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.

Newest maiden-breaker leads Father's Day triple

My Reward overcame a bump at the start and clearly outran her nearly 9/1 odds on Sunday, drawing off to collect her first lifetime win by five lengths in maiden-claiming at Charles Town in West Virginia.

She provided one of three wins on Father's Day for my 187-horse Sales Tip Class of 2010.

The filly came nowhere close at Charles Town in her last out, but that was at a price of 48/1 among maiden special weights. She previously had been third only once from seven starts, in lesser maiden-claiming company at Tampa. But it all fell into place Sunday for My Reward, jockey Antonio Lopez, and owner/trainer Melissa Hunt.

My Reward was bred in Pennsylvania by E&D Enterprises and the Grand Reward Syndicate. She has now earned $12,260.

Working as a hired bloodstock advisor, I shortlisted the filly by Grand Reward-Leelu, by Carson City, as a Priority 3 prospect on a 48-horse list for a bargain-minded buyer at the May 2010 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Sale of 2-year-olds in training. My Reward failed to sell as Hip 217 when the bidding stopped at $16,000. She becomes the 21st winner off that 48-horse list (that's 43.8 percent of a group that collectively sold for less than half the sale average price) and the 86th winner among the aforementioned 187-horse Class of 2010 (46 percent).

Also collecting wins on Sunday were two prior victors from the sales-tip list.

Diannedoesthebooks ($25,000 OBSAPR Hip 1200) won by a nose for owners Michael Dubb and Bethlehem Stables LLC in $2oK claiming company at Belmont Park, and went unclaimed despite being the short-priced favorite. The bay gelding by Desert Warrior-Karakorum Kiss, by Lord Carson, has now won two of three starts lifetime for $32,050.

And, Evangelical ($100K RNA, KEEAPR "second chance deal") won her third race from six starts, cruising by six lengths over a field of $25K claimers at Monmouth for new owners Dennis and Eileen Jacques, who claimed her for $45,000 last-out at the same track, when she finished third. The FL-bred filly by Speightstown-Evangelizer, by Saint Ballado, has now earned $100,330, and the Jacques didn't lose her on the claim.

You can follow my entire list of 2-year-old sales recommendations from 2010 at this prior post.

Sunday results: More G1 blacktype, but no wins

After a 3-for-5 day from my 2010 juvenile sales picks on Saturday (and 5-for-6 in the money) -- plus Grade 1 blacktype in the form of Darley Debutante show-finisher Rigoletta -- I was perhaps a bit overconfident headed into Sunday's action.

But not without some justification.

On the Sabbath, my Class of 2010 had a 2/1 favorite among maidens at Woodbine, a pair of maidens in the same race at Calder, a maiden at Hoosier running back at the same level where she'd been third beaten only a length her last out, and not one, but two more juvenile fillies with Grade 1 aspirations in the Spinaway at Saratoga.

And I sort of feel badly in complaining that nobody came home a winner, considering all the recent success. But it was a bit of a disappointment.

Big news of the day was that Alienation (Rock Hard Ten-Alienated, by Gone West) again showed blistering speed in the Spinaway, and the guts to hang on and get a major piece of the action. The Natalie Baffert-owned, Bob Baffert-trained filly who broke maiden on turf at Hollywood has since been the runner-up in a pair of graded races at the Spa, first in the Adirondack S.-G2, and on Sunday in the meeting's G1 finale for fledgling fillies.

Despite stumbling at the break, Alienation was second at the quarter-mile in 21.19 (Sky Hosoya the leader) and Baffert's filly and jock Channing Hill were on the lead by a half run in 44.74. She hit the three-quarters mark (1:11.10) still in front by a length and a half, but was no match for eventual four-length winner R Heat Lightning under Garrett Gomez.

Alienation banked $50,000 for the Bafferts, nearly as much as the filly's purchase price at the Ocala Breeders' Sales Co. April auction of 2-year-olds in training, where she went for $60,000. With a win and two graded-stakes placings in three efforts, she has earned $104,000.

And I still think she's a better grass (or potentially synth) horse.

I recommended Alienation as Hip 719 at OBSAPR, swayed by more than just her 21-flat quarter -- speed that has manifested itself time and again at the racetrack, which some breeze-show burners can't manage. I was impressed that her dam was a minor stakes winner with multiple blacktype siblings, and Alienation's second dam was a half-sister to G1 winners JUDGE ANGELUCCI, WAR and PEACE.

"If this filly earns any blacktype of her own ... this ($60,000) price looks very reasonable down the road," I wrote after the sale. "In fact, it already does."

Clearly nothing has changed, except for the better.

Also in the Spinaway Sunday was Saratoga G3-placed sales-pick Stopspendingmaria. She finished sixth after being second at the half, and has now earned $59,167 from four starts. The Montbrook filly was a $90,000 OBSFEB purchase and runs for Todd Pletcher in the colors of Repole Stable.

"My" maidens did have a near-miss at Calder, where Sweet Lizzie was beaten less than a length at the maiden $25K level in her second lifetime start, five lengths clear of third place. Finishing fifth in the same race, in her second start, was My Reward, another sales tip.

Triple Great was fourth at Hoosier for MCL $15K after placing third beaten only a length at the same level prior. And, disappointing most of all by missing the board as an even-money favorite, Banshee Indian was fourth for MCL $32K (U.S.) at Woodbine, unable to finish the job at a mile-seventy on synthetic despite setting very easy fractions, including three-quarters in 1:14.19. ... That suggests a filly who either flat-out can't get a mile (and with a sire who was a G3 winner at 8.5f and second dam who was also a stakes winner at a mile and a sixteenth, that's unlikely) or who, despite brisk 4f and 5f works, just wasn't fit either physically or mentally to go the distance.

With some foreign results yet to be finalized from the weekend, the 187 horses from my sales Class of 2010 have now sent 70 of their number to post (37.4 percent), with 24 breaking maiden (12.8 percent of all tips, 38.6 percent of starters). The group has won 29 of 161 starts, a flat 18 percent, and with 26 places and 15 show finishes, the in-the-money rate is 43.5 percent. Total earnings have reached $934,872, or $5,807 per start.

The class takes two cracks at maiden-breaker No. 25 in maiden special weight races on Labor Day at Ellis Park. Hello Gypsy (Quiet American-Bangled, by Alysheba), a $24,000 RNA at OBSAPR, is scheduled to debut going a mile on grass in Race 5, while $40,00 OBSFEB purchase Holy Kuga (Orientate-Ed's Holy Cow, by Bet Big) will go six furlongs on the main track in Race 7, her second lifetime start.

Click here and scroll down to follow the progress of my Class of 2010.