Danzing Candy hopes to enjoy a stay in Louisville

By John CherwaSpecial Contributor

April 8, 2016 4:19 PM PT

One thing for certain, is if Danzing Candy does well Saturday in the Santa Anita Derby, he’ll have a guaranteed reservation of a nice place to stay in Louisville on the first Saturday in May.

The talented 3-year-old colt for owners Ted Aroney and Jim and Dianne Bashor turned some heads a month ago with an easy win in the San Felipe Stakes against a very strong field. It was his third straight victory in four starts and put him on a path to run in the Kentucky Derby.

But for Aroney, the San Felipe win only brought back a memory that has stuck in his craw for three years. In 2013, Aroney’s horse, Hear The Ghost, won the San Felipe and was considered a strong Kentucky Derby contender.

Aroney, who lives in Rancho Santa Fe, made his Louisville reservations at The Brown Hotel, a place so upscale it can get away with having The in its name. He got seven rooms, three-night minimum package, at $5,100 a room.

But Hear The Ghost suffered a minor knee injury before the Santa Anita Derby, ending his chances to run at Churchill Downs.

“So, I call the hotel and they tell me we can’t cancel, but they would be glad to sell the rooms for us,” Aroney said. “They had more than a month, but time goes by and there is still no room sale. But they keep saying, ‘We’ll sell them.’ Now, it’s 10 days before the Derby and they still haven’t sold. I told them if they didn’t sell them, I was going to give them to the homeless. I got stuck paying for all the rooms.”

That’s $35,700 worth of getting stuck.

Brad Walker, who has been general manager at The Brown Hotel for 13 years, said he was not familiar with the situation and that most rooms for Derby week sell out months in advance.

“The combination of short notice and demand that year left the rooms that he had reserved unsold,” Walker said, adding that the hotel does try to resell rooms and refund all charges to the guests.

Danzing Candy won’t have any accommodation problems, as stabling at Churchill Downs is free, although the hay, carrots and mints are extra.

He qualified for the race points-wise by winning the San Felipe. Danzing Candy broke alertly and led the entire 1 1/16-mile race to win by two lengths. Getting out of the gate had been a problem for the colt but not on that day.

In his first race at Del Mar last November, Danzing Candy’s connections wanted Mike Smith to ride, but he was unavailable and Edwin Maldonado picked up the mount.

“He was working really good at Del Mar and I thought he’d win first time out,” trainer Cliff Sise Jr., said. “He was coming out of the one hole.”

Only he really didn’t come out of the one, at least not quickly. He broke dead last, ran into a wall of horses trying to catch up and had a trip you would generously describe as a nightmare. He finished eighth in the 12-horse field.

Smith has been on the horse ever since, leading him to his maiden win by 3 1/4 lengths on opening day of this Santa Anita meet. He broke 10th in that 12-horse field. Then he won a mile optional claiming race by 5 3/4 lengths on Feb. 4 by breaking on top. Finally, there was his San Felipe win on March 12.

On Saturday, Sise is making no secret of his strategy coming out of the No. 3 post.

“The speed is to the outside of us in the six and 10,” Sise said. “So, we’ll be going to the lead.”

The real challenge in the 1 1/8-mile race should come at the end, where Mor Spirit, for trainer Bob Baffert and jockey Gary Stevens, is expected to make a late charge. Or Exaggerator, for trainer Keith Desormeaux and jockey and brother Kent, will answer the question whether he’s a miler or can go longer.

Danzing Candy is the youngest horse in the race, besting Mor Spirit by five days. On Wednesday, co-owner Jim Bashor made the quick flight from La Jolla to Arcadia to wish the horse a happy birthday. He brought a bag of carrots as a gift.

“He’s a beautiful horse,” Bashor said. “It was a very nice day.”

Bashor is new to horse racing, and Aroney, who also breeds horses such as the coupling that produced Danzing Candy, is more than happy to take him along for the adventure.

“He is so excited about this that it makes me even more excited,” Aroney said. “I just hope we can get lucky.”

Bashor, a philanthropist and longtime social pillar in San Diego, is known for his love of USC. In fact, he brings up about 20 members of the USC marching band to play at his annual party. Smith’s jockey silks for this horse are cardinal and gold.

Sise has enjoyed working for the partnership.

“Jim is a really, really nice guy and a gentleman,” Sise said. “He’s definitely in it for the fun. Teddy is also into the fun, but also the business.”

Bashor’s other definition of fun revolves around his love for the musical “Mamma Mia!” which he has seen 55 times. He has even been in the back on stage twice, once in New York and in Los Angeles. His favorite song?

“Everybody loves ‘Dancing Queen’, don’t they?” Bashor said. “It’s just so much fun.”

How much fun will partially be determined by how Danzing Candy does over what is expected to be a moist track Saturday and beyond.

If a trip to Louisville is in the plans, Aroney says he plans to call The Brown Hotel and book some rooms. He’s willing to forgive.

Only problem, according to general manager Walker, is the hotel is completely booked at this point.

“We do wish the best of luck to Mr. Aroney and his horse,” Walker said. “We’ll have a bottle of bourbon for him if he makes it to Louisville for the Kentucky Derby.”

As for Bashor, where does he plan to stay?

“We’re at The Brown,” Bashor said. “I’ve already done it. I’m not waiting. We booked in advance.”

Follow John Cherwa on Twitter: @jcherwa