Gibson Home Run connects again

Hustled to the front by Patrick Valenzuela, Gibson Home Run shook clear of favorite Sammy Choi soon out of the gate and touched every base in first place on his way to victory Friday at Hollywood Park.

Gibson Home Run set fractions of 22.45, 45.87 and 58.02 for five furlongs, leading by two and a half to three lengths at each point of call. Valenzeula lost the whip inside the eighth-pole, but certainly didn't need it, as Sammy Choi caved coming off the turn and Gibson Home Run had no difficulty holding off previously stakes-placed Edgewick Road by three and a quarter at the wire in a hand-ride.

Worth noting, Edgewick Road made his 10th lifetime start Friday, a busy juvenile campaign.

Gibson Home Run paid $4.40, $3 and $3.80 as the second choice at slightly higher than even money. Sammy Choi was sent off at a bit of a short price, while Edgewick Road was nearly 9/1 and third-place Leon Ayala, who edged the favorite by a neck, was nearly 17/1.

The $25,000 claiming win is the third circuit-clout in five at-bats for Gibson Home Run, who runs his career earnings to $42,500. He is owned by Gary Barber, Roger Birnbaum and Kevin Tsujihara, and was trained for the win by Peter Miller.

Gibson Home Run, a bay colt by Gibson County-Tanja, by Allen's Prospect, was bred in Florida by McKathan Bros. I tabbed him among the 187 horses I recommended from this year's juvenile sales when he was catalogued as Hip 546 at the Ocala Breeders' Sales Co. April auction of 2-year-olds in training. But his connections were able to land him for just $30,000 at the sale despite a blazing 9 4/5 eighth-mile drill.

Having lost a winner (with the post-race disqualification of Benecia from a September win at Fairplex), the list of maiden-breakers from that 187-member sales class stands at 41.

They've won 58 of 384 starts (15.1 percent), with another 72 seconds and 43 thirds, for an in-the-money rate of 45 percent. Their combined earnings are $3,099,271, which averages to $8,071 per start.

Follow the class in its entirety here.

Once again in SoCal, Gibson delivers off bench

On Oct. 15, 1988, a hobbled Kirk Gibson limped to home plate in Dodger Stadium and hit one of the most historic long balls in Major League history, driving a 3-2 pitch from Oakland Athletics closer and future Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley into the stands in right to win Game 1 of the World Series, 5-4.

Gibson, who spent most of the game out of uniform receiving treatment on a pulled left hamstring and bruised right knee, limped his way around the basepaths, pumping his fist. It would be his only at-bat of the series, which the Dodgers took four games to one over the no doubt dispirited A's.

Thursday at Del Mar wasn't nearly as memorable a moment in Southern California sports history. But a 2-year-old colt whose name almost has to be a nod to that classic, highlight-reel moment, made good in his first at-bat.

Gibson Home Run wired a field of $32K-$28K maiden-claimers at Del Mar, covering five and a half furlongs on the synthetic main track in 1:04.71, and becoming the 10th of my 187 sales picks from this year's juvenile auctions to break his maiden.

The bay colt by Gibson County-Tanja, by Allen's Prospect, was bred by McKathan Bros. and foaled in Florida. He sold for $30,000 at the Ocala Breeders' Sales Co. April auction of 2-year-olds in training, and runs under the joint ownership of Gary Barber, Roger Birnbaum and Kevin Tsujihara. Working briskly up to the race and being sent off as the second-favorite at odds of slightly less than 3/1, Gibson Home Run was ridden by Patrick Valenzuela for conditioner Peter Miller.

In tipping the colt, I noted that his multiple stakes-winning dam "is yet to reproduce herself, but does have six winners out of eight prior foals of racing age." While none of them were stakes-placed and only three earned more than $50,000, and despite Gibson County's status as a less-heralded sire, I liked the colt's speedy 9 4/5 drill for an eighth, "during which he really looked the part of a racehorse."

The second dam of Gibson Home Run is the Magesterial-sired stakes-winner Fleet Road, who produced five other stakes horses (three black-type winners) besides Tanjia: MIDWAY ROAD, TUZIA, SHANGHIED, Briarwood Circle and Cargi. This is also the close female family of multiple G2 winner BUDDY'S SAINT.

I postulated that the "fleet Florida-bred has a chance to outrun his eight older siblings' earnings marks without breaking the bank at time of purchase."

Bought for $30K and raced for a $32K tag, it would be hard to argue that Gibson Home Run has so far exceeded expectations. But he banked $13,200 from his debut-nod victory. And is it ever a bad thing to say your horse won a race at Del Mar?

To keep watch on all my 187 sales picks, and a few pans, scroll down to the list at the bottom of this former post.