Chocolate Candy

[menifee]

You don't hear about him as a contender, but let me make a case.

Beyer has improved every race.
Versatile horse who can rate close to the pace, but also close from far back.
His daddy was great on dirt. His half brother is tearing it up on dirt in sprint races. He could improve remarkably on dirt. His half sister isn't bad either.
He's always closing - that extra 1/4 of a mile may help him.
I like Hollendorfer - he's a good trainer.

Negatives:

Never run a triple digit beyer. May not be fast enough. Polycrap is tough to figure out.
Beaten by Pioneer of the Nile and I want Revenge both times he faced them, but was closing on them.

I think you have to use him at least underneath, no? You will probably get 15-1 or better!

[GaryG]

IMO you absolutely have to use him. Only beaten a length by Pioneer despite closing into a slow pace. I like the switch to Smith, a strong finisher.

[DALLIEDOG]

I say put him on top with Mike Smith.

[riskman]

Chocolate is also a dual qualifier and has DI index of 2.08. Comes from Raise A Native sire line.
There are also five other Dual Qualifiers.
West Side Bernie
Charitable Man
Square Eddie
Pioneer of The Nile
I Want Revenge

Is the Derby Winner here? Could be.

[Joey D]

Chocolate Candy is my pick also. Not only was he closing on PON, but it was after a long layoff, a slow early pace up front and he also went about six wide turning for home. He is an improving horse with excellent breeding for this race and good three-year olds can really surprise suddenly when in the hands of somebody like Hollendorfer. The addition of Mike Smith can only help his chances. Not that Rosario or Russell Baze are bad riders, Mike will just have this horse in better striking position in my opinion and should be right there by the top of the stretch, ready to pounce.

Always need racing luck in this race though, too.

A must use in the exotics at the very least..

[1GCFAN]

I started considering him today when I saw the same trend. Improving Beyers as the distances increase. I remember the TV guys were all over him in the SA Derby. He may have needed that race. Below the radar but he has a decent shot be on the ticket.

[Run Nicholas Run]

Candy is a definate on my ticket.
Possible top 3 on selections.
Will finalize after draw.

[plainolebill]

I heard he was exhausted after the SA Derby, tired and galloped out poorly after his work at Churchill. True?

[menifee]

I didn't hear that. I heard he had a good work today. 5f in 59 1/5. The time was second-fastest among the 26 horses that breezed that distance.

With jockey Mike Smith aboard, Chocolate Candy posted splits of :12, :23 3/5, :35 3/5, and :47. He galloped out six furlongs in 1:12 4/5.

On the video, he looked comfortable.

[miesque]

I heard he was exhausted after the SA Derby, tired and galloped out poorly after his work at Churchill. True?

What I saw on HRTV (and they only showed the end due to the horrible collison that had taken place on the track) was very good, he was moving well over the surface, extending his stride nicely and covering ground well and he galloped out solidly on his own accord. I have liked his horse for a while and I am someone that rarely wades into Future Pools but I did place a Future Bet on Chocolate Candy in the last pool. Today pretty much solidified my top two choices which are Pioneerof the Nile and Chocolate Candy and I know that will get a lot of smirks and I am not just playing those two horses but I am feeling pretty good about those two and am waiting for IWR's workout tomorrow as he is currently the third of my Top 3.

[plainolebill]

That was his earlier work, I didn't read about today's.

[WinterTriangle]

You don't hear about him as a contender, but let me make a case.

You don't?

Siegal, Battaglia and Jon White, to name a few, all have him listed as value wager.

So do I. :)

He has the right pedigree, he can get the distance no problem, stamina index is 0.73, has the right body and nice long legs, and if the pace isn't killing, I expect him to show up ITM.

[Burls]

Am I the only one who finds this incongruous?
'Chocolate Candy' is owned by Jenny Craig who made a fortune in weight loss.
Technically, he's owned by 'The Sid and Jenny Craig Trust', but since Sid has passed on, Jenny is in control of that.

[Market Mover]

If anyone has any questions about the abilities of Hall of Famer Mike Smith to time closing kicks, watch Madeo win Sunday's race at HOL...

[MNslappy]

The move CC made on the turn in the SA Derby was not that much less impressive than Dunkirk's sweeping move in the FLA really. The question is, what does he do when he faces a much faster pace on a surface that isn't going to tire out the frontrunners as much? Closing horses coming off the poly worry me when trying dirt for the first time....I really like him underneath though, he's a must use in exactas and trifectas IMO. I just don't know if he's close enough to the first group of horses coming out of the turn to actually win.