Two more maidens broken, another horse second again, for the seventh time

Two maidens broke through with their first career victories Saturday, while a third kept knocking on the door to the Winners' Club without being let inside.

Abrianna, a filly I recommended but who failed to sell at last year's Adena Springs sale in Ocala, Fla., looped the field on the turn for home and swept to victory Saturday at Woodbine in her fourth career start. Also collecting his first win in his fourth start, later in the day, was Back Alley Deal, a gelding I tabbed while serving as a hired bloodstock agent at the May 2010 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Sale of 2-year-olds in Training, in Timonium, Md.

And, late Saturday night, another Fasig-Tipton May graduate I recommended, Mugsy Dehere, finished second. Again. For the seventh time in nine career starts, all in maiden special weight company at Charles Town.

Abrianna was sent off as the 1/2 favorite at Woodbine as part of an entry with fellow sales-tip Celidonia, both of whom are racing for Stronach Stables after owner/breeder/racing magnate Frank Stronach's Adena Springs was unable to sell them at the farm's Ocala auction last April. That sale took place at Ocala Breeders' Sales Company a day prior to the kickoff of the massive annual OBS April sale. The Ontario-bred Abrianna (Lemon Drop Kid-Ain't She Awesome, by Awesome Again) failed to sell at a bid of $25,000, while Florida-bred Celidonia (North Light-Quatrain, by Quiet American) was a $40,000 RNA. Adena Springs had tried to unload both as yearlings at Keeneland September, as well, with offers of $22,000 for Abrianna and $30,000 for Celidonia also failing to meet reserves.

I waffled a bit on Abrianna, but found it difficult not to like that her dam was a half-sister to "a sick slate of stakes horses," including a pair of Canadian 2-year-old filly champs (POETICALLY and PRIMALY), and G3 winner WHISKEY WISDOM. Chief among those half-siblings to Ain't She Awesome is G1 winner CITRONNADE, who was by Lemon Drop Kid, sire of Abrianna herself.

The filly has panned out rather nicely, with a win and two second-place finishes from four lifetime starts for $63,140. Celidonia, who consistently brought higher bids at auction than Abrianna, remains unplaced from four starts, for $2,188.

Shortly after Abrianna's win at Woodbine Saturday, Back Alley Deal -- a horse I thought was a bit overpriced at EASMAY 2010 -- reached the winner's circle for the first time in a race at Philadelphia Park. I shortlisted the horse, who was Hip 270 at that sale, on a sheet of 48 animals recommended to a client who was seeking an inexpensive prospect. I evaluated the horse after consigner True South touted him as a potential bargain, and while I liked him -- noting his dam was a half-sister to SHARP HUMOR and that he breezed a decent-for-that-sale 10.4 "with a low-to-the-ground action that seemed very efficient" -- I also couldn't help but notice that he was the first foal of a winless dam whose own dam had no real produce record, with only three foals total, none earning over $61K.

I was expecting the horse to be out of our bargain-basement price range (and he'd have been a good buy if he did stay that cheap), but probably not more than $25K to $30K. So, I wrote later, "I swallowed hard when I saw $60,000 on the board for him, and it wasn't even my money." The money belonged to Commonwealth Stable, who no longer owns the chestnut gelding, who was bred in Kentucky by Machmer Hall, Haymarket Farms and Dearborn Stable. He's now the property of American Dreamer Stable, trained by Allen Iwinski, and those connections got their pictures snapped at Parx on Saturday.

Back Alley Deal has now earned $14,607.

As the last race of the day for my sales tips (several others, unmentioned here, also went to post), Mugsy Dehere continued beating his head against a door that just won't open. The $40,000 EASMAY purchase (Hip 323, by Dehere-Shadowy Waters, by Wild Again) was a Priority 2 horse on the list for my client. He's now earned $35,880 from nine starts, after once again being out-finished, this time by Hunter Hill.

Nevertheless, the two new winners become maiden-breakers 78 and 79 from my 187-member Sales-Tip Class of 2010. That's 42.3 percent of all selections.

Follow them all here.