Call it a tale of two maidens.

One of ‘em sold pretty much for a song. The other cost $875,000. This weekend at Laurel Park, both made their career debuts in notable fashion.

Two-year-old Romeo kicked things off Saturday in the first two-year-old race of the year in Maryland, zipping to the front and widening with ease to win by 10 ¼ lengths. Running time for the 4 ½ furlongs was 52.55 seconds.

“I liked his pedigree, and when I went to go look at him, I loved the way he walked,” said Gina Robb, who picked out the Honor A. P. colt at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic fall yearling sale this past October. “I thought he was a steal.”

Romeo failed to meet his reserve price at that sale when bidding topped out at $14,000. Robb got him “cheaper than what they bought him back for,” she added.

Trained by Robb’s husband Jerry and racing for Joe Lloyd’s Lucky 7 Stables, Romeo went off at odds of 4-5 in the six-horse field and lived up to his advance billing under jockey Xavier Perez. There wasn’t one step of the race during which he didn’t look like a winner.

“I was super-confident coming into the race,” Lloyd said. “I go to the workouts, and I was watching him, and he was just flying. Like you just saw, he didn’t even try.”

Romeo was bred in Maryland by John Davison and is out of the Not for Love mare Fancy Love. Romeo’s half-brother Super Love, by Super Saver, won the first three starts of his career.

Robb’s other horse in the race, G Q Worthy, for Mens Grille Racing, rallied for second, while longshot Fortune Hill, trained by Irvin Flores, was third.

One day later, Lionel, who cost more than 60 times as much as Romeo, enjoyed similar success, stalking the early pace in a one-mile maiden special weight before powering to a 9 ½-length victory in 1:39.45 over a sloppy, sealed main track.

An $875,000 purchase at the 2023 Keeneland September yearling sale, the son of Authentic is owned by SF Racing and others. He began his training in Bob Baffert’s Santa Anita barn but shifted to Maryland and Brittany Russell’s operation prior to today’s career debut.

Under Jevian Toledo stalked loose leader Frosted Bull for much of the trip, went on the attack nearing the lane, and drew off to the easy win.

“I think he liked the competition, to be honest,” Toledo said. “When he opened up on the other horse, I feel like he kind of started waiting a little bit. That’s why I kind of asked him.”

An Authentic colt, Lionel had posted several fast works in Baffert’s care at Santa Anita, including a bullet half-mile in 47 2/5 seconds March 28 that was the fastest of 45 at the distance. In his lone work for Russell prior to today’s outing, he had breezed a half in 49 seconds flat at Laurel.

“[Russell] said just to put him in a good spot,” Toledo said. “He’s a pretty good horse, you know. He’s pretty smart, he does everything good. She said to put him where he’s comfortable and go from there.”