Tough Spot for Sidney

Noticed some chatter in the comments section about Sidney's Candy's prospects and prospective odds in the Mile. Not to take anything away from his record-setting performance in the La Jolla, but it just seems like a tough sell to me. I mean, we're talking about a three-year old with a single turf start, a Grade 2 restricted to his age group, and who hasn't raced since August 14 taking on the undisputed top miler in the world in Goldikova.

And he only got a Beyer of 102. (I just said that to get DiscreetPicks all riled up!)

On the other hand, the kind of brilliant speed he showed that day at Del Mar is dangerous in any race, against any opponents. And John Sadler's colt is working up a storm of late.

Since Sept. 13, Sidney’s Candy has turned in six published workouts over a combined 34 furlongs. His last two, on the main track at Hollywood Park, have been bullets: five-eighths in 58.60 seconds on Oct. 11, and six furlongs in 1:11.80 on Monday morning.

“He galloped out in [one minute] 24 and four,” said Sadler said. “He’s ready to run right now. He’s sitting on go.”

Sidney’s Candy will have at least one more work at Hollywood Park, but then Sadler will have to decide whether the colt’s final breeze will come in California or at Churchill.

“I might breeze him on the turf course there,” Sadler said. [Daily Racing Form]

The son of Candy Ride has some Grade 1 precedent in his pedigree too. His second dam is Exchange, who was a G1 winner on the turf in the Santa Barbara Handicap, the Santa Ana Handicap, and the Matriarch. Sidney's Candy would have to show the kind of gameness through the stretch that his granddam did in the latter. Exchange, by the way, raced in the colors of owner Sidney Craig.

Goldikova is racing in the best form of her already brilliant career, at least if you go by the Racing Post figures, and is being offered at around even money overseas. She is scheduled to arrive at Churchill Downs from Europe on Oct. 30..

The Usual Q.T. is a go for the Mile, and any horse who can sport a turf record of 10-8-2 (not counting a trip to Dubai) against top competition has to be of some interest when it comes to rounding out the tickets.

- Zenyatta had a well-orchestrated drill at Hollywood on Friday.

Shirreffs said he was not concerned about the final time, saying that overnight rain had made the track tiring.

"I thought the synthetic track was soft, and when it's like that they're laboring a little more in the longer works," he said. "You can't skip over it."

Smith described the work as "dynamite" and said that Zenyatta was far from extended through the stretch. [DRF]

All the better for her conditioning I suppose if the track was a bit laboring has Shirreffs said.

Paddy O'Prado is being pointed to the Classic, a race he seems particularly unsuited for given his poor performance in his only fast track dirt race (his 6th in the Preakness). However, as is often the case, the decision is being driven than something other than pure racing consideration.

"With the stallion potential of this horse, we'd like to see him do something big on dirt." [Racing Post]

Dale Romans must also be hoping for some rain considering Paddy O'Prado's third place finish over a sloppy track in the Derby. A horse like this, who excels at 9-10 furlongs on the turf, is kinda between a rock (the Mile) and a hard place (the Turf) when it comes to Breeders' Cup day....though he certainly wasn't horrible in his second in the mile and a half Turf Classic. If they have to have these extraneous Breeders' Cup races, I'd personally rather see a mile and a quarter turf race than a turf sprint or those juvenile turf races. Of course, there is another option for Paddy O'Prado. If his connections feel he can't get the Turf distance, he doesn't have to run at all.