By Bloodhorse.com
SAN MIGUEL, Calif. (July 16, 2023) — The racing industry microcosm is not immune to the highs and lows of life; in fact, it often acts as an amplifier. Adrian Gonzalez of Checkmate Thoroughbreds, member of the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association Board of Directors, is especially well versed in the subject following the events of the past couple weeks.
Devastation over losing several yearlings in a fiery trailer accident last month turned to pure joy as he and his family gathered around the television in their California living room July 15 to cheer Yo Yo Candy home in the Sanford Stakes (G3) at Saratoga Race Course.
“We were very, very thrilled to have a homebred running at a venue like Saratoga. It just was really a special moment. We were watching it on the couch, my wife and I, and the kids were screaming,” Gonzalez said. “We’re a pretty small operation, the whole family comes out to the barn at night when the mares foal so everyone has nicknames for the babies.
“It’s really cool to see something that we bred and raised that performs like that and especially at such long odds. It was like, ‘Oh shoot this is embarrassing if this horse runs terrible.’ God, he just tried so hard and battled. What a beautiful performance that was. We’re on cloud nine having something like that happen for us.”
The 2-year-old son of Danzing Candy ‘s victory comes off the heels of a tragic accident which claimed the lives of several yearlings Gonzalez had shipped to Kentucky in mid-June ahead of the Keeneland September Sale. He says that the horses they lost were some of the very best of their 2022 crop.
“It’s something about the racing game. Unless you’ve lived it, there’s just a different meaning to it,” Gonzalez said. “You don’t take for granted the highs because they’re few and far between and the lows are so crushing. … After that happened, we still have a full farm of horses, we still need to get the job done on all the others.
“We just felt defeated. It’s hard to work so hard, going out to the barn every morning already starting off the yearling sales season at such a loss. We’re grinding through it and then to have something like this happen, it picked us up big time. It just reassures us that we can raise a good horse.”
Yo Yo Candy’s dam, the grade-1 placed Yolanda B. Too , was only a $14,000 purchase by Gonzalez from the 2015 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale. Though she had sold for $360,000 earlier in her career and went on to earn nearly all of that investment back in 17 starts, the mare was not exactly at peak condition during her last trip through the sales ring.
“She was campaigned by West Point Thoroughbreds, we bought her very cheap and she wasn’t looking very good when we got her. She had kind of fallen from grace I guess you could say,” Gonzalez said.
Nonetheless, the mare went to a new career as part of Checkmate’s broodmare band but had quite the road ahead of her. Despite producing the grade 3-placed Treble in 2014, the next few years were littered with horses that underperformed on the track, a stillborn foal in 2017, and a barren year in 2020. Luckily the mare got into foal with Danzing Candy for the following season and dropped Yo Yo Candy the first week of March.
“Yolanda physically, she’s a big, rangey, leggy mare. Kind of a throwback because you don’t see too many like that. It seems we’re much more speed and power influenced now,” Gonzalez said. “She’s more built to go two turns so we thought we’d better breed some speed into her and Danzing Candy was such a fast horse that we really thought it was something that would complement her.
“She’s the type of mare that she will let you do anything you need to do with her but you better not put a lip chain on her. If you push her, she will clear the room. She’ll say, ‘No, this is my space and you’re lucky to be in it.’ She’s kind of raised foals the same way. They’re very willing and honest but also they have a certain level of tenacity that you don’t want to pick a fight with them for sure.”
Yo Yo Candy went through the 2022 California Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association Sales Northern California Yearling Sale where he sold for $6,000 to Juan Zamora from Checkmate’s consignment. He was back at auction earlier this year selling at $35,000 to Tom Lamont from the Triple J Equine Sales consignment at the Ocala Breeders’ Sales March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training. He is currently campaigned by Happy Tenth Stable and conditioned by Daniel Velazquez.
The colt improved his record to 2-0-1 from three starts on Saturday.
“He was very scopey and leggy as a yearling like his mother,” Gonzalez said. “I would expect he could really do well going two turns and I would think that the further they run, the better he’s going to get. I’m pleasantly surprised of all of it.”
Yo Yo Candy’s full yearling brother will be offered as Hip 18 at the Washington Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners’ Association Yearling and Mixed Sale in August.