With Argentine Roots and the Candy Ride Influence, Forever After All Shines at Keeneland

The daughter of Connect Captures the Bewitch Stakes (G3) to Close Keeneland Spring Meet

Forever After All was recently Bred to Flightline / KEENELAND

LEXINGTON, KY—(TDN Special Correspondent)—Dixiana Farms’ homebred Forever After All (f, 4, Connect–Julia Tuttle, by Giant’s Causeway) delivered a breathtaking performance to close out Keeneland’s Spring Meet, running away with Friday’s GIII Bewitch S., presented by Keeneland Sales.

Piloted by Irad Ortiz Jr. for trainer Brendan Walsh, the imposing bay powered clear entering the final turn and widened at will through the lane, ultimately crossing the wire nine lengths in front—a margin that matched the race record set by Shore (Round Table) in 1966.

With deep South American roots, Forever After All is out of a daughter of Candy Cane (Arg) (Ride the Rails), a full sister to the legendary Candy Ride (Arg), one of the greatest exports in Argentine breeding history.

Over a rain-soaked turf course rated yielding, Forever After All stopped the clock in 2:35.56 for 1 1/2 miles. It was the fourth win of her 24-race career, boosting her bankroll to $782,454.

Favored at the windows, she returned $5.62, $3.34, and $2.32. Youknownothing (Candy Ride), ridden by Florent Geroux, finished second, while French invader Immensitude (Lawman) was third, another 6 1/4 lengths back under Flavien Prat.

A $65,000 Keeneland September graduate, Forever After All is a half-sister to G1 winner and successful sire Tom’s d’Etat (Smart Strike).

"She’s a big filly with a long stride, and Brendan told me to keep her close today," said Ortiz. "At Gulfstream, the tighter turns and firm turf didn’t suit her as much. But today, she felt incredible once she started stretching out around the far turn."

Trainer Brendan Walsh added: "She’s been improving all year, and it’s fantastic to see her put it all together like this. Mr. [William] Shively and the entire team at Dixiana have been incredibly supportive. She was bred to Flightline about three or four weeks ago, so we might only get one or two more runs out of her before she heads off to the next chapter. If an opportunity presents itself, we’d love to take a shot at a G1."

Walsh also reflected on tying with Brad Cox atop the Keeneland Spring Meet trainer standings: "You never expect to have this kind of success here—it’s incredibly competitive. It’s all down to the great work of my team and the owners who trust us with such quality horses."