By Bren O'Brien
It took seven steel plates and 56 screws to save The Candy Man's (Casino Prince) life, and now, running in the spirit of the legendary Gunsynd (Sunset Hue), he is embarking on one of Australian racing's most amazing comeback stories.
The spectacular grey has never made trainer Barry Baldwin's job easy, but the veteran horseman is on the verge of arguably his greatest achievement should The Candy Man win Saturday week's G2 Brisbane Cup.
There are so many interesting facets to The Candy Man's story, but the most dramatic was the stable accident a couple of years ago that left him fighting for life and in need of dramatic facial reconstruction surgery.
The Candy Man's trainer, Barry Baldwin
"We had to get a three-dimensional reconstruction CT to even see where the breaks were. We took him straight into surgery," veterinarian Dr Steven Zedler told Channel 7 after The Candy Man's win in Saturday's G3 Premier's Cup at Eagle Farm.
"The surgery itself took over 10 hours all through the night, 56 screws and seven steel plates to put him back together."
"We had to get a three-dimensional reconstruction CT to even see where the breaks were." - Veterinarian Dr Steven Zedler
Baldwin had to convince the then 3-year-old's owners, Lucky Pippos and Edgar Allen, to invest $30,000 in the surgery, having already spent $120,000 on him at the Magic Millions' 2YOs in Training Sale 12 months earlier.
It certainly wasn't a conversation he thought he would be having, with The Candy Man set to run the following day in a race that Baldwin was very confident he could win.
"It was, of all the things I've seen in racing, the saddest thing I've seen because I knew the horse had ability then. We were confident that the next day, he would win. In a matter of 24 hours, it all turned very badly." he told RadioTAB.
The Candy Man cost $120,000 as a 2YO
What followed was ten months of rehabilitation for the horse. It would be hard work for a trainer with any horse, let alone one with the quirks The Candy Man had.
Baldwin said from the moment he saw the grey at the sales on the Gold Coast, he knew he would be hard work.
"He's got a few little habits and he was always a little bit different, even when we bought him at the sale. The manager of Lyndhurst (Jeff Kruger) had to take control of him and walk him around for us, because the strapper couldn't handle him. So it goes back to there at the Ready to Run sale," he said.
"He's got a few little habits and he was always a little bit different, even when we bought him at the sale." - Trainer Barry Baldwin
"It shows you what he was like. We did geld him after that and he became a bit more different."
"But then one day we put a horse beside him and he attacked the wall, because he didn’t like the horse. I don’t think I've ever seen a horse do that and I've been training since 1965."
"He's got a lot of character and that's probably what kept him alive."
The comeback
That character has been on display in spades since The Candy Man returned to the track after two years.
He only returned in November last year, running a trio of placings before breaking his maiden at Doomben in mid-December.
Since then, he has made up for lost time in spectacular fashion, putting together a seven-race winning streak.
The Candy Man continuing his winning streak at Eagle Farm
"We are happy he's gone as far as he has. He's proved my point that we spent all that money to save him and more importantly, the horse is still in one piece," Baldwin said.
"He's proved my point that we spent all that money to save him." - Barry Baldwin
"There's a lot of satisfaction in it. It’s good when you talk owners into spending $30,000 on a dream that a horse may never even race again, and it's a credit to them to have the faith in me and the horse to do it."
Running in the spirit of Gunsynd
The owners are the other remarkable aspect of this story.
The Candy Man is on the verge of becoming the most famous grey in Queensland since arguably the state's greatest galloper, Gunsynd.
And of course, he races in the same purple and white colours.
The Pippos brothers owned the Victoria Hotel in Goondiwindi in the 1960s and George and a few of the pub locals decided to form a syndicate which saw them purchase the famous Goondiwindi Grey, who would win 29 races, including a Cox Plate, a Doncaster Hcp and an Epsom Hcp.
Lucky (Angelo) Pippos watched on with amazement as his brother's good fortune, and when Gunsynd won The Epsom having been 33/1 into 7/1, Lucky got his fill. Enough, he said, to buy a Ford Falcon at the dealership next door.
George Pippos died in 2002 at just 62 and ever since that day Lucky has raced his horses in those famous colours. He has had some good horses, but none of the calibre of The Candy Man.
Allen's connection with the Pippos family also goes back to 1960s, when he met Lucky and George through their cousin Andy.
"There are lots of things that are part of this," Allen said after Saturday's win. "My partner Lucky Pippos is a great man but he's also my best friend's cousin."
Allen is battling with poor health now, but The Candy Man has lit up his world with his amazing streak, which could stretch to eight with another win in the Brisbane Cup.
"They say in racing, you have to have a dream," he said. "This is my dream."
