Dangerous Ghost prevails in Canterbury allowance

Dangerous Ghost, a $12,000 2-year-old among my 187 mostly bargain-minded prospects from last year's juvenile sales, on Sunday kept up her string of strong efforts at age 3, winning an allowance at Canterbury Park by a hard-fought half-length.

The filly who broke maiden at Remington Park last year had previously finished second in her first two starts during a 2011 "road trip" that has taken her from Lone Star Park in Texas, to Prairie Meadows in Iowa, and now to Minnesota, which is actually where her racing career began a year ago.

On Sunday Dangerous Ghost (Ghostzapper-Katy Kat, by Forest Wildcat) pressed the fast pace set by 6/5 favorite City Wife, who went out in 22.32 and 46.02. As City Wife shortened stride in the stretch, second-favored Dangerous Ghost held on to prevent a mild upset by 5/1 It's Partytime, scoring in 1:05.65 for five and a half furlongs over fast dirt.

Dangerous Ghost now has two wins and three seconds from nine starts, for $29,732 in earnings. Her four unplaced efforts include three tries on grass and a start against colts and geldings in Remington Park stakes company at age 2. She nearly broke maiden in her debut at Canterbury last year, missing by a nose in maiden special weight company before shipping south to Remington.

I recommended Dangerous Ghost before she sold for that paltry price as Hip 1205 at last year's Ocala April sale of 2-year-olds in training. She was bred in Kentucky by White Fox Farm, and though she "only" breezed 10.3 at Ocala, I liked the blacktype in her female family. Her dam KATY KAT was a Fairgrounds stakes winner, G3-placed, and full-sister to a stakes winner. Her second dam, Kombat Kate, was stakes-placed and a multiple stakes producer. Third dam Caitland retired a maiden, but was a half-sister to G1 winner and sire WILD AGAIN and herself produced four stakes horses (three blacktype winners) including multiple G3 hero LANCE.

You can follow the further exploits of Dangerous Ghost and her 186 classmates on my 2010 juvenile sales-tip list at this link.

Bessie M misses stakes win by a head

Bessie M came up a head short of becoming a stakes winner in a grueling stretch duel Saturday at Calder Race Course.

I shortlisted the filly by Medalist-Catalita, by Mountain Cat, as a "Priority 2" horse on a list of 48 bargain-priced prospects at the 2010 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Sale of 2-year-olds in training while working my first (and only) auction as a hired bloodstock advisor. Then named Carolita, she sold for $35,000 as Hip 59 and would have been a "Priority 1" horse on our list were it not for the slow start at stud by her young, Maryland-based sire.

In the Leave Me Alone Stakes on Saturday at Calder, Bessie M stalked the brisk 22.28 opening quarter set by favorite White Merlot, claimed the lead by a half-mile that was run in 45.76, and responded when Beso Grande challenged her in deep stretch. But Beso Grande edged in front at the wire, claiming the $45,000 winner's share of the purse and leaving Bessie M to settle for her second straight blacktype-placing without winning.

Bessie M flattened out in the stretch and was third her last out in the one-mile Regal Gal Stakes at Calder on May 28. Previously, she had won two straight races for current connections Platinum Equestrian Corporation, which claimed her at Gulfstream in January for $25,000, and trainer Antonio Sano.

Bessie M was bred in Maryland by Mr. & Mrs. Charles McGinnes. She now has a 3-3-3 record from 11 starts for $76,024 in earnings.

She is one of three stakes-placers from that list of 48 bargain-priced prospects at EASMAY 2010 (my selections were sold or failed to attain reserve at an average price less than half the sale average), and one of 18 horses stakes-placed or better from my 187-horse list of mostly bargain-minded prospects from several of last year's juvenile sales.

Follow those 187 sales selections in the list at the bottom of this prior post.

Vital Victory maintains newfound winning ways

After 15 fruitless tries, Vital Victory finally decided that winning was so nice she'd do it twice.

On May 15 at Calder, the filly became the 80th horse from my 2010 list of juvenile sales prospects to clear her maiden hurdle, doing so in her 16th start, for a $12,500 tag. Today at Calder, she stalked the leaders and edged away in the stretch, collecting her second consecutive win by two lengths in $10,000 claiming company.

I recommended Vital Victory (Bwana Charlie-Victory Chime, by Polish Numbers) before she sold for $20,000 as Hip 634 at last year's Ocala April sale of 2-year-olds in training. She was unplaced from eight starts at 2, but has a pair of wins and three second-place finishes from nine starts thus far at 3. ... She's sound enough, at least.

I liked that the filly comes from good female stock; dam Victory Chime was a G3 winner (and stakes producer) and second dam Topacio was champion older mare in Uruguay. Victory Chime has produced several other multiple-winners who, while not always stellar, were sturdy.

Vital Victory has now earned $25,182, at least a little bit more than she cost at the sale.

You can follow all 187 of my 2010 sales recommendations here.

Kuhlu collects win No. 2

Pressing pacesetter Just Be There from the opening steps and dueling that horse and 2/1 favorite Princes Even all the way to the wire, my 2010 juvenile sales-tip Kuhlu prevailed by a norse in a three-horse photo Wednesday at Arlington Park.

Just Be There held on for second by a head over Princes Even in the $15,000 claimer. Time for about a mile on turf was 1:40.95.

I labeled Kuhlu among my "potential second-chance deals" after she failed to meet reserve at a bid of $22,000 as Hip 26 at last year's Keeneland April sale. Unplaced in one start at 2, she broke her maiden Feb. 6 going 6.5 furlongs on the all-weather surface at Turfway Park for a $30,000 tag. Wednesday's turf win was her second victory in six lifetime starts, earning $16,180 over those races for owner Tommie M. Lewis.

Kuhlu was bred in Kentucky by Dr. Kirk A. Shiner.

I recommended the bay filly by Ghostzapper-Golden Antigua, by Hansel, despite her 11-flat eighth-mile drill at Keeneland, which had to have held down her price. I figured that with Ghostzapper as her sire, the filly would not be the sharpest 2-year-old, but should progress nicely at 3 and 4. She is also the daughter of an Italian turf stakes-placed dam, who also won six times at 4 and 5 in the States, including the Nicole Stakes at Hawthorne and has produced 5-for-5 winners. And, as the half-sister to multiple G3-winner (and AWS track record-setter) GIANT GIZMO and stakes-placed Slick Pardoned Me, Kuhlu comes from a successfully producing female line and should have some prospect as a broodmare herself, even if she never earns her own blacktype.

Follow Kuhlu and the remainder of my 187-member 2010 juvenile sales tips here.

After 10 tries, they finally can't deny Admitit

Asked nine times at Woodbine, the filly never fully responded to the question, finishing second or third eight times. But on the 10th try, Admitit perhaps came to grips with the truth that winning is the answer.

The filly who had been runner-up five times and had finished third on another three occasions at ages 2 and 3, finally ran a dull race in her ninth lifetime start, finishing off the board for the first time on May 27. But she bounced right back in $40,000 maiden-claiming company on Friday (June 3), looping the field six-wide under Luis Contreras and scoring by a length and a quarter for owner Saffie Joseph Jr. and trainer Ricky Griffith. Final time for seven furlongs over the all-weather surface was 1:24.85.

Admitit (E Dubai-Fine Day, by Fantastic Light) was bred in Kentucky by Hot Pepper Farm. Also placed on turf, she now has a 1-5-3 record from 10 starts for $71,110. She becomes the 84th maiden-breaker from my 187-horse list of juvenile sales recommendations in 2010; that's 44.9 percent.

Despite the frustrating near-misses on the way to breaking maiden -- including a loss by a nose in her debut on June 25, 2010 -- it would be hard to suggest the filly hasn't worked out for Saffie. She was bought for $20,000 as Hip 1046 at last year's Ocala April sale, a price I called "phenomenal" after the filly's 9 4/5 eighth-mile breeze and despite her status as the first foal out of a mare who only raced once. Her second dam was a French Group 3-placed half-sister to MARQUETRY and SPAIN LANE, and to the dam of FIVE STAR DAY. Certainly she was worth a try at the price.

Admitit's win was part of a very successful Friday for my 2010 sales-tip class, a day on which G1-placed juvenile Alienation returned to the races for Bob and Natalie Baffert with a 7 1/4-length romp in an all-weather allowance at Hollywood Park and Lake Believe following up with a 2 1/2-length victory at nearly 10/1 odds in a claimer later on the Hollywood card. Omega Storm was second beaten only a half-length in his 3-year-old debut at Hollywood Park, nearly giving the class a "triple" there. Black Tulip came in second for the third time in her last four tries on turf (including a DQ from a win in Tampa), this time in an allowance at Indiana Downs. Third-out filly Decennial was third in a starter allowance at Belmont Park.

The Bafferts acquired Alienation for $60,000 as Hip 719 at Ocala April and she's certainly panned out, earning $135,800 from two wins and two stakes-placings in five starts thus far. Her victory at Hollywood Friday came in a fleet 1:09.23 for six furlongs.

Lake Believe is a Louisiana-bred that I think would benefit greatly from being sent home to Cajun country. She has two wins and three other placings from seven starts in Southern California, where the open competition is probably at least a bit tougher than statebred fields in Louisiana. Lake Believe has earned $36,820 toward repaying the $37,000 paid for her as Hip 32 at that same OBS April sale that produced Admitit and Alienation.

The rest of the weekend wasn't victorious in North America, though the class did get a pair of "maiden seconds" on Saturday (Christmas Angel first on turf and debuting Elusive Land in maiden special weight company at Woodbine), a maiden-third at Arlington (Seeking the Coach) and another near-miss third by $7,000 2-year-old purchase Alstom, who apart from a win and a stakes-fifth from five starts, has finished in the show-spot in allowance company at Oaklawn and Churchill by the grand total of a length.

You can follow the entire 187-member Sales-Tip Class of 2010 at this link.