Sunday, December 05, 2010
Stachys, a Kentucky-bred gelding by Candy Ride (ARG) racing by Al Ulwelling and Bill Ulwelling, rallied to win Saturday’s $150,000 Zia Park Derby at Zia Park.
Ridden by Eddie Martin Jr., Stachys covered 1 1/16 miles in 1:44.42, and his margin of victory was a half of a length from Skip A Smile. The gelding returned a $4 win mutuel as the even-money favorite.
Stachys was making his first start since October 10, when he ran third as a 30-1 longshot in the $400,000 Oklahoma Derby at Remington Park.
“I was looking for one more race for him this year as a 3-year-old trainer,” said Stachy’s trainer, Michael Biehler. “It was 60 days since his last race, and that was a little long. We’ll take him to Oaklawn Park next spring and probably give him a start there.”
Stachys was bred by Nelson Bunker Hunt, and the gelding is one of 15 stakes winners from three crops sired by Candy Ride, an 11-year-old son of the Cryptoclearance stallion Ride The Rails and winner of the 2003 Pacific Classic Stakes (G1) at Del Mar. The ’03 champion miler in his native Argentina, Candy Ride has sired the earners of more than $11.2 million from 190 starters, including his top earner, Misremembered, the winner of this year’s $750,000 Santa Anita Handicap (G1). He stands for a $25,000 fee at Lane’s End at Versailles, Kentucky.
Stachys is also the first foal produced by Wekiva Mist, a winning and stakes-placed daughter of the Runaway Groom stallion Wekiva Springs. Now 9, Wekiva Mist is a half sister to Nar, a colt by Northern Afleet who ran third in the 2006 Jerome Breeders’ Cup Handicap (G3) at Belmont Park and ’07 Deputy Minister Handicap (G3) at Gulfstream Park.
Stachys traces back to his third dam, the winning Kentucky-bred Grey Dawn II mare Dawnlike. A 1973 foal, Dawnlike produced 10 winners from as many starters, including Dawninthecountry, a Country Pine filly who won the ’95 Jersey Belle Breeders’ Cup Stakes at Garden State Park in New Jersey.
Campaigned at seven different tracks in seven states and provinces, Stachys has won five of 10 races, and the $87,300 winner’s share of the Zia Park Derby purse pushed his earnings to $223,696. The gelding’s race record includes a victory in the August 2, $75,000 Manitoba Derby at Assiniboia Downs in Winnipeg.
Saratoga Yankee ran third, 5 ¼ lengths behind Stachys, and was followed by Stephen’s Got Hope, Spinning Touch, Dandy’s Legacy, Hot Fusion, Sightlines, and Raven Hawk.
Runner-up Skip A Smile earned $32,010 to increase his bankroll to $71,950 for his owner, Rose M. Chandler. The homebred gelding by Skip Away has won two of his five outs, including the 1 1/16-mile Ruidoso Thoroughbred Derby at Ruidoso Downs on September 4.
A Florida-bred colt by Yankee Gentleman racing for Kindred Thoroughbreds LLC, Saratoga Yankee has earned $83,676 from three wins in nine starts. Saratoga Yankee was coming off of consecutive allowance victories on the turf course at Remington Park in Oklahoma.