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.

Sir Shackleton son tops maiden Hill in fourth climb

Shackleton Hill, a gelding I tipped as a possible "Second Chance Deal" after he failed to meet reserve price at last year's Keeneland April auction of 2-year-olds in training, broke maiden in his fourth lifetime start this afternoon at Woodbine in Canada.

The bay son of Sir Shackleton-Keepers Hill, by Danehill, was sent off as the second-favorite at odds of 11/5, but scored with the style and by the sort of daylight more appropriate of an even-money choice. Third in his last-out at a higher claiming level, he was dropped to a $12,500 tag and rolled to victory by a widening 5 1/2 lengths despite jockey Luis Contreras circling the leaders in the sixth-path around the turn for home. Final time for five furlongs on Polytrack was a fairly brisk 57.93; the track record held by Dublin Lane is 56.41.

Steve Attard trains the horse for owner Sheldon Pettle.

Shackleton Hill failed to sell at KEEAPR 2010 when the top bid of $27,000 didn't meet his seller's reserve price.

When tabbing the already-named Shackleton Hill as a Second Chance Deal a year ago (that is, the best of the horses that didn't sell at Keeneland, but might be available at a later auction or via private purchase), I admitted that I wasn't really sure what his Kentucky breeder, Kilboy Estate Ltd., was really hoping to achieve with the mating. His sire was a dirt horse with a pair of track records sprinting. His dam was a blacktype-placed turf runner from a decidedly grass-oriented extended female family boasting the likes of G1 lawn-lover AQUARRELISTE, G3 winners AUSRTALIE, ART BLEU, ACOMA, and AGATHE, and many top-class European grass horses. ... Of added interest, this is also the female family of French turf G1-winner ARCANGUES, whose most historic victory was in fact on dirt in the States, upsetting a star-studded 1993 Breeders' Cup Classic field (Bertrando, Best Pal, Devil His Due, Marquetry, Miner's Mark, Colonial Affair, Diazo, etc.) at odds of 133/1.

At any rate, I took a blog-published guess that this mating might produce a synthetic-track horse. Shackleton Hill has now collected a win and a show finish on Polytrack at top-class Woodbine, earning $14,313. His effort today certainly looked like one from which the horse has every right to move forward, and with a sprint record-setting sire and a turf-sprinting dam, it would be good to see him try more of these shorter races on both synthetic and grass.

With the victory, Shackleton Hill becomes winner No. 88 from my 187-horse list of sales selections at various 2010 juvenile auctions. That's 47.1 percent.

The class nearly collected another new winner early in the day at Belmont. There, second-timer Conway Hillbilly, who was unplaced in his only start at 2, tried the turf in his 3-year-old unveiling and nearly wired a field of $50K-$40K maiden-claimers. He finished second by a nose over "firster" Manresa Road, three-quarters in arrears of 3/2 favorite Associate, in a solid time of 1:21.36 for seven furlongs.

Later this evening, I'm First, who contrary to his name was no better than third (twice) in five tries at age 2, makes his 3-year-old debut and looks to become winner No. 89 in a first-on-turf effort among modest maiden-claimers at Colonial Downs.

Click here to follow my list of 2010 sales selections.

Bargain-buy Jitalian wins NY-bred allowance

Persevering in the stretch when the favorite gave up the ghost, Jitalian collected his third lifetime win Saturday, besting state-bred allowance company at Finger Lakes in New York.

Jitalian was sent off at better than 7/1 odds despite finishing third at this same level twice consecutively at Finger Lakes. He and jockey Joel Sone sat a couple of lengths off the pace of 13/2 shot Wana Play (who faded to fourth), and responded in deep stretch when challenged by 9/5 favorite Gold Ghost, a 4-year-old who came on from fifth place to give Jitalian a fright near the wire, but hung in the crucial stages and settled for second, beaten three-quarters. Final time for a mile-seventy run on a track rated "fast" was 1:46.02.

Bred in New York by Aaron Schroeder, Jitalian is owned by David Cramer and trained by Karl Grusmark. He has now won three of 11 starts for $40,962.

I shortlisted the dark bay gelding by Defrere-Sandy Lass, by Line in the Sand, as a "Priority 1" horse at the May 2010 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Sale in Timonium, Md.; the lone sale that I've worked as a hired bloodstock advisor. There, he sold for only $7,000 as Hip 301. In his three victories -- including a win maiden special weight at first asking over the Finger Lakes strip, and in claiming company at Aqueduct over the winter -- Jitlian has earned more from each single race than it cost to purchase him.

In other action Saturday, an EASMAY Priority 2 filly, Spring Jump ($19,000 as Hip 234) was second in a $50,000 optional-claimer at Delaware Park. A fellow patron of the Remington Park OTB watching alongside me Saturday was convinced that winner Class E Holiday would be disqualified to last and Spring Jump moved up to the win after a brushing mishap on the turn for home sent Queen Cleopatra's jockey Ricardo Chiappe tumbling on the racing surface. I thought Chiappe appeared to already be losing his seat at the point any contact was made, and stewards apparently agreed, settling both an inquiry and an objection by Chiappe in favor of the winner and her rider, Abel Castellano Jr.

Left to settle for second, Spring Jump has now earned $58,360 from seven starts, including two wins at Parx in Philadelphia and a stakes-placing at 2 over the same Delaware Strip where she gave a good effort Saturday. Owners Dorado Circle LLC have made out pretty well on their investment.

The toughest field tackled by any of my EASMAY grads running on Saturday was the group that faced Alstom ($7,000, Hip 242) at Churchill Downs, where the D. Wayne Lukas trainee was sent off at 17/1 in the Matt Winn S.-G3. As he is wont to do, Alstom settled at the back of the pack and came with some run at the end, but not enough to place, settling for a minor check from a fifth-place finish. He has a win and two thirds from six starts for $40,371, and I wish owners Iron Horse Racing Limited Partnership would send him to New York where the colt would likely be quite a contender among state-bred competition. (Probably even could have been a "Big Apple Triple" contender.)

As it is, were I Lukas I would likely have scratched Alstom on Saturday. The colt's only prior, truly dull effort was on a sloppy Churchill strip, so despite the muddy track's drying out to "good" condition by Race 10 on Saturday, I might well have saved the colt for another day.

Finally of note, prior winner Willie's Way ($12K RNA at OBSAPR) was second in Calder claiming company, and Shackleton Hill ($27K RNA at KEEAPR) was third in a maiden-claiming race at Woodbine.

Follow my entire 187-horse list of 2010 juvenile sales tips at this prior post.