Sales pair clear NW2L conditions in claimers

Saturday racing in the States saw a pair of inexpensive 2010 2-year-olds collect their second lifetime wins as 3-year-olds while racing in claiming company at Ellis Park in Kentucky and at Timonium in Maryland.

Lion's Reign was booted home by Roberto Morales in Race 1 at Ellis Saturday, splitting foes in the late-going and scoring by a length over the aptly named Turf Warrior in a first-turf effort for the winner. Final time was a respectable 1:03.93 for $7,500 claimers, and the winner paid $10.80 to his backers, me among them.

I tabbed Lion's Reign among my "steals" of the 2010 Keeneland April sale after the son of Lion Heart-Turtle Creek, by Sky Classic, sold for just $17,000 as Hip 128. The chestnut gelding, bred in Kentucky by Denny Andrews, is now owned by Alan Tennenbaum and trained by Brian Michael.

Lion's Reign has two wins, three seconds and one third from 13 starts for $35,707. He broke maiden Feb. 27 on Polytrack among special weights at Turfway, twice has placed in claiming company on Tapeta at Presque Isle Downs, is allowance-placed on dirt at Mountaineer, and has now won on turf at Ellis. ... A versatile, pretty useful racehorse for $17,000.

Later on Saturday, No Biggie collected his second lifetime win, scoring at the Maryland State Fair meeting at Timonium while likewise running in $7,500 claiming company. Sent off as the 7/10 favorite, he lagged the leaders by 10 lengths after a quarter run in just 24.81, but made a four-wide move on the turn to roll by 'em all, winning by 4 1/2 under Sarah Rook in a bullring mile run in 1:43.30.

Bred in Kentucky by Kidder, Cole, Robenalt, and J & J Mamakos, No Biggie is now owned and trained by Carl Doran. I shortlisted the gray gelding by Consolidator-Sixy Chic, by Saratoga Six, on a 48-animal list of bargain-minded prospects for a client at the May 2010 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic sale at that very track in Timonium. He sold there for just $8,000 as Hip 330. Breaking his maiden on March 17 for a $25,000 tag at Laurel Park, No Biggie now has two wins, a place and a show from eight lifetime starts for $26,960.

Elsewhere, it was a near-miss day for other sales selections of mine. Another EASMAY cheapie, $6,000 Wild Alley Cat, was second in claiming company at Presque Isle Downs in his effort to also clear the NW2L condition. A $75,000 OBSAPR graduate, Herecomeseveryman, was literally beaten a nostril by Repole Stable's Dahess in a maiden-claimer on turf at Saratoga. Two-time winner Sultry Gibson, withdrawn from that EASMAY sale, was second in claiming company at Charles Town. And, an Ocala April RNA who won a Zia Park stakes race at 2, PULGARCITO, was second in allowance company at Canada's Assiniboia Downs.

Click here and scroll down to view all 187 selections.

Summer night belongs to Sultry Gibson

Clifford Dooley gunned his filly from the 10-hole at the get-go and Sultry Gibson took a full field of $5,000 claimers practically gate-to-wire Thursday night at Charles Town to score her second lifetime victory.

Snow Ace, starting just inside 5/2 second-choice Sultry Gibson as the No. 9, briefly led in the early strides. But Sultry Gibson had gained a four-length advantage over the field within the first quarter-mile and was still three lengths on top in the stretch. She won by a length and a quarter over 7/5 favorite Get Right To It, who got up for second by a neck over So Serene. Snow Ace hung around for fourth.

Sultry Gibson is owned by Jocelyn Dickey McKathan and is trained by Melissa Hunt. She was bred in Florida by North Star Equine Inc., and has now won twice from 11 starts for $39,685.

I shortlisted the bay daughter of Gibson County-Sultry Peg Cee, by Sultry Song, as a "Priority 3" horse for a bargain-seeking client at last year's Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Sale of 2-year-olds in training. She breezed a solid-for-the-sale 10.3 as Hip 347 at EASMAY, but was withdrawn on sale-day only a few-dozen lots before going through the ring.

While Sultry Gibson has slipped to the $5,000 claiming ranks, she's been a useful racehorse, making 11 starts, winning as a juvenile, once dead-heating for second in allowance company (in a four-horse photo) and taking fourth in a Charles Town stakes race as a 2-year-old.

Follow all 187 of my 2010 juvenile sales selections here.

Four noses, only two noses apart

On Friday night at Charles Town, Sultry Gibson nearly became the eighth multiple-winner from my sales-tip class of 2010.

She also nearly finished fourth.

In a 4 1/2-furlong allowance for 2-year-old fillies, the Gibson County filly broke sharply and led the field through an opening quarter run in a brisk 21.99. But she was far from loose on that lead, as two horses to her inside -- even-money favorite Regina Beatriz was only a head behind, and 30/1 long-shot Hey U held the rail position, just another head in arrears.

Coming off the turn, Hey U surged to a half-length lead as Regina Beatriz checked out, eventually finishing seventh of eight. Sultry Gibson momentarily also looked beaten, then dug in for the stretch run as second-favored Ann's Mink (4/1) -- who had broken her maiden in an August stakes race at Charles Town -- loomed to her outside. Those three had a knock-down, drag-out for the last sixteenth as 18/1 shot Cuttin Edge Kitten closed from sixth place, with a rush, on the far outside.

It was a four-horse photo at the wire.

Ultimately, the picture showed Ann's Mink had her nose in front when it counted. But Sultry Gibson and Hey U couldn't be sorted out, with the connections settling for a dead-heat for place. Cuttin Edge Kitten was deemed to be another nose back in fourth.

Four noses, separated by two noses.

Sultry Gibson was withdrawn from May's Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Sale of 2-year-olds in training, on auction day. She was bred in Florida by North Star Equine Inc. and is campaigned by Jocelyn Dickey McKathan. She was shipped north from Calder after three winless starts, and joined the barn of trainer Melissa Hunt. Apart from a fourth place finish last out, well in arrears of stellar Twelve Pack Shelley in the Miss Shenandoah, a $100,000 Charles Town stakes race, Sultry Gibson has never finished worse than a nose out of first in three other starts at the West Virginia racetrack.

I'm still crossing my fingers that the filly will be returned to Florida in the winter, to face statebred company at Tampa Bay Downs. There, I hope, she'll find her way onto the grass at least once. Her late sire's best 2-year-old this year is turf-sprint stakes-winner Ayoumilove, and Gibson County's sire was the Irish-bred In Excess, who certainly gets his share of turf runners. Sultry Gibson's dam, Sultry Peg Cee, is by Sultry Song, sire of turf millionaire and Breeders' Cup Mile upsetter Singletary. And Sultry Gibson's second dam, Hasty Lass, won stakes races on both dirt and turf.

It is reasonable to believe that Sultry Gibson might handle the grass.

As it stands, her $3,900 paycheck Friday night pushes the 2010 sales-tip class bankroll a few hundred bucks above $1.3 million. Sultry Gibson's personal stash has reached $32,040 from seven starts.

Follow my 187 sales picks, and a few pans, in the list at the bottom of this former post.

Seconditis Saturday yields a new stakes horse

It hasn't been the best week and weekend so far for runners from the group of 187 horses I named on this blog as recommendations from this year's East Coast juvenile sales.

It also hasn't been the worst.

At a time when I felt relieved to finally break through Saturday evening for the week's first win with a 2/1 second-favorite at Fairplex, the class still managed to bank more than $100,000 in a day and finished second four times -- including in a Grade 3 stakes race at Woodbine (by a maiden) and, as if to reinforce that second was where we belonged, in a dead-heat at Charles Town.

The new stakes horse, who deserves top billing this week, is Rockin Heat (Hard Rock Ten-Makin Heat, by Makin), who has yet to break his maiden but also has never finished worse than second in three lifetime starts. The colt and rider Eurico Da Silva lodged a bid in the stretch of the Summer S.-G3 at Woodbine, but couldn't outfinish Garrett Gomez and Pluck, who won the roughly quarter-million-dollar race by a length as the 5/2 favorite. Rockin Heat was sent off at more than 10/1, but finished two and a quarter lengths ahead of 3/1 shot Stormy Rush.

Rockin Heat is trained by Reade Baker for owners Bear Stables Ltd. He banked $48,480 in American currency (an even $50K Canadian) has now earned $70,400 without winning a race.

I recommended Rockin Heat at the OBS April sale, where he sold for $85,000 as Hip 97.

"Hard to believe you'll get much of a deal on this Kentucky-bred," I wrote, though the horse did end up selling for a bit less than the sale average.

I'm a fan of the early work at stud by his sire, Rock Hard Ten, and dam Makin Heat was a stakes winner at Laurel and Delaware Park. She's already produced winners, second dam Warmedbythesun (by Lobsang) won 15 times from ages 2 to 8, and third dam Tongario (Grey Dawn II) bore nine winners, including foals who claimed 17, 10, 10 and eight victories. The colt made his own case by looking the part, and breezing a 21.3 quarter despite being by a classic distance-type sire, whom he seems to take after by having a bit of size.

One would have to think Rock Heat will break his maiden soon; after all, on Saturday he was but a length back of winning his way into the Breeders' Cup.

After picking up a second place finish on Friday at Camarero in Puerto Rico, where dual-winner Hold Still was defeated in an allowance by a stakes-placed filly whom she had beaten last out, Saturday's racing started with three straight place-finishes, as well, capped by Rockin Heat.

The sales tips made up one-fourth of a 12-horse field drawn into a whopping $90,000 maiden special weight race on Owners' Day at Parx Racing (blech, Philadelphia Park). And, two of them came through, though not quite enough to win.

Hard Rock Candy made it 4-for-4 second-place finishes by getting by and holding off debuting sales-tip Circumstance in deep stretch for a big chunk of change. Hard Rock Candy -- who just has to break through sooner or later -- has earned $47,140 without winning a race, after failing to meet her reserve with but a $32,000 top bid at OBSAPR, where she was Hip 940. Circumstance was also to have gone through the ring as Hip 388 at OBSAPR, but was withdrawn.

Also in that race was firster One Punch Knockout, yet another OBSAPR horse ($70,000 as Hip 89) who never seemed to be all that involved, mentally or physically, from the outset.

A bit later in the afternoon, some 90 minutes before Rockin Heat raced, There Goes Molly got into a turf-mile, statebred maiden special weight at Belmont off the also-eligible list. She'd shown little in two tries at Saratoga and was sent of at 59.5/1. Well, surprise, surprise. Molly closed from deep to get up for a clear second under Abel Lezcano, finishing with "good energy" though still beaten more than eight lengths by runaway winner Hessonite. There Goes Molly, who failed to sell at a $6,000 top bid at EASMAY, earned $9,360 for the start.

After a couple of disappointing finishes, including by an Aragorn firster perhaps undone by having an Arlington turf race washed onto the main track, the last place-finisher came in the form of debuting Mugsy Dehere in the fourth race Saturday evening at Charles Town. Sent off at 8/1, he and 14/1 Southern Will could not be separated at the wire and dead-heated for "place" behind far-gone winner C V Eis, who aired by seven lengths.

The class picked up its first winner of the week -- and another repeater -- about 20 minutes after Mugsy Dehere finished deadlocked for second at Charles Town. Gibson Home Run, a debut winner at Del Mar, won for the second time in three starts, this time at Fairplex, where he was sent off second-favored at 2/1 in a $40,000 starter allowance. He cornered like he was on rails and posted a time just a shade over 1:12 for six furlongs; decent considering that at FPX, he has to make two turns instead of one.

Gibson Home Run (Gibson County-Tanja, by Allen's Prospect) was bred in Florida by McKathan Bros., and sold for $30,000 as Hip 546 at OBSAPR. He is trained by Peter Miller for owners Gary Barber, Roger Birnbaum and Kevin Tsujihara, and was ridden by Fairplex's all-time leader, Martin Pedroza.

I tabbed him after his scalding 9 4/5 drill caught my eye and I realized that while his multiple stakes-winning dam has never really reproduced herself, she does have six winners from eight prior foals. He's justified my confidence thus far, and has earned back $26,960 of his purchase price.

Saturday night saw two more stakes-starters, but recent maiden-breaker Sultry Gibson could only pull off winning the photo for fourth in the $100,000 Miss Shenandoah Stakes at Charles Town (won by the dazzling Twelve Pack Shelly) and, despite being non-blacktype stakes-placed already, Blue 'em Away found himself short in Canada, getting beat a neck for fourth in the Winnipeg Futurity. Neither of those finishes was enough, of course, to score catalog blacktype for the horse in question. Each now has made an impressive six starts so far as a juvenile.

Including Hold Still's placing at Camarero, the class has reached 200 starts, winning 34 of them (17 percent) and placing or showing in another 55 for an in-the-money rate of 44.5 percent. Not including Hold Still's cash from Puerto Rico (as the final chart isn't in yet to list her earnings), the group has banked $1,160,037, for $5,829 per start.

Follow the progress of all 187 sales picks here.

A blog too soon: Wed. adds winner, stakes-placer

In my relative haste to tout the Puerto Rican allowance win of Hold Still, the second of my 187 juvenile sales tips of 2010 to become a two-time winner, I forgot that there was still racing action on Wednesday in which other sales tips of mine were scheduled to take part.

Those races went pretty well.

In Race 5 at Charles Town, Sultry Gibson, a filly who had placed at Calder Race Course in Florida before banishment to West Virginia, wired a field of maiden special weights for her first career victory. She'd lost by a neck in her first start at CT.

Sultry Gibson becomes the 21st horse among my sales picks to break her maiden.

Travis Dunkelberger hustled Sultry Gibson out of the gate and established a five-length lead with an opening quarter of 22.22. Her margin shrank to three lengths at the top of the stretch as Dunkelberger slowed the half-mile pace to 47.34, leaving gas in the tank for Sultry Gibson to stretch out her advantage and ultimately win by four and a quarter lengths in a time of 54.13 for five furlongs.

Sultry Gibson (Gibson County-Sultry Peg Cee, by Sultry Song) was bred in Florida by North Star Equine Inc., is owned by Jocelyn Dickey McKathan, and is trained by Melissa Hunt. The filly was withdrawn from Fasig-Tipton's Midlantic Sale of 2-year-olds in training, where I had labeled her a Priority 3 offering in compiling a list of likely to be affordable horses for a client in my first stint as a contracted bloodstock advisor. She was catalogued as Hip 347.

I touted her as "another of those precocious and fleet Gibson Countys" after she posted a 10.3 breeze at EASMAY, which was reasonably fast for that sale. Her dam, a modest winner, has borne six to race and five fairly modest winners. But among that group is a full sibling of Sultry Gibson who set a track record at Woodbine in her debut at 2, covering the Quarter Horse-like distance of two furlongs over an all-weather surface in 20.4 seconds.

I maintain a bit of concern over durability for any foal by the late Gibson County. That sister of this one, County Lass, only raced twice again in her life after that debut win at Woodbine. But Sultry Gibson has already made five starts, so hopefully she's showing durability that her sister lacked. Durability concerns and the generally modest nature of her winning siblings (though one had 11 wins and six-figure earnings) led me to categorize Sultry Gibson as a Priority 3 on the four-level scale I established for my client.

Sultry Gibson does have a bit more family worth mention, however. Second dam Hasty Lass (Three Martinis-Cuban Lass, by This Evening) was a six-time stakes winner, including on grass, for $233,464. She was also a half-sister to stakes winners DOTS HOT FLASH and DOTTIE T. Those three blacktype sisters raced a total of 159 times between them, so perhaps there's the durability we need to offset Gibson County, though the female line's toughness didn't extend to County Lass.

Since Sultry Gibson has slipped to Charles Town, where the purses are good but there's no turf racing, I have doubts she'll ever get a shot on grass. But she should. Her sire has winners on synthetic surfaces (including the aforementioned full sister of this one), and artificial-surface form sometimes translates quite well to grass. And Gibson County's sire, In Excess, was Irish-bred and has gotten a few top-notch grass horses such as multiple-G1 turf winner Musical Chimes. With a dam by Sultry Song (sire of Breeders' Cup Mile winner Singletary) and a dirt/turf stakes winning second dam, it couldn't hurt to see if Sultry Gibson can outrun grass-bred babies in some 2-year-old turf races this year, before the lawn turns brown. (Or when she perhaps goes back to Florida for the winter.)

At any rate, in earning $15,600 for the win, Sultry Gibson bumps her earnings to $23,190 from five starts.

Also Wednesday, another horse that I'd like to see tried on grass and synthetic followed up his maiden win on dirt with a minor stakes-placing in Canada.

Blue 'em Away (Bluegrass Cat-Alcina, by Kingmambo) persevered to finish a clear second behind heavy favorite Little Widow Maker in the Osiris Stakes at Assiniboia Downs. The race, carrying a purse of only $30,000 Canadian, does not qualify for catalog blacktype. It doesn't exactly qualify as "fast," either, as Little Widow Maker closed from last of six to win in 1:13.60 for six furlongs. Blue 'em Away was second by 2 1/2, and finished another length and a half ahead of third-place Kommando Kate.

I'd still like to see this colt tried on grass and synthetic, and don't fully understand his banishment to dirt-track-only Assiniboia after two disappointing efforts on dirt in Kentucky. He's from the Storm Cat sireline, which has plenty of turf horses to boast, his dam was by a noted grass sire in Kingmambo, and his second dam was by a grass-getting sire in Roberto. Blue 'em Away has breezed his best on synthetic at Keeneland and posted a credible 10.2 breeze on fake dirt at the Ocala April sale. I remain confident he would be at least as good a horse, probably better, on synthetic or turf.

Though not blacktype-qualifying, the effort is the fourth stakes-placing for the Class of 2010. GOURMET DINNER broke maiden at first asking, was a restricted stakes-winner in his second start at Calder, and is one of six entered for the Florida Stallion Affirmed Stakes on Calder's "juvenile showcase" day Saturday. Sales-tipped fillies Alienation (Adirondack S.-G2) and Stopspendingmaria (Schuylerville S.-G3) are both graded-placed at Saratoga.

Blue 'em Away earned $5,772 from the start, bringing his lifetime total to $14,574 in A-meri-can dollars.

I'm not keeping the stats fully updated while on the road this week (ending in Saratoga Saturday and Sunday), but will catch them all up when I get home to the master database on my desktop Mac. But, you can follow along with the performance of my 187 sales tips at the bottom of this former post.

Bout of near-misses ends with a winner: Blue 'em Away becomes 14th sales tip to break maiden

Headed into the weekend, more than a dozen horses from my 2010 juvenile sales tips had chances to reach the winner's circle at tracks across North America, and even (on Sunday) in Korea.

It was a disappointing string of days and races until Saturday night, when a horse broke through that, to me, seemed one of the least likely going into the weekend.

Blue 'em Away, a colt by Bluegrass Cat-Alcina, by Kingmambo, managed to win in his fourth start, and his second since being banished to Assiniboia Downs in Winnipeg after starting out his career in Kentucky. Jockey Vicky Baze "forced the pace" from the outside, according to the Equibase chart, and defeated short-price favorite Three Mile Tough by two on the wire.

The colt, bred in Ireland by Runnymede Farm, earned $6,913 for the victory, bringing his lifetime earnings to $8,702. He is now trained by Chad Torevell.

Despite his win on dirt, covering four and a half furlongs in a fairly pedestrian 54.80, I still think his connections, Arnason Farms, are missing the boat with this horse. He breezed a credible 10.2 over the Polytrack at Keeneland before selling for $20,000 at the April sale, prompting me to label him among the "steals" of the auction. (I also named a list of "potential second-chance deals" from the sale, that is, RNAs one might be able to buy privately later, and "surreal" prices, figures that I deemed too much to pay for a given horse.)

I noted that I might rather have seen a turf-raced sire bred to the Kingmambo mare, but there is dirt performance in the family. Alcina is a half-sister to four-time stakes winner CAMELLA (Housebuster) and 11-race stakes winner STONE CANYON (Mt. Livermore) -- both of whom were G3-placed -- and of Mamalik (Diesis), who was G1-placed on grass in France. But the second dam was a stakes-placer by noted turf sire Roberto.

The colt breezed a credible 10.2 over the Polytrack at Keeneland before the sale. I was further encouraged when the colt rocketed to 48.80 and 47.80 works from the gate at Keeneland. Later works of 49.40 and 1:03 flat were acceptable, albeit not outright fast.

The connections shipped the horse to a pair of races at Churchill, where he twice disappointed on dirt. Then, off he went to Winnipeg, where he posted his slowest-ever breeze (51.60) before failing as the favorite in another dirt race -- dirt being the only surface at ASD. (He's breezed more briskly once since, 37.60.)

So, honestly, I had low hopes for Blue 'em Away going into Saturday's card. Frankly, I don't think he's a dirt horse. He's breezed anywhere from "all right" to extremely well over Polytrack at Keeneland. After running dull on dirt at Churchill, I can't fathom why he got punted all the way to Manitoba rather than just up the road to Arlington Park in Chicago, where he could try a synthetic track (or shelved until the Keeneland and Turfway meets).

With as much grass as there is in the female family, and a Storm Cat-line stallion on top (certainly a sireline capable of getting a turf runner), the colt also merited at least one chance on the lawn, perhaps at Ellis Park, before being banished to confines where the only grass around is for eating.

The connections' apparent early dismissal of the colt as a Kentucky-class racehorse aside, he's now a winner, regardless what I think, and the 14th of my sales-tip class of 2010. ... But please, bring him back in the winter and let him run on Polytrack at Turfway. I really think he'll improve on something other than traditional dirt.

Our winner now duly credited, the near-misses began with a third place finish on Thursday by Admitit, a bargain-priced filly ($20,000 at OBSAPR) who finished third, again, at Woodbine, this time on the grass. She's raced three times, has a third and another second on her record (both over the all-weather track) and has earned $18,760 toward repaying her purchase price, all without winning. And Woodbine, with its lofty purse structure, has become one of the more competitive tracks in North America.

On Friday night, two selections from Fasig-Tipton's Midlantic sale in May appeared in the same maiden special weight race at Charles Town. A $10,000 EASMAY purchase, Grand Giana, showed speed, but faded to fifth, while sales-mate Sultry Gibson led until the last instant, losing by a neck to Cuttin Edge Kitten. It was the second time Sultry Gibson had placed from four starts, her first three races being at Calder in Florida. She's earned $7,590. Grand Giana has earned $2,100 from three unplaced starts.

On Saturday, the missing got even nearer in one race, as first-timer Dangerous Ghost closed fast at the end but failed to get up in time and lost by a nose to 3/2 favorite Class E Holiday in a maiden special weight at Canterbury Park. I tipped the Ghostzapper filly from OBSAPR.

Two other maiden starters this weekend ran further in arrears in races on Saturday at Presque Isle Downs; Tale of the Tiger in her second start (an MSW) and R Canadian Academy (maiden-claimer) in her debut. Another scheduled starter, Soldier's Tune, was a trainer scratch at Calder from a $32,000 maiden-claimer in which he was the morning-line second choice at 3/1.

Through Saturday's racing, 56 of my 187 sales tips have gone to post at least once (30 percent), and the class has crested the century mark in combined starts. The class has won 15 of 102 starts (14.7 percent), placing or showing another 26 times (40.2 percent in the money). GOURMET DINNER ($75,390) is the only two-time winner, and is also the group's first stakes winner. Stopspendingmaria ($57,500) is Grade 3-placed at Saratoga. Combined earnings are now $487,644, or $4,781 per start.

You can track the performance of all 187 of my 2010 sales tips here.