It might be uncommon for someone to buy a racehorse while getting a pedicure, but that bit of multitasking has paid off beautifully for Tammy Cummings and her daughter, Alyssa.
Tammy Cummings purchased Candys Desire in an onGait.com auction in June 2021. At the time of the auction, Tammy was getting a pedicure with Alyssa, who had initially spotted the then four-year-old female pacer in the online sale. After reviewing the horse’s races, the family decided to spend up to $6,500 on the mare. Tammy, though, went $100 beyond the limit, buying Candys Desire for $6,600.
“They told me that if she was no good it was my fault,” Tammy recalled with a laugh. “I said, 'Ok, I’ll take that.'”
The extra Franklin proved to be well spent. Candys Desire has won 14 of 56 starts, cashed a paycheque in a total of 45, and earned $92,508 since joining the Cummings Stable. On Wednesday, she races in the $17,500 Open for fillies and mares at Buffalo Raceway.
“She’s been a great horse for us,” said Tammy, who trains the six-year-old mare. “She’s tough to deal with, but she’s a racehorse. She will give it all she’s got. She’s a mean girl, but she’s a gritty girl.”
Kyle Cummings, Tammy’s son, has driven Candys Desire in all but one of her starts since joining the family’s stable. He will again be in the sulky on Wednesday, when Candys Desire starts from post two in the seven-horse Open field. She is 6-1 on the morning line.
“It’s a very tough group,” said Kyle. “I’ll look to trip her out and do the best we can without over-driving her. She’s got an explosive brush. If you keep her covered up, she’s got a pretty good move to her; she’s pretty tough to hold off. When she’s on her game, she’s a very nice horse.”
Candys Desire has not raced since a seventh-place finish in the final of a TrackMaster-rated Pop-Up Series at Batavia Downs on Feb. 20. In the three preliminary rounds of the series, she had a win and two seconds.
“She wasn’t at her best in her last start,” said Kyle. “We had some sickness go through the barn, and she kind of got roughed up leaving [parked out getting to the front in a :28 opening quarter]. That’s really not her game. She’s more of a pocket-rocket type of horse.”
Candys Desire, who has won 20 of 109 career races and earned $136,199, is a daughter of Real Desire-Candy N Apples. It was the Cummings family’s connection to Real Desire that helped fuel the interest in Candys Desire.
“We had a filly we bought as a yearling named Ardelle, who was a Real Desire filly,” said Tammy. “We raced her on the fair circuit in Pennsylvania. She was the first horse my daughter and my son and I all bought together. [Candys Desire] kind of reminded us of that filly. She was another Real Desire, so we said we would take a shot on her.
“It’s absolutely more fun doing this together, a hundred per cent. We like doing it that way.”
Racing begins at 6 p.m. (EST) at Buffalo Raceway. For Wednesday’s complete entries, click here. For selections, visit buffaloraceway.com.
(USTA)