Danzing Candy, Destin look to be Derby-ready
The $400,000 San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita was Danzing Candy’s stakes debut, and he outsped Uncle Lino and I Will Score to the early lead and kept going to beat favored Mor Spirit by 2 lengths.
Danzing Candy finished 11/16 miles in 1:43.04 and paid $13 for his third straight front-running victory since a poor debut.
Smokey Image, the former Golden Gate Fields-based colt, found open company too much as he finished a distant fifth in the field of six for his first loss in seven starts.
In the Grade 1, $1 million Santa Anita Handicap, 16-to-1 shot Melatonin collected the first stakes victory of his career as he set a fast pace and kept going to win by 5 lengths in 2:02.01 for 1¼ miles.
In another record performance at Tampa Bay Downs, Eclipse Award-winning turf mare Tepin ($2.80) won the Grade 2, $200,000 Hillsborough Stakes on grass in 1:46.06 for 11/8 miles.
Mr. Mahorney rode stakes winners Raise Your Skirts, Gala Host, Ready Wit, Imaginative, Star of Kuwait, Maheras and Surera and trained stakes winners Zeeskite and Marty’s Zee.