Make it four straight: You Es Oh Club wins at Calder

There were 11 horses in the gate for Race 3 at Calder this afternoon, but it proved to be a two-horse race.

Luis Saez and You Es Oh Club, one of my juvenile sales recommendations of 2010, hooked up with first-time starter Thunder T and Luis Jurado almost from the start of the five-furlong test for $40,000 maiden-claimers; a race that was washed-off the turf. You Es Oh Club gained an advantage of a length after an opening quarter run in 22.69 and was only a half-length ahead after a half that went by in 46.79. But, just as the two seemed to be setting themselves up to be overtaken by closers, You Es Oh Club persevered under Saez, widening in the stretch to defeat Thunder T by 3 1/4 lengths, with How About Tiznow another 4 1/2 lengths back in third.

Final time was 1:00.05.

In the process, You Es Oh Club becomes the 91st maiden-breaker from my 187-horse Sales-Tip Class of 2010, horses I recommended on this blog from various juvenile auctions last year. His win makes it four in a row for the class in this week's action -- all maidens -- as Shackleton Hill and I'm First broke their maidens Thursday at Woodbine and Colonial Downs, respectively, and Choego Chansa added another overseas winner in a race at Busan in Korea earlier today (which was still late last night in the U.S.).

You Es Oh Club was bred in Kentucky by Lavin Bloodstock & River Glen Capital LLC. He is owned by Galloping Acres Farm; trained by William White. Unplaced in three starts at 2, the race today was his 3-year-old debut. He has earned $11,678 from those four starts, most of it from this effort.

I tabbed the bay son of War Front-Dance Club, by Montbrook (Can you see the origins of his name there?) prior to his selling for $30,000 as Hip 925 at last year's Ocala April sale of 2-year-olds in training. I wrote at the time that while I would normally want to see a freshman sire and first-time broodmare prove themselves before investing much in their offspring (though it could be argued that $30,000 isn't all that much for a racehorse), there is saw reason to like this 10.1-breezer who "looked the part."

"I liked that dirt-running War Front was by a sire who could get turf horses (Danzig) out of a mare from the Lord-at-War line, which is perhaps better-known as a grass sireline. (And) while Montbrook isn't the turfiest of lines, all three of this dam's stakes siblings earned some or all of that blacktype on the lawn. So the colt should have options; dirt, turf or even synthetic. Hopefully he likes at least one of them."

In other words, don't be surprised to see this one entered on the turf again (he had one turf try among those three efforts last year) nor be too shocked if he likes it. The connections have the added advantage entering those races in knowing that if the race is washed-off the turf, their horses is probably OK over a fast strip, too, or maybe even in the mud.

At least he looks like a horse who can move forward off this effort, doing all the work on the front end and still drawing off down the lane.

With the 91st maiden-breaker, my list of sales tips now boasts 48.7 percent winners from all selections. And if you're betting, with this hot streak going right now -- four straight wins on the heels of two prior second-place finishes in the last six races -- take note that about a dozen class members are scheduled to go to post between now and Monday evening.

Click here and scroll down to see them all.