Success brings upgrade for upstart Ollie’s Candy

Romping wins in her first two starts sprinting this spring at Golden Gate Fields earned Ollie’s Candy a graduation to the Southern California division of trainer William E. Morey’s stable.

Then the 3-year-old filly matriculated into a Grade 2 winner with a hard-fought victory by a neck going 1 1/16 miles in the $200,345 Summertime Oaks on June 16 at Santa Anita.

“I think she’s the best young horse I’ve had,” Morey said by phone from his barn at Del Mar. “She’s a Grade 2 winner in her third start.”

Morey will throw another challenge at Ollie’s Candy on Saturday when she runs on grass for the first time in the Grade 2, $200,000 San Clemente Stakes. Her races at Golden Gate were on synthetic, and the Summertime Oaks was on dirt.

Owned and bred by San Francisco residents Paul and Karen Eggert, Ollie’s Candy drew the No. 14 post position and is the 6-1 co-third choice for the 1-mile event.

“They sent her to me last summer at Del Mar as a 2-yearold,” Morey said. “I told them that she was too immature and, luckily, they agreed and gave her time off and brought her back as a 3-year-old. She’s a well-bred filly (by Candy Ride out of Afternoon Stroll), better than average-bred, so you knew she could be something. The farther she worked, the better she worked.”

Ollie’s Candy won her debut by 6½ lengths and an allowance by 7¾ lengths.

“We brought her to Golden Gate so Paul and Karen could see her train and race there,” Morey said. “Of course, you expect her to have a real good chance to win, but it’s hard to expect wins like that. We thought she was definitely an allowance-caliber filly but she’s proved even better than that.”

The Summertime Oaks marked the first Grade 2 win of Morey’s career, which started in 2001 when he branched out from the stable of his late father, Bill Morey Jr.

“It was fun, especially under the circumstances,” Morey said. “She was 2-for-2 sprinting, and both were in the north. It was super exciting being in that kind of race against the big shots, and she was so gutsy to win it.”

Earlier this year at Santa Anita, Coniah gave Morey his first graded victory of any kind when she won the Grade 3 Las Cienegas Stakes, and Rye captured the $200,345 Unusual Heat Turf Classic.

“It took us a little while to get going in the south, but we’ve had a really good year,” Morey said. “It’s challenging and a lot of work, but it’s a good challenge at this stage of my career. To some extent, I’ve done what I could do in the north; it was time to venture elsewhere.”