(from Churchill Downs)
Capt. Candyman Can collected the fourth stakes win of his career when he out-kicked 4-5 favorite Cash Refund by three-quarters of a length in the $106,900 Matt Winn Stakes for 3-year-olds at Churchill Downs May 16 (VIDEO).
Capt. Candyman Can, ridden by Javier Castellano and trained by Ian Wilkes, ran seven furlongs in 1:22.89 and paid $4, $2.10, and $2.10 as the even-money second choice in the field of five 3-year-olds. Cash Refund returned $2.20 and $2.10 as the betting favorite after back-to-back eye-catching performances against maidens and allowance company. Conchacer finished third, another 5 1/2 lengths behind the runner-up, and paid $2.20. Zigaree and Dance Caller completed the order of finish.
Capt. Candyman Can settled behind early pacesetters Dance Caller and Cash Refund, who rattled off the first quarter-mile in :22.76 and the half in :44.95. Castellano worked him forward off of the inside rail, and swung three-wide on the final turn to engage the leaders. The winner inched away from Cash Refund in the stretch.
Capt. Candyman Can, a gelded son of Candy Ride out of the Storm Creek mare Stormy Way, earned $66,278 for owners Joseph Rauch and David Zell. The Kentucky-bred has now earned $410,423 and boosted his record to five wins from eight starts.
As a 2-year-old, Capt Candyman Can scored an impressive victory in the Iroquois (gr. III) and followed it with a third-place run in the Kentucky Jockey Club (gr. II), both at Churchill Downs.
He started this season with a victory in Gulfstream Park’s seven-furlong Hutcheson (gr. II), but dropped off the Triple Crown following a fourth-place run behind Quality Road in the one-mile Fountain of Youth (gr. II). Capt. Candyman Can returned to a shorter distance for the April 4 Bay Shore (gr. III), a seven-furlong test at Aqueduct, and the result was a 3 3/4-length victory.