Spring Jump collects second stakes placing

Spring Jump and Fredy Peltroche chased short-price favorite and eventual winner Moonlit Malibu and Travis Dunkelberger all the way around the track but could never quite catch her Friday night as the pair comprised the exacta in the $50,000 HBPA Municipalities Handicap at Charles Town.

Moonlit Malibu won the two-turn, seven furlong test by a length and a half in 1:25.62, her first stakes victory despite hitting the board four times in stakes company at Aqueduct, Belmont, Monmouth and Charles Town. The place-finish was the second among stakes company for Spring Jump, who was second to Red's Round Table in Delaware Park's White Clay Creek Stakes at 2.

I shortlisted Spring Jump, a dark bay filly by Jump Start-Meg's Answer, by West Acre, on a 48-horse list of prospects for a bargain-minded client at the 2010 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Sale of 2-year-olds in Training. She sold there for just $19,000 as Hip 234 and now has three wins and four other on-the-board finishes from a dozen starts for $90,843.

Spring Jump was bred in Florida by Jeanne H. and Jerry M. Cutrona Sr., is owned by Dorado Circle Stables LLC, and is trained by Flint Stites.

You can follow those 48 (28 of whom now are winners, including four stakes-placers), plus the remainder of my 187-horse list of 2-year-old prospects of 2010, by clicking here.

Bessie M gets elusive stakes trophy

Two starts after settling for second by a desperate head in stakes company at Calder Race Course, BESSIE M assured her name will appear in all-caps on catalog pages for decades to come by taking the Dolly Jo Stakes at Calder on Sunday by a comfortable 2 1/4 lengths.

The 3-year-old filly by Medallist-Catalita, by Mountain Cat, has proved to be a fantastic claim by Platinum Equestrian Corp. and trainer Antonio Sano. After taking her for $25,000 from a NW2L claiming event at Gulfstream in January, Bessie M's new connections have never seen her finish off the board. After a third and a second-place finish, she posted back-to-back wins for them at Calder in April and May, then hit the board in the Regal Gal Stakes (third) and Leave Me Alone Stakes (second a head) before winning in optional-claiming company her last out at Calder, on Aug. 20.

On Sunday, Bessie M and Daniel Centeno rated in fifth, 6 1/2 lengths off a blistering 21.13 opening quarter set by Orlando Bocachica and Afleet Lass, then blew by the rest of the field and wore down the game leader in the stretch to draw clear by the wire. Max Speed and Juan Leyva finished third by 6 1/4 lengths. Final time for six furlongs was 1:10.81.

Bessie M was bred in Maryland by Mr. & Mrs. Charles McGinnes, and I had hoped her connections might prep her for the $100,000 Maryland Million Distaff at seven furlongs this coming weekend at Laurel. No complaints, however, about her scoring a stakes win, wherever it might be.

I shortlisted Bessie M as a Priority 2 prospect for a bargain-seeking client at last year's Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training. She sold to William H. Harris for $35,000 as Hip 59 and presented him with a win photo from a dead-heat victory at Delaware Park as a 2-year-old. Harris would lose her on that January day at Gulfstream for $25,000, and Platinum Equestrian has been well-rewarded for its claim ever since.

I actually questioned the price Harris paid at the sale, but then again, we were there looking to buy a horse for even less than $35,000 -- which was already at least 25 percent below the sale average. But I stated here that: "This girl oughta be a decent racehorse for someone (though) she only rated Priority 2 status for me primarily because of the very slow start by her sophomore sire, who has just 10 winners so far from his freshman crop of 59 foals. ... (It) was hard to deny the fleetness of her 22 2/5 quarter over a slow track."

With the stakes score, Bessie M becomes the first stakes-winner from that bargain-basement list of 48 horses, whose average bid (sold or RNA) at the sale was under $24,000 and less than half the sale average. She is among four horses stakes-placed or better from that group of 48.

Bibblesman, who sold for $22,000 as Hip 337, has two wins and placed second in the Peppy Addy Stakes at Parx for $90,860. Spring Jump, a $19,000 purchase as Hip 234, is 3-for-11 with a second-place finish in the White Clay Creek Stakes at Delaware Park as a 2-year-old, for $80,700.

The real tragedy from the group is Rough Sailing, a $40,000 buy as Hip 250, who broke maiden on Arlington's grass at first asking and was second in the Arlington-Washington Futurity-G3 for $37,534, but slipped entering the first turn of the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf and was euthanized after breaking his shoulder in the fall.

Of the 48 bargain prospects, there are 43 starters (89.6 percent), 25 winners (52.1 percent) and 13 multiple-winners (27.1 percent).

Click here to follow all 187 sales selections, plus a few I went against.

Spring Jump pounces in the stretch for CT victory

Sent off as the favorite and settling in sixth place early under Fredy Peltroche, Spring Jump overhauled the front-runners in the stretch won by 3 1/2 lengths Friday night in allowance company at Charles Town.

Shefoggedmyglasses finished second, Little Miss Nora was third, and sadly fourth-place Gutterball Mary broke down after the wire.

Spring Jump was bred in Florida by Jeanne H. Cutrona and Jerry M. Cutrona Sr. and is owned by Dorado Circle Stables LLC. She is trained by Flint Stites.

The win was Spring Jump's first in four starts at age 3, but she was a winner twice (and placed second in the White Clay Creek Stakes at Delaware Park) as a juvenile. Her record now stands at 3-2-0 from nine starts, for $76,600.

I recommended the daughter of Jump Start-Meg's Answer, by West Acre, on a shortlist of 48 prospects from last year's Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Sale of 2-year-olds in training at Timonium, Md. Spring Jump sold for just $19,000 as Hip 234.

Click here and scroll down to view the full list and race results of my 187 sales picks (and nine pans) from selected juvenile sales of 2010.

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.

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.

Bargain Blacktype: Spring Jump sloshes her way to stakes status with photo for place at Delaware Park

A buyer can spend millions at the sales trying to buy a stakes-class racehorse, and maybe the more he spends, the better his chances.

But at Delaware Park Wednesday, there was proof that a bargain-buyer with a good eye can find remarkable value at the sales in a horse that increases her own value by later winning or placing in stakes company.

One of the fillies who fit that bill Wednesday was Spring Jump (Jump Start-Meg's Answer, by West Acre), who overcame her own issues in the stretch to salvage second by the whiskers of her muzzle over Mis Vizcaya in the White Clay Creek Stakes. Spring Jump was a $19,000 purchase at Fasig-Tipton's Midlantic Sale of 2-year-olds in training this may -- a short-listed horse of mine in my first assignment as a hired bloodstock advisor. And the race was won by the Arnold A. Heft-owned filly Red's Round Table, who was picked up for a mere $5,000 as a sales yearling.

Mis Vizcaya, for the record, was sold for $50,000 both as a yearling and as a 2-year-old.

Red's Round Table proved much the best on this day, breaking like a shot from the first post and holding court on the rail all the way around the sloppy six furlongs, run in 1:11.25. Spring Jump went right with her until veering into the center of the track coming off the turn, lugging out and seemingly struggling to change leads.

Jockey Gabriel Saez -- aboard Spring Jump in place of her usual pilot, Luis Belmonte, who was named to ride at time of entry -- got the filly back on task and she dug in gamely for a stretch run against Mis Vizcaya, who was charging up the inside. The head-bob went to Spring Jump in one of the closest photos imaginable.

I didn't just tout Spring Jump at the sales, I was plugging her among my wagering friends on Wednesday. I couldn't believe that she was available at such a price (8/1 on the morning line became 14/1 at post time), since her career-best Equibase Speed figure of 90 was second-best in the field to short-priced favorite Juanita's prior-best 96. The only time Spring Jump had faced any of these opponents in a race, she whipped 9/1 Sopchoppy (who was a heavy favorite that day) by 4 1/2 lengths gate-to-wire in allowance company at Penn National.

Juanita finished a well-beaten fourth, and Sopchoppy last of five.

Spring Jump, to me, was an obvious overlay at 14/1. I e-mailed a pal (who got his bets in on time) and tweeted my tip of Spring Jump to all my followers on Twitter as the minutes-to-post dwindled. I don't know whether any of the Twitter folks took my advice. But if they did -- and though Spring Jump didn't win -- they were rewarded with prices of $6.60 to place and $7.80 to show. (A fairly rare occurrence of getting more value on the show-bet.) Anyone who took her across-the-board came out $2.40 ahead for every dollar wagered.

Most important, Dorado Circle Stables LLC keeps coming out ahead in its acquisition of Spring Jump for $19,000 as Hip 234 at EASMAY. She's won two of five with a stakes-second and legit excuses in her other two races -- very fractious in the gate and five-wide for her debut, a bum run on Tapeta at Presque Isle Downs in her stakes debut last-out. She's banked $50,160, has increased her residual value by stamping her catalog page with individual blacktype, and looks like a filly who still has room to move forward.

To his credit, trainer Flint Stites has done an excellent job with Spring Jump.

In my hired role as bloodstock advisor, and with instructions to find the least-expensive "good" horses at EASMAY, I short-listed Hip 234, now known as Spring Jump, as a "Priority 2" in a four-tiered ranking of horses on which we planned to bid. Knocking her out of "Priority 1" status was mostly her status as the first foal from an unraced dam, Meg's Answer, who is by a fairly modest sire in West Acre.

I did like that her second dam, Spring Hill Answer, was a durable mare who won 11 times in modest company and later produced three stakes horses, including MAGNUS ONE and SNAPPY ANSWER.

For her own part, Spring Jump breezed 11-flat -- which was decent over a slow Timonium, Md., fair grounds track -- and caught my eye as "among the tallest I screened (with) a nice head and eye (and) a good shoulder."

I thought she looked great on streaming video from Delaware Park in the White Clay Creek Stakes post-parade Wednesday, and she made a pretty decent run despite her stretch troubles to become the 12th of my 187 juvenile sales tips of 2010 to become stakes-placed-or-better.

Through Wednesday's action, the sales-tip class has won 45 of 290 starts (15.5 percent), placed another 58 times (35.5 percent in the exacta) and finished third another 28 times (45.2 percent on the board). They have earned $1,983,672, which is $6,840 per start.

Follow their performance in the list at this former post.

EASMAY: Leaving no stone unturned

Anyone who follows this blog is aware by now that significant attention has been paid the past couple of months to publicizing my selections from several juvenile sales this spring, and following the exploits of those horses as I try to prove that maybe I have a clue about what makes a good, young racehorse.

The longer I've followed my sales selections -- 187 horses from the February and April Ocala sales, Keeneland April, the Adena Springs sale at Ocala, and Fasig-Tipton's Midlantic sale in Timonium, Md. -- the more my brain endeavors to leave no stone unturned in examining whether my selections are a collective statistical success, failure, or merely average for the breed, the latter of which could have been accomplished by having a monkey point at pages in the catalog.

In light of, well, shedding light on the subject, I decided it was worthwhile to add an extensive slate of horses to the group I'm routinely following.

That is, every horse among the 405 originally catalogued for the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Sale of 2-year-olds in Training, otherwise known as EASMAY (Eastern May 2-year-olds).

It is fair, I believe, to compare the performance of my 187 selections from all sales against the breed averages for percentages of starters, winners stakes winners and so forth.

But EASMAY was the first sale at which I was actually employed as a bloodstock advisor, specifically, in search of the most promising runners available among the sale's least expensive horses. And the more starts my selections from EASMAY have made, the more wins and paychecks they have collected, the more I wondered whether what seemed to be a successful beginning really was any better (or even worse) than the catalogued horses as a whole.

It turns out that, so far, so pretty good.

My new research project began Monday night by downloading the complete sales results spreadsheet from Fasig-Tipton's Web site, in Excel format. I deleted fields of information I didn't really need -- like broodmare sires -- and added others, for starts, wins, places, shows, earnings and a text rundown of stakes performances. The spreadsheet does much of the math for me, so long as I input the data correctly, and the results at this point are encouraging.

Of the 405 horses in the catalog, Fasig-Tipton reported that 273 were sold for $13,099,500 -- an average of $47,984. The median price according to Fasig-Tipton was $27,000. Those prices should include a handful of private sales, after the auction process failed to yield a sufficient bid. Another 39 went through the ring, but their reserve price was not attained, and they went home with their consignors.

Those figures suggest that 93 horses were "outs" at the sale; withdrawn for whatever reason. Two of those horses ended up being on the list of 48 potential bargains I prepared for my client, but they went through the breeze show, I saw them on the hoof at the barns, and they were only withdrawn day-of-sale -- one due to a sudden health problem and the other for reasons I don't happen to know. Many others on the "out" list never showed up and breezed at all. But a number of them are running, perhaps sold through the Barrett's ring out west, also in May, or having stayed with their owners or changed hands privately.

Finally, by way of full disclosure, the one horse with which I played role in the purchase, a filly now named Quiet Lorraine, was not on the original list of 48 horses compiled for my client. I am tracking her separately on the blog, and the statistics presented here detail the original 48 horses (which are numbered among the aforementioned 187).

Now that the background has been detailed, let's get down to brass tacks. How are my selections from EASMAY performing?

Better than average, say the early returns. In some cases considerably. And throughout these statistics that follow, recall that I was tasked to find the horses that would be worth owning among the very least expensive on the grounds; not to identify the most likely stars from all 312 animals that eventually passed through the auction ring.

As of statistics available via Brisnet on Monday night (and the Korean Stud Book, as several horses were purchased to race overseas) these are the early findings. Statistics compiled by my selections are included in the group, which actually, you might note, serve to elevate the group's performance in virtually every category.

Statistic	Catalog	Selected
Horses	405	48 (11.9% of catalogued)
Runners	108 (26.7%)	17 (35.4%)
Winners	22 (5.4%)	6 (12.5%)
Starts	212	42
Wins	24	7
Win Pct.	11.3%	16.7%
In the Money	36%	38%
Earnings	$932,480	$180,735
Earnings/Start	$4,398.49	$4,303.21
Stakes Horses(Wnrs)	4(1)	1(0)

From these statistics -- admittedly quite early in their careers -- the horses I selected at EASMAY have sent a larger percentage of their number to the starting gate, are breaking maiden at a rate more than double the catalog as a whole (12.5 percent vs. 5.4 percent), are winning their starts at a rate nearly 50 percent higher than their peers, and despite being the cheaper horses at the sale, aren't running in cheaper company. At least, not if average earnings per start are an indicator, as those dollars are virtually equal.

I was a bit alarmed when I realized there were four stakes horses already out of this sale and only one of them (G3-placed Rough Sailing) appeared in my numbers. That was before I realized that every other stakes horse to emerge thus far from the EASMAY catalog, didn't actually go through the sale. Saratoga G3 turf winner SOLDAT, catalogued as Hip 218 at EASMAY, G3-placed dual winner Jordy Y (Hip 93) and Woodbine G3-placed More Than Real (Hip 240) all blew off the breeze show and sale. They simply weren't there for me to identify; though had they been, they still might not have ended up on my bargain-hunter list.

Edit (Wednesday, 9/22): In breaking down these statistics further, a struck upon perhaps an even better way to measure the performance of my selections vs. the horses in this sale: That is, to only compare horses that were in the sale.

This time I deleted from the Excel spreadsheet all horses that did not even make the breeze show; in other words, those that neither I nor anyone was able to review and consider for purchase. Then, I deleted my selections, leaving me a remainder that are all the horses I saw on the grounds -- at least in the under-tack show, if not in person (well more than a hundred of them) at their consignors' barns -- but declined. The following table shows the performance thus far of horses in the sale (including late "outs") that I selected for my bargain-conscious buyer, vs. all the horses I tabbed as ones we weren't after; passed-up either because I believed they weren't worth his money, or were horses too expensive for his budget. (And, trust me, some were both).

Viewed through this lens, the performance advantage thus far for my bargain-babies is even more stark.

Statistic	Passed	Selected
Horses	277	48
Runners	78 (28.2%)	17 (35.4%)
Winners	12 (4.3%)	6 (12.5%)
Starts	145	42
Wins	12	7
Win Pct.	8.3%	16.7%
In the Money	33.1%	38%
Earnings	$484,149	$180,735
Earnings/Start	$3,338.96	$4,303.21
Stakes Horses(Wnrs)	0(0)	1(0)
Avg. Buy/RNA $	$49,992	$24,196

Potentially, the horses in the column on the left might go on over the next three or four years to produce average statistics that equal or even exceed the horses I selected, whose early performance is measured on the right. But scanning down the columns suggests that right now, the horses I selected for my client are doing a bit more and -- bottom-line, in the last row of the chart -- were bought or RNA'd for less than half as much as the others.

Certainly there will be observers who believe that, over time, the expensive horses will prove their worth versus my more affordable selections. At least, I'm sure their buyers are hoping so.

In other curious statistics, of the four wins logged by EASMAY graduates who sold for $10,000 or less, two were posted by my selections (Grand Giana and Jitalian). Of the three victories posted by EASMAY grads who sold for between $10,001 and $20,000, two are by one horse -- my sales-pick Spring Jump, who is 2-for-3 and has earned $39,660 off a $19,000 purchase.

I realize touting these statistics now is sort of like knocking in a run with a double in the top of the second inning and pointing at the scoreboard. But the record-keeping needs to begin somewhere, and should be documented throughout, to keep myself (if no one else) abreast of the line score.

Sales tips end day with three wins, 5-for-6 in the money and G1 blacktype at Del Mar

Already sporting a maiden winner (in a "sales-tip exacta" finish) and a stakes winner at River Downs, my juvenile sales-tip Class of 2010 collected an allowance win at Penn National and Grade 1 blacktype at Del Mar in two Saturday evening races.

Scoring the big-time catalog update was Rigoletta (Concerto-Almost Aprom Queen, by Montbrook), who was supplemented to the Darley Debutante S.-G1 at Del Mar at a total cost of $13,750 to run. It proved to be a wise move by trainer Dan Hendricks and owners Thor-Bred Stable LLC (Pavla and Erik Nygaard) when Rigoletta and jockey Mike Smith rumbled home third at nearly 31/1 behind Tell a Kelly and favorite Wickedly Perfect.

Rigoletta earned $30,000 for the placing, far more than paying back her owners' financial confidence in her. More important, she greatly elevated her residual value by stamping her own page with Grade 1 blacktype.

The filly, who closed at Del Mar to break maiden her last out at 12/1 odds, has now earned $60,820 in three lifetime starts.

She was bred in Florida by Ocala Stud.

I recommended Rigoletta as Hip 726 at OBS April, where she breezed 21-flat and yet sold for just $35,000. I particularly liked that she was a full sister to stakes-placed Evening Concerto, and that her dam was a half-sister to 10-win, G3-placed SEA OF GREEN ($651K) and LADY GIN ($227K).

About a half-hour earlier, on the other side of the country, sales-tip Spring Jump was winning her second consecutive race at Penn National, wiring an allowance field by more than four lengths. After an unplaced debut, Spring Jump has been first out of the gate and never headed in her next two efforts.

She paid $10.20 to win.

The dark bay filly by Jump Start-Meg's Answer, by West Acre was just a $19,000 purchase as Hip 234 at Fasig-Tipton's Midlantic Sale of 2-year-olds in training this past May in Timonium, Md. I screened her among four dozen horses recommended to a client in the market for a bargain runner. He didn't get her (buying a different horse, earlier in the sale), but surely owners Dorado Circle Stables LLC have gotten a bargain, considering Spring Jump has already provided them with two win photos and $39,660 in earnings.

Spring Jump was ridden by Luis Belmonte and trained for the win by Flint Stites.

She was bred in Florida by Jeanne H. Cutrona & Jerry M. Cutrona Sr.

Through Saturday's action, my 187 sales tips have accumulated 24 winners of 29 races from 155 starts (that's an 18.7 percent strike rate), with an in-the-money rate of 43.9 percent. The class has earned $877,232 combined, for $5,660 per start.

In addition to the G1-placed Rigoletta, the group includes multiple stakes winner GOURMET DINNER (3-for-3, $137,390), new stakes winner FISCAL POLICY ($54,080), G2-placed Alienation ($54,000) and G3-placed Stopspendingmaria ($57,500), plus non-blacktype stakes-placed Blue 'em Away.

Alienation and Stopspendingmaria are among the eight entries in Sunday's Spinaway S.-G1 at Saratoga.

Track the progress of my sales tips at the bottom of this former post.

Winner No. 18 gets the 'Jump' on 'em

Spring Jump burst first from the gate and was never headed Thursday night, winning a maiden special weight at Penn National to become the 18th of my 187 juvenile sales tips this year to break maiden.

Luis Belmonte got the second-out filly to break sharply from the 4-hole and she set fractions of 22.31 and 45.99, pressed all the way by the trio of Ellis Island (who faded to last), Her Smile (who stayed with Spring Jump to the end, losing by just a neck) and odds-on favorite Caribbean Lady, who weakened to finish fourth by a neck to Las Mercedes. Final time for five furlongs on a fast dirt track was 58.44. (Video available from The Blood-Horse.)

Spring Jump was the second-longest shot in the six-horse field and paid $18.80 to win. She debuted with a fourth place finish of five fillies (after three scratches) at Penn National on July 29, but her chances were compromised that night by being fractious at the gate and getting swept five-wide on the turn. Las Mercedes was third in that race, as well. Better-behaved and setting the pace Thursday night, Spring Jump dictated a different outcome this time.

Spring Jump (Jump Start-Meg's Answer, by West Acre) was bred in Florida by Jeanne H. Cutrona & Jerry M. Cutrona Sr. She is owned by Dorado Circle Stables LLC, which bought her for just $19,000 as Hip 234 from Fasig-Tipton's Midlantic Sale of 2-year-olds in training in Timonium, Md. Flint Stites is her trainer.

The filly garnered $18,600 for her victory, bumping her earnings total from two races to $20,460, already more than her purchase price.

At EASMAY, I ranked her as a "Priority 2" on a list of 48 horses as I worked the sale for a client in search of a bargain runner. In detailing my work from that sale on this blog, I didn't like the fact that she's the first foal from an unraced dam, who was by a fairly modest sire. But second dam Spring Hill Answer was a durable race mare who won 11 times in modest company and later produced three stakes horses, including MAGNUS ONE and SNAPPY ANSWER.

I summarized: "This filly was among the tallest I screened, had a nice head and eye, a good shoulder, breezed 11-flat (which for that sale was decent), and already has her gate card."

She looked the part of a winner to me in May, and by August, she is one.

My 187 spring sales selections now have a record of 19-16-12 from 112 starts (17 percent wins, 42 percent in the money) and have earned $591,917, for $5,285 per start.

Track the performance of those selections, and a handful of horses whose purchases I panned (usually more on price than the horse itself), at this prior post.