Brace of Candy Ride Colts Boost Day for Winter Quarter

Don Robinson's Winter Quarter Farm closed Book 2 of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale on a high note. The veteran consignment sold two yearlings by Lane's End Farm stallion Candy Ride  for receipts of $1,650,000. 

First to go through the ring—and the only yearling to bring seven figures Sept. 14—was Hip 1062, a bay colt purchased by Speedway Stable for $1 million. 

"I knew he'd be at the top of this sale or up there," Robinson said. "He's probably the most popular, the most well-received yearling I've ever brought to the sale. Bar none. People who usually keep their mouths shut told me this is the best-looking horse on the grounds.

"He's a May baby, and he came to the sale during the last 30 days. It was like he was a different horse. A good buyer with a good eye for a horse signed the ticket. She's great. He was really nice but so immature. Sales are so brutal in this era, it's tough to get one that looks the part and walks the part and for all that stuff to come together. He vets beautifully, and it worked." 

Bred in Kentucky by Arnold Zetcher, Hip 1062 is the fifth foal out of Always a Princess, a daughter of Leroidesanimeaux.  Always a Princess won the Indiana Oaks, El Encino Stakes, and La Canada Stakes—all grade 2—and was runner-up in the Oak Leaf Stakes (G1).

Always a Princess is out of Gabriellina Giof, a stakes winner in Italy, and is a half sister to Acorn Stakes (G1) and Santa Monica Handicap (G1) winner Gabby's Golden Gal.

"It's a thrill. We've had three generations," Robinson said. "I've had the granddam and I've had the mother at the farm. It's been nothing but a thrill. The family produced the first grade 1 winner raised on my farm, so it's a huge reward. I'm absolutely tickled." 

Bloodstock agent Marette Farrell signed the ticket for the colt, who reminded her of Mastery , a grade 1 winner by Candy Ride.  

"Every single person on my team loved this horse from the very first sighting. He took my breath away. We were the underbidder on Mastery a couple of years ago, and, to me, this horse gave me that same feeling. He was very easy on the eye—such a good mover and amazing demeanor. I saw him at the beginning of the day and at the end of the day, and he moved with the same countenance on his face, and that was very important to me. I think he can handle anything, and we're excited. Peter Fluor and K.C. Weiner love Candy Ride. He's an incredible stallion, and we hope (Hip 1062) is going to be a champion."

Sapphire Stable went to $650,000 for Hip 1109, another bay son of Candy Ride out of the grade 1-placed Empire Maker  mare Charm the Maker. Bred in Kentucky by Ron and Deborah McAnally, the colt is from the extended female family of John Henry Turf Championship Stakes (G2T) winner Liam the Charmer. 

"It's very hard to buy—extremely difficult," said Farrell, who said she was outbid on several yearlings during Book 1. "It's wonderful for the horse business that there are so many different entities here that three months ago, we were all worried about the horse business and if it was going to survive, and here we are in September and it's a new world. I'm thrilled for the sellers. Don Robinson is one of the best in the game and one of the nicest people in the game. It's nice to see good people rewarded for what they do. They raise their horses right, and we know what you see is what you get." 

Speedway Stable also picked up Hip 982, a $290,000 filly by Air Force Blue  consigned by Stone Farm. The filly was bred in Kentucky by her consignor. Her second dam was champion 3-year-old filly Smuggler, a daughter of champion older mare Inside Information. 

Sapphire Stable also scored once more during Saturday's session, spending $500,000 for a Nyquist  colt consigned as Hip 1167 by Anderson Farms, agent. Bred in Ontario by Anderson out of the Saint Ballado mare Flawless Diamond, the colt is a half brother to stakes winners Blue Heart and Financial Recovery as well as stakes-placed Henshin Hero, Final Redemption, and Diamondaire.