Scenic City 'Storms' to maiden win in final strides; two prior winners collect second lifetime victories

It's fitting, perhaps, that while traveling to Boulder, Colo., the 100th winner arrived from my 2010 juvenile sales tips, and her name is Scenic City Storm.

Boulder, after all, in the shadow of the Flatirons, is about as beautiful as cities get. And I even forged our way down I-70 through a thunderstorm on our drive.

Scenic City Storm broke through on Thursday in her third start, and did so among special weights at Calder in a race taken off the turf. She'd been a game second despite being bumped at the start in her second lifetime effort, on grass. This time, sent off as the third-favored among nine at about 3/1, she rated in sixth under Eduardo Nunez, and was still fifth at the top of the stretch, but wore down the leaders to gain victory by three-quarters of a length. Final time for five furlongs on an always-heavy Calder track that was rated as "good" was 1:01.27.

Scenic City Storm was bred in Florida by Bridlewood Farm. She is trained by Brian Cleary and has now earned $25,320 for owners Dale Howard and Mark Hamilton.

I tipped the bay daughter of Stormy Atlantic-Godmother, by Show 'Em Slew at Ocala's April sale last year, where she was purchased for $35,000 as Hip 1093. Her solid efforts on both turf and dirt reflect the versatility I hoped we'd find from the offspring of Stormy Atlantic. She also shows some talent inherited from her dam, winner of the Safely Kept S. and two other added-money events on her way to earning $373,341.

With 100 winners on the books, 53.5 percent of my 2-year-old selections have now broken their maidens.

Later on Thursday, another sales-selection of mine collected her second lifetime win among claiming company at Charles Town. I shortlisted My Reward (Grand Reward-Leelu, by Carson City) as a Priority 3 horse for a client at Fasig-Tipton Midlantic in May 2010, where she failed to sell as Hip 217 on a top bid of $16,000. She prevailed by a length Thursday at CT, but it was reported by stewards that she did bleed during the race.

My Reward was bred in Pennsylvania by E&D Enterprises and Grand Reward Syndicate, was ridden by Rodney Soodeen who picked up the mount from Antonio Lopez, and is owned and trained by Melissa L. Hunt. The filly has now won twice and placed three other times from nine starts for $28,261.

Also comes word that Little Man Arran (Golden Missile-Ms Copelan, by Copelan) won for the second time after being sent to Barbados from Canada, where he made his first few starts at 2. He won Saturday going 1,570 meters on turf in 1:35.6. With about $12,960 earned (U.S.) in foreign currency, he's about halfway to paying back the $25,000 Bill and Hayley Blevin spent on him as Hip 169 at OBSAPR.

Click here to view all 187 selections and nine expensive horses whom I took a stand against.