CANDY RIDE’S LIORA DETERMINEDLY HOLDS OFF RESTLESS RIDER IN GOLDEN ROD

Liora (Candy Ride {Arg}), a runaway maiden winner at third asking beneath the Twin Spires Oct. 28, led them every step to narrowly pull off a 27-1 upset over heavily favored ‘TDN Rising Star’ Restless Rider (Distorted Humor) in Saturday’s GII Golden Rod S. at Churchill Downs. High Regard (Will Take Charge) completed the trifecta.

The dark bay left the stalls running and held a narrow advantage through fractions of :24.81 and :49.68 over the sloppy, sealed track. Under fire at the top of the lane with Restless Rider, favored at 3-5 off a runner-up finish in the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, making a menacing, three-wide bid, Liora never said die beneath Channing Hill in the stretch and kept finding more to eke out a nose victory.

Liora, a debut fourth sprinting in a muddy Saratoga off-the-turfer July 26, tired to third as the favorite in her first try on grass going a mile at Churchill Downs Sept. 20. She was a nine-length maiden winner with a 66 Beyer Speed Figure over this track and trip last time.

Pedigree Notes:

Liora becomes the 39th graded and 81st stakes winner for Candy Ride (Arg). Giant Mover, a stakes-winning Edward P. Evans homebred, brought $350,000 from Dell Ridge Farm at the Evans dispersal at the 2011 KEENOV Sale. In addition to MGSW Family Tree (Smart Strike), Giant Mover is also responsible for a Street Sense yearling filly and a weanling colt by Curlin. She was bred back to Union Rags. Liora’s second dam is two-time GII Princess Rooney H. heroine Gold Mover. Grade I winners Dance Teacher (Smarten), Ascend (Candy Ride {Arg}), Cat Moves (Tale of the Cat), Hootenanny (Quality Road), etc., also appear further down on the page as well as the promising ‘TDN Rising Star’ Roadster (Quality Road). Like Liora, Candy Ride’s Horse of the Year Gun Runner is also out of a Giant’s Causeway mare.

SOURCE: TDN 11/24/18