Her debut caused something of a minor stir back in June. They bet her so hard at one point that she was the 1-5 favorite against runners with experience, prompting one of Churchill's broadcast co-hosts to wonder if Secretariat was being unveiled that afternoon.One would never be as supremely confident as to propose such a comparison seriously, but Pocket Aces Racing's Twirling Aces (Twirling Candy) had come on everyone's radar for good reason. After a sensational workout two weeks earlier, one that was well-discussed by the time the gates opened June 3, she was the worst-kept secret on grounds.The wagering frenzy was, ultimately, somewhat expected.Twirling Aces eventually drifted up to even money but made it look a gift anyway. Checked early on, bottled inside for most of the trip, and then asked to come wide into the stretch, she drew off like a good thing. Jockey Tyler Gaffalione told Marc Wampler, bloodstock agent and co-managing partner of Pocket Aces Racing, that he'd wrapped up on Twirling Aces by the time they were inside the sixteenth pole.And for Wampler, in step with pride, excitement and a cocktail of various emotions that accompany a trip to the winner's circle, there was something more primal than joy.“When she won, I felt relief,” said Wampler. “There's nothing worse than losing when you're the overwhelming favorite, so I was glad she got the job done.”Wampler also admitted to a sense of awe at the sheer scale of the information super-highway that is the internet. Word of mouth and the grapevine have historically been one of the fastest methods to gain an edge on your wagering competition (say nothing of the reliability, but a good rumor makes it around the world before the truth even puts on its pants). Now, the modern player has more at their disposal than ever before.“Secrets have never been safe on the backside but nowadays work videos are available online. Clocker reports, debut figures, etc. If you've got a good one, people will find them, even if they haven't started. When she was being hammered at the windows ahead of her debut, it crossed my mind how much the availability of information has changed over the years.”Despite the belated start to her career, Twirling Aces had always been on Wampler's radar as one to watch. She was sent to Brendan Walsh in mid-2025, and had a worktab under her belt that sudden halted at the end of July that season. Wampler says it was nothing more than her body telling them that it needed more time–traditionally a Thoroughbred's best friend.Twirling Aces in April 2025 before going to Brendan Walsh Patrycja SzpyraIt's a position he's familiar with, and one the syndicate has been in before where being patient had been handsomely rewarded. All the same, it's easier said than done. The virtue is one of the harder ones to practice for a reason, but everyone learns it…either kicking and screaming or with some grace. But the horses who need time, who need the patience, that's where Wampler finds value.“Pocket Aces Racing is a value shopper,” he explained. “As much as I am always looking for an excellent, athletic specimen, I do have a type. Finding racing prospects that look like they're going to be runners, at value, or even at a fair price, is like finding a needle in a haystack.”“When we find them, we try to buy them regardless of sex, distance capabilities, [or] surface preference–and pedigree only serves as a guide to how much we're willing to pay. I think that's why you see us getting top-class turf marathoners to dirt sprinters and everything in between.”That in mind, it was no small surprise to Wampler when his $50,000 Keeneland September yearling was starting to show some promise. After all, he'd sourced MGSW Temple City Terror (Temple City) for $22,000 at the same sale in 2017. That yearling from humble beginnings changed hands to Town and Country Farm for $600,000 in 2022 at Keeneland November.SW & MGSP Irish Aces (Mshawish) is another September grad that he purchased for $40,000 to race in the syndicate's colors. The gelding had been bought as a weanling for just $5,000 by 'The Lads' in the 2020 November sale on those grounds. Irish Aces's half-brother Irish Law (Tiz the Law), who broke his maiden July 9 at Ellis as a part of Walsh's four-win day, is a $50,000 buy.Their daughter of Twirling Candy was going to fit in just fine.“[Twirling Aces] started to show she was something special when Brendan began to lean on her last year. She got really close to running in 2025, so we got some important works into her, and he let us know she had talent.”Wampler says that, despite the additional downtime to mature, expectations for her never changed–if anything, the anticipation carried over to her sophomore year. Many of the syndicate's best runners went through the same process–race once or twice, or come very close as a juvenile, and then need time off to grow or recover from what he called an 'immaturity injury'. By the time those runners returned as 3-year-olds, regardless of when they actually got going that year, the time off had done them a world of good and they never looked back.Twirling Aces at The Thoroughbred Center | Patrycja Szpyra“Temple City Terror; Irish Aces; [stakes winner] Oscar Season, [etc.] all went through [similar circumstances],” Wampler added. “So, when Brendan says they have talent, we get excited and usually stay excited as their opportunity to shine just got delayed.”And shine Twirling Aces has.As they oft do, expectations crept higher for start number two and rode in on a high-horse at Ellis Park. There, the filly produced another victory as visually impressive as the maiden, trouncing an allowance field to win as easily as she pleased on her march through the conditions.Wampler knew what to expect as Walsh had not minced words going into the race. The conditioner had partnered Twirling Aces with an exceptionally talented workmate (an already proven one to boot) in the lead-up to the debut race and she'd only taken steps forward from there.The workmate? 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' Mashallah (Maxfield), who herself boasted a lofty 106 Beyer from her sterling debut. After her seven-length romp July 4 against allowance company at Saratoga (good for a 96 Beyer), her connections told the TDN's Alan Carasso that they had been weighing a possible entry into the GI Test Stakes, but eventually re-routed to have her stakes debut come in Colonial's Tyson Gilpin Stakes Aug. 1. To no real surprise, she dominated the race by a 5 1/2-length margin to collect her first black-type.“Brendan expected [the July 9] performance out of [Twirling Aces]. His ability to gauge talent is incredible. When she worked 'heads up' with [Mashallah], he knew we had something special.”That leads to the inevitable question of what their budding star might have in her future with a former workmate having been considered for elite company so early in her career. Wampler admits he hadn't looked that far, but stakes competition for Twirling Aces is on the horizon if all goes well.“Right now, we are pointing her towards The Audubon Oaks at Ellis. If she passes that test, she'll take the next step up the ladder but we haven't zeroed in on any specific races yet,” Wampler said. “We tend to be more of a 'one race at a time' outfit, especially with such a young filly, so we haven't thought too far past her next race.”The post ‘When She Won, I Felt Relief’ – Twirling Aces Marches Forward To Audubon Oaks appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.