It was back to work for multiple stakes winner Secret Oath, who completed major preparations for the $1.25 million Arkansas Derby (G1) April 2 at Oaklawn by breezing five furlongs just after the track opened Friday morning for Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas.
Working by herself from the five-furlong pole to the regular finish line, Secret Oath covered the distance in 1:01 under regular rider Luis Contreras. Secret Oath recorded fractions of :12.20 for her opening eighth of a mile and :37.60 for 3 furlongs, according to clockers, and galloped out 6 furlongs in 1:15. The track was fast.
“It went exactly as planned,” Lukas said. “We said go 1:01, just let her catch her stride and take a couple of deep breaths. Actually, it was so easy on her that I wonder if I should have done a little more.”
Secret Oath was breezing for the second time since her dazzling 7 ½-length victory in the $300,000 Honeybee Stakes (G3) for 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/16 miles Feb. 26. Secret Oath posted a 5-furlong bullet work (:59.40) March 17 in advance of the 1 1/8-mile Arkansas Derby, which will mark her first start against males.
“She breezed really good – five-eighths in 1:01,” Contreras said moments after Friday's work. “That's what the Coach wanted.”
Lukas, 86, a former high school basketball coach and among the most iconic figures in Thoroughbred history, said Secret Oath is scheduled to return to the track Sunday morning. She races for her breeder, Briland Farm (Robert and Stacy Mitchell).
Post positions for the Arkansas Derby will be drawn Sunday afternoon. The event will be open to the public, with a time and place to be announced by Oaklawn. The Arkansas Derby will offer 170 points (100-40-20-10, respectively) to the top four finishers toward starting eligibility for the Kentucky Derby, which is limited to 20 starters.
Secret Oath was among nine probables listed Friday morning by the Oaklawn racing department. Other horses pointing for the Arkansas Derby are Barber Road for trainer John Ortiz, Ben Diesel (Dallas Stewart), Call Me Jamal (Mike Puhich), Chasing Time (Steve Asmussen), Cyberknife (Brad Cox), Doppelganger (Tim Yakteen), Un Ojo (Ricky Courville) and We the People (Rodolphe Brisset).
Barber Road, Un Ojo and We the People are scheduled have their final works Saturday morning for the Arkansas Derby, according to their respective trainers. Call Me Jamal is scheduled to breeze Sunday, Puhich said.
Un Ojo, Chasing Time and Ben Diesel finished 1-5-8, respectively, in the Rebel, while We the People is unbeaten in two career starts at the meeting. Cyberknife was a sharp allowance winner Feb. 19 at Fair Grounds in his last start.
The Southern California-based Doppelganger had been with Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, a four-time Arkansas Derby winner. But it was announced Thursday that Doppelganger and a handful of other Kentucky Derby hopefuls with Baffert had been moved to other trainers, owing to his horses being ineligible to collect qualifying points because of a two-year ban by Churchill Downs and a 90-day suspension scheduled to begin April 4. The sanctions stem from the disqualification of Baffert's 2021 Kentucky Derby winner, Medina Spirit, because of a medication violation. Yakteen is a former Baffert assistant.
Secret Oath has won her three starts at the meeting by a combined 23 lengths. She won a Dec. 31 allowance race at 1 mile by 8 ¼ lengths and the $200,000 Martha Washington Stakes Jan. 29 by 7 ¼ lengths. The Martha Washington and Honeybee were 1 1/16 miles.
Secret Oath, with 60 points for her Honeybee and Martha Washington victories, tops the Kentucky Oaks leaderboard. The daughter of Arrogate had been under consideration for the $600,000 Fantasy Stakes (G3) at 1 1/16 miles April 2 – Oaklawn's final major Kentucky Oaks prep – before targeting the Arkansas Derby.
Lukas won the 1984 Arkansas Derby with Althea, a week after she finished second in the Fantasy. Lukas finished third in the 1986 Arkansas Derby with another filly, Family Style, a week after she finished fourth in the Fantasy. Althea and Family Style were both Eclipse Award winners at 2.
In addition to the Arkansas Derby and Fantasy, post positions also will be drawn Sunday for three other April 2 stakes races – $400,000 Oaklawn Mile for older horses, $200,000 Carousel for fillies and mares at 6 furlongs and the $150,000 Temperence Hill for older horses at 1 ½ miles.
The $1.25 million Kentucky Oaks (G1), the nation's biggest race for 3-year-old fillies, is May 6 at Churchill Downs. The $3 million Kentucky Derby (G1), the first leg of the Triple Crown, is May 7 at Churchill Downs.
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