Page 150 - March 2016

Inaugural Classic
SOUND OF CANDY
by Luis Prieto Zamudio, translation by Eduardo Silveyra
The 2016 racing season began on Jan. 23
at the Hipodromo de las Americas after a break of just over a month. As is tradition, the Inaugural Classic, which takes place the day after the opening, begins the timing of classics for Quarter Horses in said arena.
A race reserved for four-year-old and older horses that enter directly without any qualifiers at a distance of 350 yards this time had a prize of 376,500 pesos (approximately $20,528 US dollars), in which 4 females and 7 males took the track. Hauling The Cash alone was born
in Mexico and the others born in the United States. Here we also find two winners of this test: Hurri Cartel in 2014 (and second in 2015) and One Famous Episode. But, Sound Of Candy also came through in her quest to win her fourth consecutive classic, a fact that made her the favorite in the betting windows where she closed with odds of 2.10 to win.
They took their starting positions and then the gates opened, all with a clean start without any interference or bumping. One Famous Episode immediately led the pack on the inside of the track assisted by Eddi Cuellar. However, midrange and onwards, he was overtaken by
Sound Of Candy (#6), who
derided from the center of
the track towards the inside
without interfering with any
competitor, and she remained
there to dominate the group
easily. On the opposite side
of the ground, a hard battle
was being carried out where
Apollitical Knockout beat
Hurri Cartel for second
place. The rest of the group,
except for RC Hadtobemovin, crossed the goal with little room between each.
Sound Of Candy won this classic by 1 3/4-lengths in 17.13 seconds, for a speed index of 101, under the guidance of Moises González García. She begins her third season with this important victory, which is only a continu- ation of her achievements in 2015 when she credited the AQHA Derby Challenge of Mexico, the Mexican Derby, and the Felix Bañuelos Jimenez Classic, whose reports have been published in previous editions of this magazine. Her record is now 6-1-2 in 12 starts; with the 225,900 pesos (US $12,145) of the
winning prize, corresponding to a total of 859,413 pesos (US $55,538) in earnings.
The 4-year-old filly was bred in the United States by Carl C. Pevehouse by crossing the mare Connemara Girl
(by Corona Cartel) with the stallion Red Storm Cat. She is owned by Haras Ixbiapan, a subsidiary of Azoom Ranch, owner of EC Jet One, winner
of the Hialeah Derby in Florida, USA on Jan. 17 of this year.
Apollitical Knockout (Apollitical Jess - Adolph Tres Knockout), second place in the race, was led by jockey Martin Hernandez Bautista and is trained by José de Jesús Valdivia for Cuadra Cartas Blancas.
Third place went to Hurri Cartel (Teller Cartel - A Classic Serenade) under the guidance of Paul Osvaldo Rodriguez. She is owned by Rancho El Yukon and trained by Raymundo Sandoval.
The rest of the positions were occu- pied in the following order: Beaded Lace
Hipodromo de las Americas $20,528 • 350 yards :17.13 • si 101
Mr Jess Perry
Red Storm Cat
Tiny Dash Of Cash
SOUND OF CANDY, ‘12-f.
Corona Cartel
Connemara Girl
Steppin For Jet
148 SPEEDHORSE, March 2016
Sound Of Candy and her connections in the winner’s circle
RACING NEWS
Luis Prieto Zamudio