Weekend results: 0-for-USA, 4-for-6 worldwide

It was a fruitless weekend Stateside, save for a few places and shows, but the horses I tabbed from last year's 2-year-old sales garnered four wins and two seconds from six foreign starts this weekend.

Winners Sunday included Admitit -- victorious for the third straight time in Canada after taking 10 tries to break maiden -- and Viva Ace, who is now 6-for-10 lifetime running among very good company in South Korea. The other two wins came Saturday in the form of a daily double at Hipodromo Camarero in Puerto Rico, where Australis Dream broke his maiden in Race 4 and stakes-placed Goldenrod Road collected his second lifetime victory among claiming company in Race 5.

Australis Dream becomes the 97th horse to break maiden worldwide from the 187 prospects I selected on this blog from selected juvenile auctions of 2010. He sold for $28,000 as Hip 728 at Ocala's April sale last year. The dark bay son of West Acre-Always a Dream, by Always a Classic, was bred in Florida by Gilbert G. Campbell, is owned by Luis Hiraldo, and is trained by Ramon Morales.

Goldenrod Road sold for $23,000 as Hip 423 from that same OBS April 2010 sale. He broke maiden in his second start and was third in Puerto Rico G3 company in his fourth try, but it took until his 14th start to clear the NW2L condition. (He was second twice and third three times in his last five starts.) The bay colt by Montbrook-Special Report, by Notebook, was bred in Florida by Centaur Farms Inc., is owned by Carlos Oyola Stable and is trained by Allison Escobar.

Updating the earnings for those two will have to wait until the charts arrive at Equibase from San Juan, apparently via carrier pigeon.

On Sunday, Viva Ace added to his considerable Korean accomplishments as we in the States were nestled in our beds, and did it by upsetting Korean Derby champion Cheonnyeon Daero. The native-bred Cheonnyeon Daero was sent off as the 7/5 favorite, but 4/1 second-choice Viva Ace wore him down in the final furlong of the 1,600-meter feature handicap at Busan, drawing off to win by 2 1/2 lengths.

I shortlisted Viva Ace for a bloodstock client seeking bargain prospects from the 2010 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Sale in Timonium, Md. The dark bay gelding by Macho Uno-Dancing Lake, by Meadowlake, sold for just $20,000 as Hip 90, and was shipped-off with many other U.S.-auctioned 2-year-olds to race at the Seoul and Busan tracks in South Korea. Viva Ace has won six and placed second three other times from 10 lifetime starts for $209,555, with his only off-the-board finish coming in his lone try against stakes company and older horses.

With his haul, Viva Ace pushes the 48-horse list from EASMAY precariously close to paying for themselves. The whole group cost a shade over $1.1 million (minus two that were withdrawn from the sale, one of which hasn't raced and maybe never will), and now are within a cheap win or decent placing from cashing-out with several months left to run as 3-year-olds.

Much later on Sunday, Admitit as noted collected her third straight victory by a length among $40,000 claimers at Canada's premier track, Woodbine. Bred in Kentucky by Hot Pepper Farm, she is now 3-5-3 from 12 starts, for $121,750 for owner Saffie Joseph and trainer Ricky Griffith. I recommended the bay filly by E Dubai-Fine Day, by Fantastic Light, as Hip 1046 at OBSAPR 2010, where she likewise sold for a bargain $20,000. ... Mr. Joseph has certainly gotten his money's worth with the filly -- you'd have to Admitit. (Rim-shot, please!)

Click here and scroll down for up-to-date stats on all 187 runners worldwide.

Viva Ace regains winning ways at Busan

Bouncing back sharply from his first out-of-the-exacta finish in eight lifetime starts, Viva Ace rolled to a four-length victory going 1,600 meters in handicap competition Friday at Busan in Korea.

The dark bay gelding by Macho Uno-Dancing Lake, by Meadowlake has now won five of nine career starts and finished second in three others, earning roughly $163,132 in U.S. equivalent. His only out-of-the-money performance was his last out, on May 1, when he finished sixth of 14, beaten about 5 1/2 lengths, in his first listed stakes effort.

I shortlisted Viva Ace as a "Priority 2" offering on a 48-horse list of bargain prospects for a client at last year's Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Sale of 2-year-olds in training. He sold for $20,000 to the KOID (the Korean Racing Authority), which buys horses in the States and ships them to Asia for resale and racing. Viva Ace runs for the stable of owner Hong Kyung Pyo and is trained by Kang Hyoung Gon.

Click here to follow the exploits of the Sales-Tip Class of 2010, in the U.S. and abroad.

Exotic Korea: Trio of sales-tips combine for exacta in one race, plus a daily double, at Busan

How do you spell "daily double" and "exacta" in Korean? And do they offer the same sorts of exotics as American racetracks among the betting options there?

Those two questions crossed my mind this morning when I awoke to see that two of my juvenile sales tips of 2010 won back-to-back races at BusanKeyongnam racetrack, the first of them heading a "sales-tip exacta."

Fleeting Joy came home the winner by a length and a half in Race 2 at Busan Sunday, the 5/1 third choice in a field where the three top betting interests all came off my tip-list. He was followed home in second by fellow sales-tip and 9/2 Sniper King. The betting favorite, sales-tip Sand Hi at about 7/2, finished sixth, but beaten a grand total of about three and a quarter lengths. Since the online race charts at the Korean Racing Association's Web site don't include running lines or comments, I don't know whether he could make any excuses.

About 30 minutes later, two more sales-tips went to post in Busan's Race 3. In this one, Kidari Joe was the winner by a length and a half at about 11/2 odds over race-favorite Dave's Train, who was sent off at about 3/2. The fifth sales-tip to run in Korea on this day, Myeongpumtansaeng, finished last as the longest-shot on the board in Race 2, nearly 59/1. She was one of two fillies racing against nine colts and geldings.

Both races were Class 4 events for foreign-bred horses. Korean racing has no maiden races. Rather, a horse races among Class 4 company (either foreign-bred or domestic) until he has earned enough money to advance him to Class 3; sometimes it takes more than one win to accomplish, as it did for sales-tip Viva Ace, who finished second, first and first in three Class 4 efforts before promoting.

I recommended all five horses who ran on this day among 187 juveniles I selected on this blog from several of this year's 2-year-olds in training sales.

Fleeting Joy (Kitten's Joy-Speedy Sunrise, by Cherokee Run) is a dark bay or brown colt bred in Kentucky by Kenneth L. and Sarah K. Ramsey. He sold for only $7,500 to the Korean interests as Hip 476 at the Ocala Breeders' Sales Co. April auction of 2-year-olds in training. I recommended the colt out of the same female family as G1 winner SIBERIAN SUMMER, English champ juvenile filly PLAYFUL ACT and others, then was a bit stunned by the price he commanded. Perhaps something on the vet report troubled buyers?

"A $15K RNA as a yearling, he's by a pretty good sophomore sire, out of a $102K-earning dam, breezed a respectable 10.2, and still didn't bring any money," I wrote following the sales session.

He's done OK so far in Korea, winning in his fourth start and hitting the board in two others for $25,763. (Runner-up Sniper King has two seconds and a third from four starts for $15,187.)

Kidari Joe, a dark bay or brown colt by Tiznow-Trickle of Gold, by Formal Gold, sold later in the same auction, as Hip 595, for a lot more money -- and still only $20,000. That price surprised me a little, as well, considering he's the first registered foal out of a Grade 3-winning dam who was victorious in 10 of her 20 lifetime starts for $467,709.

He also breezed 10.2 His dam sold in November 2009 in foal to Henny Hughes for $40,000. He struck me as on the short side, but he's solid as a side of beef and has acquitted himself well among the sort of horses that populate foreign Class 4 in Korea -- a group that might be limited in talent vs. maiden special weights at a premier American track, but which also often includes 3- and 4-year-olds, leaving the juveniles at some disadvantage.

"About as cheap as you can imagine getting a Tiznow, especially from a dam who could run," I previously said of this one.

His earnings from three starts, including a second place, have reached $22,780.

The two maiden-breakers bring the total number of winners to 46. That's 24.6 percent of all selections and a pretty fair 41.1 percent of the 112 to have made at least one start thus far.

The group has won 63 of 409 combined starts, a strike rate of 15.4 percent, and with 75 seconds and 45 thirds, their in-the-money rate is 44.7 percent.

Combined earnings have reached $3,192,809. That's an average of $7,806 per start and $28,507 per starter.

Follow all 187 sales-picks -- and a few pans, two of whom are set to make their racing debuts today -- in the list at the end of this former post.

Foreign Report: Viva Ace is a winner again in Korea; two new stakes horses at Camarero in Puerto Rico

It's been a pretty good week overseas for members of the sales-tip Class of 2010, with a two-time winner on Korean soil and a pair of 2-year-olds finishing second and third in Puerto Rico Grade 1 company at Hipdromo Camarero.

Viva Ace (Macho Uno-Dancing Lake, by Meadowlake) left no doubt that he would graduate from Class 4 company in Korea at BusanKeyongnam racetrack on Friday.

Korean conditions don't advance a horse from the lowest ranks -- Class 4 allowance -- simply when he breaks his maiden. Horses continue to race in Class 4, with 2-year-olds often facing older, until their lifetime earnings reach a level that promotes them to Class 3. Horses foaled outside of Korea face one another in foreign-bred races, while domestic horses benefit from fields for exclusively Korean-breds.

Viva Ace finished second in his 1,000-meter Korean debut at Busan on Oct. 17. He broke maiden at 1,200 meters in a field of 10 on Nov. 7. Despite a packed field of 14 Friday that included two 3-year-old Australian-bred winners and a pair of U.S.-bred juveniles who both had second-place finishes on their young records, Viva Ace crushed them all going 1,300 meters (about 6.5 furlongs), winning by a dozen lengths.

The dark bay or brown gelding is owned by Hong Kyung Pyo and is trained by Kang Hyoung Gon. Though he was ridden by You Hyun Myung in his first two starts, Viva Ace benefited from a weight-break Friday by carrying apprentice rider Song Keong Yun to victory. He has now earned the equivalent of $33,339 from three starts.

I shortlisted Viva Ace when he went through the ring as Hip 90 at Fasig-Tipton's Midlantic Sale of 2-year-olds in Training this May. I was was hired to find the better prospects among the sale's least-expensive horses, and Viva Ace eventually sold to Korean interests for just $20,000, well below the average price at the sale.

I liked him for his 10.3 eighth-mile breeze, which was fairly fast for EASMAY, and because his second dam, CORMORANT'S FLIGHT won five stakes from 10 total victories for $330,138, and second dam DOUBLE SUEZ was eight times from 2 to 4, including a stakes race, for $80,161. Double Suez produced three stakes horses, including Laurel, Delaware Park and Philly Park stakes winner THUNDER FLASH and G2-placed Reef Reef.

What I didn't so much like about the colt was his lengthier pasterns, which give me some concern about long-term soundness. But he's certainly been sharp in the short term.

Two other solid early performers in a foreign market are fillies Concertos Pride and Hold Still, who finished second and third Thursday in the Clasico Dia de Accion de Gracias S.-G1 at Puerto Rico's Hipodromo Camarero. They are the 14th and 15th stakes horses from the 187-member sales class, bringing the number of stakes-placed runners to 8 percent of all selections and 13.8 percent of the 109 that have raced.

Since it takes a couple of days for charts to make their way to my inbox from Puerto Rico via Equibase, I'll detail their mutual race and update their records and accurate earnings on this blog in a couple of days.

The win by Viva Ace drives the class' overall record to 57 wins from 367 recorded starts, a strike rate of 15.5 percent. As a group, the 109 starters have at least hit the board in 45 percent of their starts. Their combined earnings are now $3,046,754, which averages to $8,302 per start and $27,952 per starter.

Follow all 187 of my 2010 sales picks (and a few pans) in the list at the end of this former post.

Viva Ace trumps field at Busan

Maiden-breaker No. 37 for my sales-tip Class of 2010 also earns the distinction of being the first winner from a contingent of a dozen that were sent to Korea.

Viva Ace (Macho Uno-Dancing Lake, by Meadowlake) bested a field of nine rivals at BusanKyeongnam race course on Sunday, winning his first lifetime race in his second career start. He had placed second in his debut.

The gelding was ridden to victory by You Hyun Myung, and trained by Kang Hyoung Gon for owner Hong Kyung Pyo. He covered 1,200 meters in 1:13.9, and has earned $23,937 from his two starts. (Provided this currency converter is correct.)

The race is not officially a "maiden's only" race, as those don't exist in Korea, where horses can continue to race among "Class 4" competition (the lowest available), even after they've won, until they earn enough money to advance to Class 3. But there were no winners in against Viva Ace on this day, and six of his nine opponents in the race for imported horses were also 2-year-olds. (Second went to an Australian-bred 4-year-old named Seonggong Bulpae, and third to a U.S.-bred Trippi colt named Suhosin).

Tasked by a client to find the best values among the bargain-priced offerings at Fasig-Tipton's Midlantic Sale of 2-year-old in Training this May, I shortlisted Viva Ace as a "Priority 2" animal. He sold for $20,000 as Hip 90, but I had decided to pass on him when we reached his number in the sale order due to lengthy pasterns that I thought might make him tougher to keep sound. (Photo above from the Korean Stud Book Web site.) I felt there were still a number of horses on our list later in the sale, at least one of which we would end up getting, and about which I wouldn't have that particular concern.

Consigned by Harris Training Center, the youngster posted a 10.3 breeze -- quick for this sale -- and I still did believe that he has some up-side, including blacktype second and third dams.

He's obviously looked pretty good in his first two starts.

With all available statistics tabulated through Tuesday's results (minus a Puerto Rican stakes race I'll report soon), the 187-member sales class has sent 105 horses to post (56.2 percent), with 37 winners (19.8 percent of all selections, 35.2 percent of those to race).

The class has made 326 starts, winning 49 (15 percent), placing in 65 (35 percent in the exacta) and finishing third in another 30 (44.2 percent in the money). Class earnings now total $2,285,851, which is $7,012 per start and $21,770 average per runner.

Follow the class in its entirety in the list at this former post.

Heart & Seoul: Sales-tips and Korean racing

When a dozen of my 187 juvenile sales tips of 2010 found themselves shipped overseas to Korea, I thought their careers might be difficult to follow.

While their races won't be as easy to keep up with as if they were racing Stateside, with charts posted by Equibase some 30 to 60 minutes after each race, I've learned that it isn't all that tough to find out what and how a racehorse is doing within the confines of Korea. And this is how things work, per my understanding.

With much help from the proprietor of the Horse Racing in Korea blog, I've learned the whereabouts, connections and even training condition of 11 out of the 12 horses I tabbed this spring who were sold to Korean interests. And the first of those horses, a Forest Camp filly bought at OBSAPR and renamed Our Camp (formerly called "Off to Granny's") has made her first two starts -- one a definite learning experience, and the second an impressive near-miss.

I've also learned much about how the Koreans manage their Thoroughbred racing industry. It's terribly different from here in the States, perhaps in some refreshing ways.

From a purely racing perspective, in Korea a maiden runner cannot start in an official race until he has passed muster in a trial run under race conditions. The horse must not only behave himself sufficiently and break reasonably well from the gate, one presumes -- which is enough in the States for the animal to earn its "gate card" and start racing -- but also must achieve a certain minimum speed for the distance, in company, under the competitive conditions of the trial, in order to hopefully assure that he will be competitive when asked to race "for real."

Another striking difference between Korea and the States is that there are few races carded strictly for juveniles.

Korean racing is primarily divided into classes based on accomplishment, not age. There are four classes for foreign-bred horses, and an animal can only move up from the lowest ranks, Class 4, once it has earned a certain amount of prize money.

This means that many juveniles will first appear in "weight for age" races, facing much older horses. In her August debut, Our Camp was sent off at 50/1 odds in a race that included many 2-year-olds, several 3-year-olds, a 4-year-old, and a horse that was age 5, albeit 0-for-27 lifetime. Our Camp (pictured above walking in the paddock and also with jockey Park Byeong Yun) finished ninth of 12 in a race won by a 2-year-old, covering five furlongs in 1:03.8.

(My source at the Racing in Korea blog suggests that due to training methods in that country, a young horse like Our Camp might be running five furlongs, "five seconds slower than they would be back in the U.S.")

While juveniles are facing older horses in these races, at least they're bad older horses. And some races exclude juveniles, so the ones that don't, I'm told, are carded primarily with 2-year-olds in mind, though what are almost universally unaccomplished older horses are eligible, too.

Another visible difference between the racing industry in Korea and in the United States is in the amount of information available on each horse and its condition. The information at present is available only in Korean, but (by American standards) a jaw-dropping volume of data is at the fingertips of Korean fans and gamblers.

"Korean racing has very strict rules on transparency," I'm told. "The racing authority is terrified that at any moment, the government might shut them down, so integrity is very important."

Novel concept: "If a horse -- any horse -- visits the vet, for example, it gets recorded and published. They don't do timed works here, but all visits to the track in the morning are recorded. It's intended to mean that every punter has access to the same information and that nobody can set up a betting coup. Of course, very few people actually read it all, but you can go to a computer terminal at the track and pull up complete, up-to-date information about any horse in the country."

That is the kind of information you couldn't get in the States without going to every barn, speaking to every trainer (and vet), and usually be told to take a very long walk off a very short pier.

Meanwhile, some splendid information is maintained even in English for every horse in the country by the Korean Stud Book. Here are examples for sales-tip Fleeting Joy, a son of Kitten's Joy who debuted with a place-finish at Busan. First, his main information page, complete left-side, right-side and head-on photos, country of origin, sire and dam's names, color and current owner in Korea; then his pedigree; his complete, 25-generation sireline, showing he traces to the Darley Arabian; 15 generations of dams, dating to a British mare named Bavarian, born in 1826; and finally, his race-record, including the most basic of past-performance lines.

So, without further ado (and with much help from my source who is handling the translation from Korean), here's the current rundown on my 12 sales picks of 2010 to have reached Korean shores.

Choego Chansa: Trained at Busan by Min Jang Gi. "Working well" and participated in a race trial in August. She finished just sixth of eight, but with a time that "scraped by" as fast enough to begin entering real races. Her debut in an official race on Sept. 10 was better by competitive standards, fifth of eight, earning (if this currency converter is correct) $1,936.

Dr. Drewman: At Seoul with trainer Kim Sun Gun. No official works as of late August (remember, works aren't timed, just recorded and reported) so he might be some time away from racing. But no reported medical problems, either.

Our Camp: Training at Seoul with Ha Jae Heung. Sixth of 11 in her race trial; ninth of 12 in her debut start. But, on Sept. 12, she "closed like a train" to come up just a half-length short, placing second to a 4-year-old (who was 0-for-19 prior, but still, twice her age), earning $8,034.

Fleeting Joy: A Jang Se Han trainee at Busan. "Working well" and passed race trials Aug. 7, then came home second in his debut on Aug. 29, earning $5,180.

Sniper King: Training with Kim Chang Ok at Busan. In late August, it was reported that he hadn't worked during the week. "The vet's diagnosis at this stage is simply 'exercise fatigue.'" Before that, he was reported as working well. Qualified for competitive races with a fourth-place finish out of nine in a trial on the weekend of Aug. 7-8. Bounced back from his "fatigue" to debut on Sept. 5 at Busan, with a third-place finish from eight starters, earning $2,912.

Myeongpumtansaeng: Name is recorded in the U.S. as two words, for some reason. Training at Busan under Choi Gi Hong. Only two works in July, became a regular worker in August. Probably a few weeks away from a trial.

Hanhyeolcheonyong: Name is recorded in the states as beginning with the letter M, not H. The first bit of bad news. This horse is at Seoul with Choi Hye Sik, but was diagnosed with lymphangitis in July and is undergoing treatment. Lymphangitis in horses is an inflammation associated with the lymphatic system, most commonly caused by a bacterial infection.

Daebak Chance: In training with Kim Jeom Oh at Seoul, this horse appears to have "cut himself up pretty badly" in July and is still recovering.

Sand Kahn: With Yoo Jae Gil at Seoul, but being given time off to mature a bit. Likely to resume training sometime in September.

Sand Hi: At Busan with Lim Geum Man. "Took awhile to settle," but went into full training in mid-August and "looks to be working well so far."

Viva Ace: This gelding by Macho Uno was the last to be named. Little information was available about him before, but now that he has a moniker, that should change.

Kidari Joe: Son of Tiznow is due to debut on Sunday in Race 4 at Busan. He is the 13-horse in a field of 14 -- pretty bad break on the post-draw -- and is one of six 2-year-olds facing seven 3-year-olds and one 0-for-17 4-year-old colt. Good luck to Kidari Joe.

Oh, and before we go, how pretty is the splash page for the Korean-language version of the Korean Racing Authority's Web site? And check the title in the browser top bar, in English: "Life & Love with KRA."

Life, love, racehorses. I'm not sure anyone could paint a better picture of how I'd want to live out the rest of my own life.