Candy Stripes (April 12, 1982 – February 28, 2007) was an American

thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...

race horse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic ...

and sire. A descendant of the great

Nearco Nearco (January 24, 1935 – June 27, 1957) was an Italian-bred Thoroughbred racehorse described by '' Thoroughbred Heritage'' as "one of the greatest racehorses of the Twentieth Century" and "one of the most important sires of the century." He ...

through his sire,

Blushing Groom Blushing Groom (8 April 1974 – 6 May 1992) was a French champion Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. Background He was bred by American businessman John McNamee Sullivan and was raced by HH Aga Khan IV. A descendant of Nearco, Blushing Groom wa ...

, he was out of the mare Bubble Company, a granddaughter of the 20th Century's greatest sire of sires,

Northern Dancer Northern Dancer (May 27, 1961 – November 16, 1990) was a Thoroughbred who, in 1964, became the first Canadian-bred horse to win the Kentucky Derby. He then became one of the most successful sires of the 20th century. He is considered a Canadi ...

. Candy Stripes is best known as the sire of 2007

American Horse of the Year The American Award for Horse of the Year, one of the Eclipse Awards, is the highest honor given in American thoroughbred horse racing. Because Thoroughbred horse racing in the United States has no governing body to sanction the various awards, "Hor ...

, Invasor, and the 2005

American Champion Male Turf Horse The American Champion Male Turf Horse award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor. The award originated in 1953 when the ''Daily Racing Form'' (DRF) named Iceberg II their champion. The Thoroughbred Racing Association (TRA) added the ca ...

Leroidesanimaux Leroidesanimaux (September 27, 2000 – May 27, 2016) was a Thoroughbred racehorse who competed in Brazil and was an Eclipse Award winner in the United States. Background His name was four French-language words combined. ''Le roi des animaux'' t ...

. Candy Stripes was also the

broodmare A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than f ...

sire of the unbeaten,

Candy Ride Candy Ride (foaled September 27, 1999 in Argentina) is a retired Thoroughbred racehorse who went undefeated in six starts on both turf and dirt racing surfaces in Argentina and the United States. In Argentina, he won the Gran Premio San Isidro an ...

. Bred in Kentucky by Allen Cowen, Candy Stripes raced in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

, winning two of six races and running second in the

Poule d'Essai des Poulains Molof (Ampas, Poule, Powle-Ma) is a poorly documented Papuan language spoken by about 200 people in Molof village, Senggi District, Keerom Regency. Classification Wurm (1975) placed it as an independent branch of Trans–New Guinea, but Ros ...

(Fr-I). He was returned to North America in 1986, then was sent to Argentina two years later to stand at stud. Following a good deal of success south of the equator, he was imported to the U.S. in 1997 to stand at the Taylor family's

Taylor Made Farm Taylor Made Farm is a 1,600-acre Thoroughbred racehorse breeding farm in Jessamine County, Kentucky, and is a leading consignor of Thoroughbred horses. The farm is owned and operated by four brothers, Duncan, Ben, Frank and Mark Taylor with thei ...

near

Nicholasville, Kentucky Nicholasville is a home rule city in and the county seat of Jessamine County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 31,490 during the 2020 U.S. Census, making Nicholasville the 10th-largest settlement in the state. Since the late 20th ce ...

. He shuttled to

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, t ...

during that time and later ended up back in that South American country. During his stallion career, Candy Stripes sired ten champions in the United States, Canada, Argentina, and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

. He sired 465 winners, 59 stakes race winners, and 43

group A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic ide ...

/ graded winners. Candy Stripes died from

colic Colic or cholic () is a form of pain that starts and stops abruptly. It occurs due to muscular contractions of a hollow tube (small and large intestine, gall bladder, ureter, etc.) in an attempt to relieve an obstruction by forcing content out. ...

just over a month from his 25th birthday at Haras Carampangue in

San Antonio de Areco San Antonio de Areco is a city in northern Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, and administrative seat of the partido of San Antonio de Areco. It is located on the Areco River away from Buenos Aires city, the country's capital. San Antonio de ...

, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina.

References

Thoroughbred Times article about his deathCandy Stripes Pedigree
1982 racehorse births 2007 racehorse deaths Racehorses trained in France Racehorses bred in Kentucky Thoroughbred family 1-b {{racehorse-stub