Converge was at the back of a big field early on in the $150,000 Palm Beach S. (G3), but the 3-year-old son of Sidney’s Candy emerged on top when it counted, showing an explosive turn of foot to win the 1 1/16-mile turf contest by three-quarters of a length on Saturday afternoon.
The fast-rising bay colt, out of the multiple graded stakes-winning mare Atlantic Ocean, is now two-for-three overall including a good second in last October’s Awad S. at Belmont Park.
Sidney’s Candy, standing this year at WinStar Farm for $10,000 live foal, is a top-10 Second Crop Sire of 2016. He was bred to 136 mares last season, his largest book to date.
Converge, a deserving favorite in the 13-horse field of sophomores, was in no hurry out of the gate and sent to the rail by Javier Castellano. Moving beautifully up the inside down the backstretch, Converge was just a few lengths from the front going into the turn.
Still behind a wall of horses coming into the stretch, Castellano finally found an opening in the three path, and Converge shot through to take the lead about a furlong from the wire to prove best. He finished the distance in an excellent 1:40.64 on the firm turf.
Converge was bred in New York by SF Racing and is owned by Paul Pompa, Jr. The colt was a $240,000 buy at the 2014 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.
