After 10 tries, they finally can't deny Admitit

Asked nine times at Woodbine, the filly never fully responded to the question, finishing second or third eight times. But on the 10th try, Admitit perhaps came to grips with the truth that winning is the answer.

The filly who had been runner-up five times and had finished third on another three occasions at ages 2 and 3, finally ran a dull race in her ninth lifetime start, finishing off the board for the first time on May 27. But she bounced right back in $40,000 maiden-claiming company on Friday (June 3), looping the field six-wide under Luis Contreras and scoring by a length and a quarter for owner Saffie Joseph Jr. and trainer Ricky Griffith. Final time for seven furlongs over the all-weather surface was 1:24.85.

Admitit (E Dubai-Fine Day, by Fantastic Light) was bred in Kentucky by Hot Pepper Farm. Also placed on turf, she now has a 1-5-3 record from 10 starts for $71,110. She becomes the 84th maiden-breaker from my 187-horse list of juvenile sales recommendations in 2010; that's 44.9 percent.

Despite the frustrating near-misses on the way to breaking maiden -- including a loss by a nose in her debut on June 25, 2010 -- it would be hard to suggest the filly hasn't worked out for Saffie. She was bought for $20,000 as Hip 1046 at last year's Ocala April sale, a price I called "phenomenal" after the filly's 9 4/5 eighth-mile breeze and despite her status as the first foal out of a mare who only raced once. Her second dam was a French Group 3-placed half-sister to MARQUETRY and SPAIN LANE, and to the dam of FIVE STAR DAY. Certainly she was worth a try at the price.

Admitit's win was part of a very successful Friday for my 2010 sales-tip class, a day on which G1-placed juvenile Alienation returned to the races for Bob and Natalie Baffert with a 7 1/4-length romp in an all-weather allowance at Hollywood Park and Lake Believe following up with a 2 1/2-length victory at nearly 10/1 odds in a claimer later on the Hollywood card. Omega Storm was second beaten only a half-length in his 3-year-old debut at Hollywood Park, nearly giving the class a "triple" there. Black Tulip came in second for the third time in her last four tries on turf (including a DQ from a win in Tampa), this time in an allowance at Indiana Downs. Third-out filly Decennial was third in a starter allowance at Belmont Park.

The Bafferts acquired Alienation for $60,000 as Hip 719 at Ocala April and she's certainly panned out, earning $135,800 from two wins and two stakes-placings in five starts thus far. Her victory at Hollywood Friday came in a fleet 1:09.23 for six furlongs.

Lake Believe is a Louisiana-bred that I think would benefit greatly from being sent home to Cajun country. She has two wins and three other placings from seven starts in Southern California, where the open competition is probably at least a bit tougher than statebred fields in Louisiana. Lake Believe has earned $36,820 toward repaying the $37,000 paid for her as Hip 32 at that same OBS April sale that produced Admitit and Alienation.

The rest of the weekend wasn't victorious in North America, though the class did get a pair of "maiden seconds" on Saturday (Christmas Angel first on turf and debuting Elusive Land in maiden special weight company at Woodbine), a maiden-third at Arlington (Seeking the Coach) and another near-miss third by $7,000 2-year-old purchase Alstom, who apart from a win and a stakes-fifth from five starts, has finished in the show-spot in allowance company at Oaklawn and Churchill by the grand total of a length.

You can follow the entire 187-member Sales-Tip Class of 2010 at this link.