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The holiday weekend was a major one for U.S. juveniles.

In the East, the imposing Dublin leapt to the head of the class with a win in the Hopeful Stakes (gr. I). A member of the first crop of Afleet Alex (TrueNicks,SRO), he's out of Classy Mirage, a Storm Bird mare, who was a top-class runner winning won five graded events, including the Ballerina Handicap (gr. I) but had been a disappointing producer. The pedigree of Dublin is TrueNicks rated A+ on the Northern Afleet/Storm Bird cross.

On the West coast, the Del Mar Futurity (gr. I) went to Lookin At Lucky (TrueNicks A++), who cemented his status as the leader of the division in California. Lookin At Lucky is the third stakes winner and second graded scorer (the other being good three-year-old Papa Clem) by Smart Strike (TrueNicks,SRO) out of a mare by emerging broodmare sire, Belong to Me (TrueNicks,SRO).

The fillies also had a pair of grade I events. In New York, the Spinaway Stakes (gr. I) fell to Hot Dixie Chick. A daughter of Dixie Union (TrueNicks,SRO) , she is out of Above Perfection, a daughter of In Excess (TrueNicks rated A++). Dixie Union has been on fire of late, and he had another weekend two-year-old stakes winner in Dixie Band (TrueNicks A++), who took the Arlington-Washington Futurity (gr. III). He is out of the stakes winning Forty Niner mare, Tutorial, and follows Bear Character as the second stakes winner bred on that exact cross (Dixie Union seeming to work with virtually anything Mr. Prospector).

In California, the Debutante Stakes (gr. I) went to Mi Sueno. A $1,700,000 yearling, by Pulpit, she is out of a daughter of Hennessy (rated A++). There appears to be an emerging subset of the A.P. Indy (TrueNicks,SRO)/Storm Cat cross, as there are now two stakes winners by sons of A.P. Indy out of mares by Hennessy, and two more by Pulpit's son, Tapit (TrueNicks,SRO) , out of mares by that sire. Interestingly enough, the all involve stallions that have Nijinsky II, giving the Nijinsky II/Storm Bird combination.

Freshman Sire surprise, Offlee Wild (TrueNicks,SRO) , was represented by his first graded stakes winner when She Be Wild (rated A++) captured the Arlington-Washington Lassie Stakes (gr. III). He already has four stakes horses, and two stakes winners: She Be Wild (out of a mare by Seeking the Gold) and Heavenville (out of a mare by Seeking the Gold's son, Petionville (TrueNicks,SRO)), who are is only starters out of Seeking the Gold line mares. Offlee Wild's dam - a half-sister to Dynaformer (TrueNicks,SRO) - is by Seattle Slew a strain that loves Seeking the Gold (adds Frizette and La Troienne, both closely duplicated in Seattle Slew's female line).