Sandys Candy, a well-bred pacing colt that has already scored one Grassroots victory in his freshman season and is among the early favourites for Saturday’s event at

Sudbury Downs, was plucked out of last fall’s Forest City Yearling Sale more for his emotional connection to owner Kim McNiven than for his breeding or physical attributes.

“My wife picked him out, it was kind of a sentimental kind of thing. His mother, Come Out Running, is a full sister in blood to Shami Cami,” explained Putnam, Ont. resident Scott McNiven, who conditioned Shami Cami to earnings of $515,709. “It ended up being very sentimental because we lost Shami Cami in the spring, she broke her pelvis, one month away from foaling — her first foal.”

Shami Cami, owned by Kim McNiven of Putnam, and Bradley McNiven and Twin B Stables Ltd. of Embro, Ont., was by Run The Table and out of Twin B Cami, a daughter of Camtastic and Life Styles. Come Out Running is by Run The Table and out of Life Styles.

Even before his emotional connection to the family became more poignant, McNiven liked Sandys Candy. The youngster was not a quick study, but over the years McNiven has found those horses that have to work harder to grasp their lessons tend to be steadier students over the long run.

“He was slow to come to his gait. He was the last one to get gaited, but I kind of like that in a two-year-old,” admitted the trainer. “They seem to be the ones you can’t knock off their gait.”

Sandys Candy is one of three Life Sign offspring — part of the sire’s first Ontario-based crop — the McNiven’s purchased during last fall’s yearling sales. The couple went looking specifically for horses sired by Life Sign after enjoying some success with a horse produced during the stallion’s tenure south of the border.

“Always Ready made $60,000 or $70,000 for us and then we sold him for decent money to the States,” recalled McNiven. “We loved his temperament and that kind of thing.”

The McNivens acquired Sandys Candy for $11,000 and the colt has already repaid his purchase price and made a contribution toward his room and board. In six starts the young pacer has one Grassroots win, one third, one fourth and two fifths to his credit for earnings of $15,600. He will attempt to boost that tally from Post 7 in Saturday’s third Grassroots division. McNiven is not overly concerned about the outside post, hoping the colt’s speed and agility will stand him in good stead.

“He has a little bit of gate speed, we’ll see if he can use it,” notes the horseman. “He’s the kind of horse I think anyone gets along with. He’s a nice horse to drive.”

Heading into Saturday’s test off a fifth-place finish against older horses in an August 13 overnight event at Grand River Raceway, Sandys Candy will arrive in Sudbury off a week of light jogging. McNiven plans to head north at midnight on Friday, sacrificing a few hours of his own shut-eye for the well being of his horse.

“We are looking at leaving at midnight on Friday,” said McNiven. “We went to Ottawa that way and we were tired when we got home, but I noticed the horse was fresher.”

Essex, Ont. resident Rodney Duford is also planning a Friday departure for his two-year-old pacing colts. Duford will harness Distant Cam from Post 2 in the third Grassroots division, and Rileys Luck from Post 7 in the last division.

Rileys Luck was also a winner in the Grassroots season opener at Clinton Raceway on July 18, while Distant Cam finished fourth in the fastest division of the day. Duford says the Camluck colts are similar in stature and demeanour, but he gives the edge to Rileys Luck when it comes to speed.

“I always though the Riley horse was the better horse of the two, but I’ve been wrong before,” said Duford with a chuckle. The horseman conditions the colts for Larry Pollard of Harrow, Ont.

The Grassroots divisions will go postward as Races 2, 5, 6, and 8 on Saturday, with the first race rolling in behind the Sudbury Downs starting gate at 7:15 p.m.

To view the entries, click here.

(OSS)