Catching up with Calder winners

A week on the road taking my daughter to college was followed by a hectic week in the workplace, and I have been remiss in reporting several victors from my 2010 list of juvenile sales selections.

Two of the better ones had their pictures snapped again at Calder Race Course in Florida last weekend. On Aug. 20, a week ago today, stakes-placed Bessie M prevailed under the guidance of rider Daniel Centeno as the short-price favorite in an optional-claiming field that was cut from eight runners to four due to scratches.

It was the third win in seven starts for Platinum Equestrian Corporation and trainer Antonio Sano, who claimed Bessie M for $25,000 at Gulfstream in January. She's never finished worse than third for the connections, including a show finish in the Regal Gal Stakes at Calder on May 28 and second by a head in the Leave Me Alone Stakes over the same course on June 11. Bessie M now has four wins, three places and three shows from 12 starts for $93,604.

I shortlisted Bessie M (Medallist-Catalita, by Mountain Cat) for a client seeking bargain prospects at the May 2010 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic sale of 2-year-olds in training. She was purchased for $35,000 by William H. Harris, for whom she broke maiden in a dead-heat with Feelin Abit Frisky at Monmouth on Aug. 20 as of her 2-year-old season. Bessie M was bred in Maryland by Mr. and Mrs. Charles McGinnes.

On Sunday at Calder, inconsistent two-time stakes-winner REPRIZED HALO decided to bring his A-game in an optional-claimer in which he was in for the $25,000 tag. That race was also riddled with scratches when it came off the turf, but the Manuel Azpurua-trained and Daniel Coa-ridden Reprized Halo -- who broke his maiden in the slop -- still paid $19 to win.

Reprized Halo was bred in Florida by Debra and Bill Backlinie. He has now won four times from 19 starts for $340,644.

I selected Reprized Halo in a search for mostly bargain prospects out of the 2010 Ocala April sale of 2-year-olds in training. The son of Halo's Image-Reprized Angel, by Reprized, where he sold to his current connections for a mere $21,000. It took the colt seven tries to break maiden, then on his eighth, he shocked the field in the $365,000 Florida Stallion In Reality Stakes, paying $94.60 to win and handing the very talented GOURMET DINNER (another of my OBS April tips) his first lifetime defeat in four starts.

Reprized Halo would later win the $100,000 OBS Championship Stakes as a 3-year-old.

Click here to follow all 187 of my 2010 juvenile sales selections.

Tips of 2010 collect 2 wins in 2011 OBS sales stakes

This is my first blog post of 2011, for which I must apologize -- both to those who had mentioned missing my writing, and to those who are now disappointed that I wasn't gone for good. But I do have news worth mentioning from my Sales Tip Class of 2010, even though I'm belated in reporting it.

On March 14 at Ocala Training Center, two of the four restricted stakes for 3-year-olds who had gone through the sales at Ocala, were won by horses I topped at the OBS sales of last year. And they were the "big" races, too, the $100,000 OBS Championship Stakes at a mile and a sixteenth, for both the male and female divisions. A third sales tip of mine managed to place second in the filly division of the $50,000 OBS Sprint Stakes, and a fourth selection made her debut in that same race, albeit last of six.

It's hard to take much credit for DELIGHTFUL MARY, who collected her first stakes victory in the OBS Championship Stakes filly division, defeating Be My Candy by just three-quarters of a length. The Limehouse filly was the $500,000 sales-topper at OBS April; everybody recognized her talent. Still, it's good when one of the (few) expensive ones I pick, does pan out, and so far this filly has. As a 2-year-old she had two wins from four starts, with a second place in the Mazarine Breeders' Cup S.-G3 at Woodbine and a solid third in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies-G1 at Churchill in November. Delightful Mary has now earned back $370,377 of that $500,000 purchase price for owner John C. Oxley.

On the other hand, I obviously didn't have much company among the sales-day fans for REPRIZED HALO, the OBS Championship Stakes winner who sold for just $23,000 at that same OBS April auction. Yet he's been undeniably a steal of that sale. The sturdy bay colt bred by Debra and Bill Backlinie in Florida has already raced 13 times in his career. Shortly after (finally) breaking his maiden, Reprized Halo handed GOURMET DINNER (another OBS tip of mine) his first defeat in four starts last year by annexing the Florida Stallion In Reality Stakes at a whopping price of 46/1. Reprized Halo now has a 3-1-1 mark from those 13 starts, for $316,579 in earnings -- a pretty good return on that $23,000 investment by Roger Urbina.

Another relatively inexpensive choice of mine out of the OBS sales also hit the board on stakes-day this year. Take Me To Zuber, who had a win and a show from three prior starts, finished second behind One Star (and by a head over Wild Penny) in the filly division of the OBS Sprint Stakes. Take Me To Zuber was a $28,000 purchase at OBS April by owner/trainer Luis Oliveras, and now she's stakes-placed, with $26,260 banked.

Making her debut in that same OBS Sprint filly division was Prize Doll, a $17,000 RNA at OBS April. She was last throughout, but was six lengths back at first call and only finished beaten 4 1/4 lengths, which probably isn't a bad effort for an unraced filly tossed in a stakes race among more seasoned competitors. She finished only a nose and a neck out of fourth.

Granted, these races are restricted stakes -- open only to those 3-year-olds who at some point have already gone through the sales ring at Ocala. And the very best from those sales (Delightful Mary excepted, as connections apparently looked for a soft spot to make her 2011 return) typically bypass the sales stakes for bigger races.

But with more than 2,100 juveniles catalogued at OBS sales last year and another 1,100 or so from this crop going through the ring there as yearlings, that still leaves a huge pool of potential entries from which to draw. Of those couple-three-thousand 3-year-olds, I recommended 113 -- or fewer than 4 percent. And from that 3-plus percent came half of the OBS sales stakes winners, plus a second-place finisher.

That doesn't seem to shabby, if I do (belatedly) say so myself.

In the meantime, I'm still settling into Oklahoma after moving from North Carolina. When I do get fully settled, this blog will resume full-time, as will its following of those juvenile tips from 2010.

Gourmet Dinner hits Jackpot; class tops $3 million

Finishing second for the first time must have whet the winning appetite for GOURMET DINNER, because on Saturday at Delta Downs, the 2-year-old colt hoarded the glutton's share of a $1 million buffet.

The Trippi colt, a member of my 187-horse "class" of 2010 juvenile sales tips, "made a huge move on the turn and roared through the stretch" to score at 20/1 under Sebastian Madrid in the Delta Downs Jackpot S.-G3. Gourmet Dinner becomes the second graded stakes-winner from the class, and the $600,000 first-place check he cashed both vaults him well into the earnings lead among my sales tips with $809,660 banked, but also pushes the class' earnings over $3 million for their collective juvenile season.

Gourmet Dinner, a 2-year-old bred by Ocala Stud and William J. Terrill and campaigned by Terrill's Our Sugar Bear Stable, was 3-for-3 with a pair of Florida Stallion Series stakes wins before finishing second by a length to fellow sales-tip REPRIZED HALO in the high-dollar Florida Stallion In Reality Stakes at Calder on Oct. 16.

On Saturday at Delta, he was lightly regarded in a field led by 5/2 favorite Bug Juice and featuring other top selections in Sweet Ducky (3.3/1), Rush Now (3.6/1) and Classic Legacy (4.7/1). None of those would finish better than fourth.

Gourmet Dinner broke from the rail in the mile and a sixteenth test over fast dirt, and settled into a stalking position in sixth place, only a couple of lengths off the lead set by Bug Juice in fractions of 22.66 and 46.56. Gourmet Dinner wasn't involved in the near-disaster caused when fellow 20/1 long-shot Aces N Kings bolted from his inside position, blowing the far turn and carrying 8/1 Blue Laser and uber-long-shot Dreamsrunwild (102/1) out with him, not to mention losing his rider, Calvin Borel, who broke his jaw in the fall. And as the field turned for home, Gourmet Dinner grabbed the lead by a length and a half, then drew off to win by 2 1/4, in a final time of 1:45.23.

Finishing second to Gourmet Dinner was a Calder rival who has trailed him home before, 48/1 Decisive Moment, while Clubhouse Ride came home third at nearly 14/1.

The colt was trained for the victory by Steven Standridge. It was the first training victory of 2010 for Standridge, who served as an assistant trainer to Peter Gulyas, the trainer of record for Gourmet Dinner's first three victorious starts, which came before Standridge decided to hang his own shingle.

I tabbed Gourmet Dinner when he was catalogued as Hip 277 at the Ocala Breeders' Sales Co. April auction of 2-year-olds in training. He was entered in the sale to dissolve the breeding partnership of Ocala Stud and Terrill, but Terrill's agent Bruce Brown was the high-bidder (at what now was obviously a paltry $40,000) and gained sole ownership of the horse Terrill co-bred.

After breaking maiden at first asking, Gourmet Dinner collected victories in two installments of the Florida Stallion Series -- first in the Dr. Fager Stakes, and then the Affirmed Stakes. Had Reprized Halo not spoiled the party with his 46/1 shocker in the In Reality Stakes, I believe Standridge and Terrill might have followed the lead of Calder-based filly Awesome Feather and pointed Gourmet Dinner toward the Breeders' Cup Juvenile S.-G1 at Churchill.

Awesome Feather won the B.C. Juvenile Fillies to run her freshman-season record to 6-for-6 and establish herself as the likely runaway winner of the Eclipse Award as champion 2-year-old filly. Now with his decisive win at Delta, Gourmet Dinner and Decisive Moment are further evidence that this year's Calder juveniles are perhaps a stronger group than some observers might have credited them a month or two ago.

My interest in Gourmet Dinner was piqued by his 21.3 quarter-mile breeze, but more important, his dam Potluck Dinner (Pentelicus-Romantic Dinner, by Who's For Dinner) overcame her own lackluster, one-start track career to be a fine producer. She has borne two other stakes horses in GASTON A. and I'mroyallyMecke'd, plus a winner of 15 races for $163K in Crazybrook and a $219K-earner in On The Rail.

And as more than just an oh-by-the-way, Gourmet Dinner is a close cousin to another sales-tip who thus far is the group's only Grade 1 winner. He and $35,000 OBSAPR purchase RIGOLETTA (Concerto-Almost Aprom Queen) share second dam Romantic Dinner. Rigoletta was the 33/1 upsetter of Tell A Kelly in the Oak Leaf S.-G1 on synthetic at Hollywood Park, punching her own ticket to the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies before a minor splint injury derailed her bid.

Two graded-stakes winners with about $1 million earned in their freshman seasons, bought for a combined $75,000 at OBSAPR. Perhaps this female family shouldn't be so overlooked at sales to come.

With two new winners on the weekend, my 2010 sales-tip class has 54 maiden-breakers from 187 total selections (21.9 percent) and 107 starters (38.3 percent).

As noted, Gourmet Dinner, who was the first of the class to become a stakes winner, joins his cousin Rigoletta as the two graded-stakes winners from the group. There are five stakes winners from the class (the other two besides Reprized Halo are FISCAL POLICY, who was unplaced Saturday in the $500,000 Delta Downs Princess S.-G3, and PULGARCITO), which equals 2.7 percent of all selections and 4.7 percent of those to race. The class boasts 12 total stakes-placed horses, for 6.4 percent.

The 107 sales-tips to start have combined for 54 wins from 358 starts (15.1 percent), with another 68 "place" finishes (34.1 percent in the exacta) and 39 "show" finishes (45 percent in the money).

With the windfall from Gourmet Dinner's "Jackpot," total class earnings have reached $3,003,429. That's $8,389 per start, and an average of $28,609 per starter. Considering about $6.4 million was bid on the horses I recommended on that list of 187 (not including those withdrawn from sales), the class has earned back nearly half of what was spent on it at auction; no small thanks to Gourmet Dinner.

Follow the performance of all 187 sales-picks, and a few pans, at this former post.

Breeders' Cup pre-entries include two from tips

After much anticipation, the pre-entries for the 2010 Breeders' Cup at Churchill Downs were finalized on Monday released on Wednesday -- a record 184 horses nominated to 14 races.

Among the 61 pre-entries by the connections of juveniles, five horses were cross-entered on both dirt and turf, meaning 56 horses were submitted for the draw. Two of those were members of my sales-tip Class of 2010: Delightful Mary (Limehouse-Deputy's Delight, by French Deputy) and Rough Sailing (Mizzen Mast-Moussica, by Woodman).

More about them later.

There were 18 entries for the Juvenile Fillies Turf, 13 for the Juvenile Fillies on the main track, a sparse 11 pre-entries for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile, and 19 for the male division of the Juvenile Turf. Horses can be cross-entered in two races on pre-entry day, but by Tuesday (Nov. 2), connections must have made a final decision on which race they're running and pay the final entry fees at that time.

The pre-entry story at Breederscup.com states that each of the 14 races is limited to 14 starters, plus up to two on the also-eligible list. This is contradictory to the "pre-entry procedures" and rules as detailed elsewhere on the site, which make provisions for some races of only 12 horses and flatly state under Entry Procedures: "There will be no also-eligible list or scratch time." (If Breederscup.com needs a copyeditor and fact-checker, I happen to know -- and be -- one who is unemployed.)

Owners Darrell & Evelyn Yates and trainer Wayne Catalano, connections of Jordy Y, who is No. 4 in order of mention (is that entry preference?) on the linked list above in the Juvenile Fillies Turf, would rather she run in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, where she's fifth on the list and will surely get in. Andrew Rosen's Theyskens' Theory, trained by Brian Meehan, also was cross-entered in the Juvenile Fillies (first preference of her connections, last of 13 in draw-priority) and the Juvenile Fillies Turf (second choice of her connections, 15th in preference for making the draw).

Among males, Robert Teel's and Wes Ward's Madman Diaries was entered with first-preference in the Juvenile Turf, where he ranks fifth among all entries. He stands eighth of 11 for admission to the rather lightly subscribed Breeders' Cup Juvenile. Two Juvenile Turf entries are also subscribed as first-preference to the Juvenile; Catesby Clay's Rogue Romance (second on the turf list and ninth among dirt entries), who is trained by Kenny McPeek, and Italian Gran Criterium-G1 winner Biondetti (12th in the turf and 10th of 11 on dirt), who is owned by Godolphin and trained by Mahmoud Al Zarooni.

Delightful Mary -- whom I tipped on this blog as a live (and likely expensive) sales prospect before she became the $500,000 sales-topper at OBSAPR -- is 11th of 13 in entry-ranking among entries in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies and will make the field if healthy to go. She gives every indication of being ready, firing a minute-flat bullet for five furlongs on Monday over the Churchill strip, fastest of 32 at the distance.

The John Oxley-owned, Mark Casse trained Limehouse filly collected two easy wins over Polytrack at Woodbine -- one sprinting and one in allowance company around two turns -- before being upset as the odds-on favorite by Wyomia in the Mazarine Breeders' Cup S.-G3 her last out.

Owners Edward A. Seltzer and Beverly Anderson and trainer Daniel J. Vella -- connections of Wyomia -- shockingly to me did not enter the Vindication filly in the Juvenile Fillies, opting instead for the Juvenile Fillies Turf. She sits 16th on the entry list, but will sneak into the 14-starter gate if both Jordy Y and Theyskens' Theory go in the Juvenile Fillies as their entry preferences suggest.

I think Delightful Mary looks sharp going into the race and has every reason to both move up on the switch from Polytrack to real dirt, and to handle an off-track if one is presented.

The other sales-tip to make racing's marquee day is Rough Sailing, who stands eighth in admission preference among pre-entries for the Juvenile Turf; seventh if you consider Rogue Romance's likely defection to the dirt division. I'm glad to see the colt owned by Jack Smith III and trained by Michael Stidham headed back to the grass, the surface on which he convincingly (with a huge late kick, despite a troubled trip) broke his maiden going two turns at Arlington Park.

Rough Sailing is a gutsy horse and battled his way to a place-finish behind Major Gain (also nominated to the Juvenile Turf) on Polytrack in the Arlington-Washington Futurity-G3. But his third race was a step up to Grade 1 company on Keeneland's Poly in the Dixiana Breeders' Futurity, a race in which he again had some trouble, but kept grinding in the stretch to finish sixth, beaten 10.

Jockey Michael Baze has said that he thinks Rough Sailing has a better closing kick on the lawn, so while the Juvenile Turf is more heavily subscribed, I'd rather see him go back to grass than try a new surface again, the dirt this time. (Maybe later.)

I had Rough Sailing categorized as a "Priority 1" on a 48-horse short-list for a client seeking bargain runners out of the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Sale of 2-year-olds in training this May. After seeing him up-close, I didn't expect him to stay in our price range -- and he didn't -- but at a price of $40,000, he still sold for nearly 20 percent less than the average horse at that auction.

While it will be exciting to watch those two on one of racing's biggest weekends, the pre-entries were a little disappointing to me. I had hoped for potentially two or three more horses from my sales-tips to be among the pre-entries.

RIGOLETTA -- a 33/1 upsetter of Juvenile Fillies third-ranked Tell a Kelly when they met in the Oak Leaf S.-G1 at Hollywood Park -- was a lock to make the field for the B.C., but would have to be supplemented to the Breeders' Cup at a cost of $180,000. Sealing her non-entry was a recent announcement by trainer Dan Hendricks declaring the Thor-Bred Stable-owned filly out of the Breeders' Cup with a minor splint injury.

Hendricks said he wanted to be sure Rigoletta was ready for the winter/spring season at Santa Anita (over a brand-new dirt track that I think moves her up vs. synthetics). Curiously -- unless the fee was paid prior to discovery of her injury -- Rigoletta was among the nominations announced this week for the $500,000 Delta Princess S.-G3 to be run at Delta Downs on Nov. 20.

Also on that whopping, 117-filly Delta Princess nominee list are sales-tips FISCAL POLICY and Rigoletta's fellow Cal-shipper and maiden-winner-only Benecia.

Another filly I had fully expected to be pre-entered for the Breeders' Cup -- and probably cross-entered in the Juvenile Fillies and Juvenile Fillies Turf -- was the Bob Baffert-trained, Jill Baffert-owned Alienation. A debut winner on grass (in fleet time and a thrilling photo) and G1/G2-placed on dirt at Saratoga, she flopped after breaking awkwardly on synthetic in that Oak Leaf Stakes won by Rigoletta. I'm not sure the speedball daughter of Rock Hard Ten needed to be in the Juvenile Fillies, going a mile and a sixteenth on dirt (though I think she'll eventually stay a route of ground if they can get her to rate), but I would have liked to see her incredible early foot employed in trying to steal the Juvenile Fillies Turf on the front end.

Alienation, whom I tipped out of OBSAPR and has earned $104,000 off a $60,000 purchase, was nominated two weeks ago (after her Oak Leaf also-ran) for the Pocahontas S.-G2 at a mile on the main track at Churchill this weekend. Those entries haven't been drawn-up yet, and I'm curious to see if Alienation is among them or whether the Bafferts have decided to rest her a spell. Fiscal Policy happens to be nominated to the Pocahontas, as well.

Finally, I thought there was a chance GOURMET DINNER might make the Breeders' Cup at Churchill. The $40,000 sales-tip of mine out of OBSAPR's first session was 3-for-3 with two stakes wins and seemed a possibility to follow filly Awesome Feather into the Breeders' Cup as undefeated queen and king of the Florida Stallion Series of restricted races at Calder.

Then he was upset in the third leg of the series, the $350,000 In Reality Stakes, by $94 shocker REPRIZED HALO -- yet another OBSAPR sales tip of mine, who sold a day after Gourmet Dinner for a paltry $23,000. That certainly derailed any designs the connections had on an unbeaten, championship season for Gourmet Dinner. Though looking at the small group of nominees -- 11 juvenile males, one of which is already pointed to the turf instead and including a couple who probably can't get the distance -- it still might have been worth a shot.

Instead, both Gourmet Dinner and Reprized Halo are among the incredible 241 horses nominated to the $1 million Delta Jackpot, also on Nov. 20 at Delta Downs. Also included in that vast list of nominees is 2010 sales-tip Category Killer, whose two races thus far include a five-length runner-up finish to now stakes-winning sales tip PULGARCITO in their mutual debut at Hoosier Park, and a return to the scene of that "sales-tip exacta" for a 15-plus-length maiden-special romp on Sept. 30.

Category Killer fired a 36-flat bullet at Churchill Tuesday and is also nominated to the $100,000 Iroquois S.-G3 to be run at that track on Sunday. Plus, he's listed as an entry on the overnights for a Saturday evening allowance event at Delta Downs. Busy little fellow.

With the addition of stakes-placer Spring Jump on Wednesday, the list of 2010 sales-tip stakes horses has reached a dozen. In addition to those mentioned, stakes placers include still-a-maiden Rockin Heat (second in G3s on turf and Poly at Woodbine), G3-placed Stopspendingmaria and non-blacktype stakes-placed Blue 'Em Away.

Follow the entire sales-tip Class of 2010 in the list at the end of this link.

Big thumbs-up for Pulgarcito in Zia stakes

PULGARCITO -- a gelding whose name means "Tom Thumb" in Spanish -- earned positive reviews Sunday afternoon at Zia Park in Hobbs, N.M., as he stalked leader Jam'n Jackson for a half-mile, then grabbed the lead in the stretch and drew clear to win the $55,000 Governor's Cup Stakes by two lengths.

Jam'n Jackson faded to third behind Race for Jake.

Ken Tohill handled the ride aboard the winner for trainer Steve Asmussen. Tohill and Pulgarcito sat in second, a length or two off very fast 22.38 and 44.51 opening fractions set by Jam'n Jackson and Alejandro Medellin, before pouncing in the stretch. Final time for the six furlongs was 1:10.84.

The gelding was bred in Florida by Edward Seltzer and Murray Durst.

With the win, Pulgarcito runs his career mark to a pair of wins and a second from three four starts, for $61,170. He also becomes the fifth stakes winner, and the 11th horse stakes-placed or better, from my 187-member Class of 2010; horses I selected and tipped on this blog (or for a client) at various 2-year-old sales this year.

Pulgarcito (Greatness-Cat Attack, by Storm Cat) was catalogued as Hip 849 in the Ocala Breeders' Sales Co. April auction of 2-year-olds in training. He failed to sell when the bidding topped-out at $37,000.

After he failed to sell at OBSAPR, he was successfully hawked for $40,000 at the OBSOPN sale in June. He races for Heiligbrodt Racing Stable.

The gelding won his debut on Aug. 18 at Hoosier Park, wiring a maiden special weight field by more than five lengths; a field that included runner-up and fellow debuting sales-tip Category Killer, who returned to Hoosier in similar company his next out to win by more than 15 lengths.

Pulgarcito then shipped to Oklahoma's Remington Park, where he finished second to a stakes-placed horse named Brickyard Fast (who would later race unsuccessfully in Grade 1 company) in a $75,000 optional-claimer. In his third start, Pulgarcito trailed early and never recovered in finishing fifth in the Kip Deville Stakes at Remington.

More forwardly placed Sunday, as he had been in his first two starts, he performed in similar, strong fashion.

I broke a rule of mine (so maybe it's more a "guideline") in recommending Pulgarcito, whose sire, Greatness, was a winning racehorse, but could boast no stakes-quality performances at the track. Still, Greatness as the son of Mr. Prospector -- one of the 20th century's prepotent sires -- and of the mare Harbour Club (Danzig), a sharp juvenile and track record-setting Grade 3 stakes winner, was undeniably well-bred. He's passed some of those good qualities along to his get, as well. Going into the sale, Greatness had sired 75 percent runners and 53 percent winners from all foals -- though only one prior stakes winner.

Among those prior winners by Greatness is a full sibling to Pulgarcito, named Great Attack, who won twice in 2009 at age 2. So particularly after Pulgarcito blazed a 10-flat eighth at the OBSAPR under-tack show, all signs pointed to an early winner.

After the weekend's action, 99 of the 187 sales tips have now made at least one start as a juvenile; that's 52.9 percent. There are 34 winners, for 18.2 percent of all selections and 34.3 percent of those to race.

The class has now won 45 of 282 starts, and though the pace of victories has declined a bit, that's still 16 percent. (Well, 15.9574468 percent, to be a bit more precise. At that point, we can round up.)

They've placed another 55 times and were the show-finishers in another 27 races, for 35.5 percent in the exacta and 45 percent on the board.

Total earnings are inching closer to $2 million, with $1,968,603 banked by the 99 starters. That's $6,981 per start, and an average of $19,885 per starter.

Besides Pulgarcito, stakes winners from my sales recommendations include: RIGOLETTA (Oak Leaf S.-G1, $180,820); two-time stakes winner GOURMET DINNER (3-for-4 lifetime, 1st Florida Stallion Dr. Fager S., 1st Florida Stallion Affirmed S., 2nd Florida Stallion In Reality St., $209,660); REPRIZED HALO (1st Florida Stallion In Reality S., handing Gourmet Dinner his only loss, $254,016); and FISCAL POLICY (Coca-Cola Bassinet S., $54,080).

Of the six additional stakes-placers, five of those have come in graded company, with seven second-place finishes. They include: Alienation (2nd Spinaway S.-G1, 2nd Adirondack S.-G2, $104,000); still-a-maiden Rockin Heat (Summer S.-G3T, Grey S.-G3A, $119,845); Delightful Mary (2nd Mazarine S.-G3, $112,377); Stopspendingmaria (2nd Schuylerville S.-G3, $59,167); Rough Sailing (2nd Arlington-Washington Futurity-G3, $36,200); and non-blacktype-placed Blue 'Em Away (2nd Osiris S.-N, $16,053).

Follow the exploits of all my sales picks, and a few pans, in the lengthy list at the bottom of this former post.

Dinner is served: Reprized Halo cleans up Florida Stallion Series stakes plate at Calder

Undefeated and heavily favored GOURMET DINNER looked to be in trouble through the far turn on Saturday in the $350,000 Florida Stallion In Reality Stakes at Calder Race Course.

Sent off at 3/5 in the six-horse field, the Trippi colt, ridden by Sebastien Madrid, on this day seemed to lack the late kick that had thus far made him 3-for-3 with a pair of stakes wins against restricted company. He felt the whip early, on the turn, and didn't initially seem to respond. But in the stretch run of the mile and a sixteenth event, Gourmet Dinner dug in and eventually wore down early leaders Little Drama (half-brother of G2 winner Big Drama) and Decisive Moment. Finally Gourmet Dinner edged in front.

And then, from out of the blue and a deficit of nine lengths with five-sixteenths to go, came Jose Alvarez and REPRIZED HALO. Full of late run down the middle of the track and diving to the rail in the last sixteenth to avoid the fading leaders and maintain his stride, Reprized Halo -- at more than 46/1 -- swept to victory in the rich event and handed Gourmet Dinner that bitter spoonful of his first defeat which, seconds earlier, it had appeared the favorite had averted. (Recap and video at Bloodhorse.com.)

In the process, Reprized Halo became the ninth stakes horse and fourth stakes winner from my 187 juvenile sales recommendations of 2010 -- a group of which Gourmet Dinner also is a member and was the first to win a stakes race.

It isn't the first time two sales-tips from the group have finished in the exacta of a race -- Pulgarcito over Category Killer at Hoosier Park and Just Chillin Boss over Soldier's Tune at Calder, both races in maiden company, spring to mind. (All are now winners.) But it's the first time a "sales-tip exacta" has occurred in a stakes race, and provides by far the priciest return.

Four bucks bet on a $2 exacta-box of my two sales-tips -- the odds-on favorite and longest-shot in this six-horse field -- paid $220 for the In Reality Stakes.

Reprized Halo paid $94.60 to win, though just $16 to place and $7 to show, making apparent that most of the money wagered on him was in the "place" and "show" pools. Bettors thought he might figure; they never dreamed he'd win. Meanwhile, Gourmet Dinner paid $2.40 to place and $2.10 to show. Finishing third (paying $4 and rounding out a $1,004.40 trifecta) was Decisive Moment. Red Hills, the fading Little Drama and Aldomear finished out the running.

Reprized Halo was bred by Debra Backlinie and Bill Backlinie, and was trained for the upset win by Manuel Azpurua. Gourmet Dinner, bred by Ocala Stud and William J. Terrill, is now trained by Steven Standridge, who is formerly an assistant to Peter Gulyas, the trainer of record for the colt's first three starts.

For the win, Reprized Halo, who only broke maiden last-out in his seventh start -- by more than 12 lengths going two turns in the slop -- earned $214,830, running his career total to $254,016. Gourmet Dinner's $69,300 consolation prize also swells his bankroll above the $200K mark at $209,660.

I recommended both colts before they sold at this year's April sale of 2-year-olds in training at the Ocala Breeders' Sales Co. You might have bought the pair for seventy grand, as Gourmet Dinner brought $40,000 from Bruce Brown as Hip 277, and Reprized Halo only commanded $23,000 from Roger Urbina a day later, as Hip 331.

Brown was an agent for Terrill, who bid at the sale on the colt he co-bred in a successful effort to gain full ownership of the horse.

I touted Reprized Halo (Halo's Image-Reprized Angel, by Reprized) after a 21.3 quarter-mile breeze and in spite of the fact that he's the first foal out of an unproven broodmare. His dam could run a bit, though, winning five times from ages 2 through 5, earning nearly $85,000, and placing in two non-blacktype stakes races at the former Woodlands Racetrack in Kansas City. More important, she is the full sister to Tropical Park Derby-G3 winner VALID REPRIZED, and the half-sister of Buena Vista H.-G2 winner CONVEYOR'S ANGEL.

Though Reprized Halo's second, third and fourth dams all were unraced (as was his dam-sire) -- usually a very bad sign in my book -- his dam ran a bit, and his second dam managed to produce eight winners from nine to race. At a price that was 18 percent below a modest sale average, he was certainly worth a shot.

I groused about his being sent out against stakes horses a couple of times before ever gaining the confidence of breaking his maiden, but when he finally did clear that first hurdle -- emphatically, as it happened -- I wrote that Reprized Halo appeared "capable of moving forward off that victory."

Did he ever.

I plugged Gourmet Dinner at the Ocala Sale off an equally quick 21.3 breeze, and because his dam was a proven broodmare, despite being unplaced at the racetrack herself. The colt by Trippi-Potluck Dinner, by Pentelicus is a half-brother to two stakes horses, GASTON A. and I'mroyallymecke'd, and two other half-siblings were major non-blacktype winners, with On The Rail winning nine of 38 for $219,166 and Crazybrook going 15-for-67 for $163,931.

Gourmet Dinner is also from the immediate female family of another key sales-tip of mine this year. He shares a second dam (Romantic Dinner) with RIGOLETTA, the recent $67 upset-winner of the Oak Leaf S.-G1 at Hollywood Park, over highly regarded Tell a Kelly.

Gourmet Dinner had previously won Florida Stallion Series events in the Dr. Fager Stakes and the Affirmed Stakes.

The three aforementioned stakes winners that I tipped out of that OBSAPR sale were purchased for a combined $98,000, or $32,667 per horse. They now have seven wins from 16 starts, four stakes wins (one a G1), two other stakes-placings (one a G1) and $632,319 in earnings. (Addendum: And actually, the fourth stakes winner in the class also is an OBSAPR graduate, FISCAL POLICY, who broke maiden at second asking and won the Bassinet Stakes at River Downs in her third start. She was a pricier purchase at $140,000, more than I thought she would bring.)

Of interest perhaps to pedigree enthusiasts, both of the sales-tipped horses to fare so well in today's In Reality Stakes are inbred to the very horse after whom the event is named. Bred and raced by Frances A. Genter, In Reality, a key descendant of the dwindling male line of the great Man O' War, was a top sire for many years in Florida.

Reprized Halo's sire was out of the accomplished racemare Sugar's Image, a daughter of sire Valid Appeal (a son of In Reality), who also sired 51-race, 17-win Prince Valid, the sire of the winning colt's second dam, Supreme Angel. That makes Reprized Halo "officially" inbred 3x4 to Valid Appeal. (He is also inbred 2x5 to Halo and 3x5 to Halo's sire, Hail to Reason, the other strain of Hail to Reason being through his son Roberto.) The newly stakes-winning colt carries a third strain of In Reality through fifth dam Really Supreme, an "own-daughter" of that sire, meaning Reprized Halo is linebred 4x5x6 to In Reality. All-told, Reprized Halo carries 10 strains of Man O' War, four on his sire's side and six on his dam's.

Gourmet Dinner is inbred 4x4 to In Reality through Valid Appeal, dam-sire of his sire, Trippi, and the mare Charedi, dam of Gourmet Dinner's own dam-sire, Pentelicus. He carries a third generation of In Reality's sire, Intentionally, through the mare Expectancy in his dam's pedigree, making Gourmet Dinner 5x5x5 to Intentionally. (He is also inbred 4x4 to Mr. Prospector.) In all, Gourmet Dinner carries a dozen lines to Man O' War in his nine-generation pedigree, three on his sire's side and the other nine on his dam's.

It had been nearly two weeks since the last victory from the sales class, though the group had scored three seconds and three thirds this week from 15 starters. The 187 selections now include 91 starters (48.7 percent) and 33 winners (17.7 percent of all selections, 36.3 percent of runners). They have won 43 of 266 starts (16.2 percent), placed 51 times (35.3 percent in the exacta) and have finished third on 27 occasions (45.5 percent in the money).

The In Reality Stakes duo's whopping payday at Calder run the Class of 2010's combined earnings to $1,873,385, or $7,043 per start and $20,587 average per runner.

Besides the aforementioned, other stakes horses from the class include G1/G2-placed Alienation, twice G3-placed Rockin Heat, G3-placed Rough Sailing, G3-placed Stopspendingmaria and non-blacktype stakes-placed Blue 'em Away.

Follow the progress of all 187 sales-tips in the list at the end of this former post.

On seventh try, Reprized Halo gets his wings

He might not be a stakes horse, now or perhaps ever, but he isn't a run-of-the-mill claimer, either. At least, not today.

Reprized Halo ran like he could walk on water and skipped home a 12 1/4-length winner over the slop Friday in maiden special weight company at Miami's Calder Race Course.

The colt, the 29th of my 187 juvenile sales tips of 2010 to break maiden, was already making his seventh start at age 2. After showing a modicum of promise among maidens but still without a win, he was twice raced against stakes horses, to poor results. Returned to the maiden ranks and risked for a $25,000 tag, he was second beaten only a length, also on a sloppy track. On Friday, he broke sharply from the inside post, raced comfortably along the rail even when headed by competitors on the back stretch, battled through the turn, then simply left the field in his muddy wake in the stretch. (Results and video at Bloodhorse.com.)

Reprized Halo was ridden confidently to the win by apprentice Jose Alvarez, for trainer Manuel Azpurua and owner Roger Urbina. He covered the sloppy mile in 1:42.83.

Urbina purchased Reprized Halo (Halo's Image-Reprized Angel, by Reprized) for just $23,000 from the Ocala Breeders' Sales Co. April auction of 2-year-olds in training, where the colt was catalogued as Hip 331.

I recommended the horse despite his status as the first foal out of an obviously unproven broodmare. His dam, however, won five times from ages 2 to 5, earned nearly $85,000, and was non-blacktype stakes-placed in the Kansas Oaks and Miss Kansas City stakes at the now-defunct Woodlands Racetrack in Kansas City.

More important, she is a full sister to Tropical Park Derby-G3 winner VALID REPRIZED, who also won the Hialeah Juvenile Stakes. Their half-brother, CONVEYOR'S ANGEL, won the Buena Vista H.-G2. Reprized Halo's second, third and fourth dams all were unraced -- as was his dam-sire, Reprized, though a sibling of numerous stakes horses including G1-winning brother, PRIZED -- and usually I'd avoid that kind of mare. But in this colt's case, mama ran, and her unraced dam managed to produce eight winners from nine foals, including the two "big" horses.

Whatever made this family relevant again, I like it. And Reprized Halo helped his case with a 21.2 breeze at the sale, though still sold for less than OBSAPR's modest sale average of $27,918. Reprized Halo earned $24,820 for Friday's win -- more than he cost in April, though obviously other costs have mounted since -- and looks capable of moving forward off that victory.

Especially, it appears, if the connections go storm-chasing.

It was a winless week leading up to Friday for the sales-tips, though What's The Rumpus collected second in a maiden-claimer at Fairplex, winner Bestcasescenario missed getting his second lifetime victory by a neck in a claimer at Laurel, and debuting Unstoppable Mick -- bought for just $10,000 -- finished third (despite 15/1 morning line odds) for a $30,000 tag at Turfway Park.

With 29 maidens broken, that means 15.5 percent of my sales-tips are now winners, before the month of September is out in their juvenile season. They have won 36 of 211 starts (17.1 percent strike rate) and have finished second 39 times and third another 20 for an in-the-money rate of 45 percent.

Their earnings have reached $1,230,136. That equals $5,830 per start.

Follow the class in its entirety here.