersad Metanovic as agent for $32,000.
Havens Bloodstock Agency as agent sold the top-priced yearling, a daughter of Atticus—La Costa Azul, by Southern Halo. Trainer Carl O’Callaghan signed the ticket on behalf of Dr. Patrick’s Sheehy’s Super Horse.