Bullet Drill for Secret Oath

Briland Farm's Secret Oath (Arrogate), preparing to take on the boys in the Apr. 2 GI Arkansas Derby, worked a bullet five furlongs in :59.40 (1/34) Thursday at Oaklawn Park. Clockers caught Secret Oath covering her first eighth of a mile in :12, a quarter-mile in :23.80 and three furlongs in :36 before galloping out six furlongs in 1:12.40.

“The filly, that's a running machine, man,” said jockey Geovanni Franco, who was aboard for the work. “She was nice. That's a great experience for me. I was the work rider for [D. Wayne] Lukas and I'll do it again if he needs me. She felt good. That's a good feeling, man.”

Franco was deputizing for Secret Oath's regular rider Luis Contreras, who was out of town.

“Luis went home for a couple of days to be with his family and I know he'll be sick that I worked her without him,” Lukas said. “But having said that, the day came up and I thought he was going to be back, but he doesn't get in until 10 o'clock this morning. Geovanni did a beautiful job. He did a good job. He filled in nicely. I told Franco, I said, 'Luis owes you one now.'”

The five-furlong drill marked the second work for Secret Oath since her 7 1/2-length victory in the Feb. 26 GIII Honeybee S.

“We let her finish a little bit,” Lukas said. “I think she went the last quarter in :23 and change, so you know we saw her skip through there. But she did it the right way. It was a really solid work. These are ways of measuring where you're at and it's a measuring stick, these works. We're not concerned at this point on conditioning. We're trying to find out how sharp we've got her and everything showed up that way. So, now we just have to keep her happy.”

Franco was also aboard Call Me Jamal (Malibu Moon), who worked five furlongs in 1:00.00 (7/34) Thursday and is under consideration for the Arkansas Derby.

“I think he keeps improving and today I felt like he worked good,” said Franco, aboard for both of the gelding's victories at the meeting. “Hopefully, he keeps improving and keeps on getting his heart bigger.”

Trained by Mike Puhich, Call Me Jamal was a maiden winner over the Oaklawn oval last December and, after finishing eighth in the Jan. 29 GIII Southwest S., won a 1 1/16-mile optional claimer Feb. 26.

Moments after the work, Puhich said that Call Me Jamal remains under consideration for the Arkansas Derby and the Apr. 9 GI Toyota Blue Grass S. at Keeneland.

“I'm leaving the door open both ways, but I'm probably leaning more towards here,” Puhich said. “The Blue Grass is going to come up just as tough. I think Lukas's filly is the best 3-year-old I've seen run all year, in my opinion, from a fan's standpoint.”

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Maiden Winner Call Me Jamal Bringing Veteran Trainer Puhich To Southwest Stakes

Recent Oaklawn maiden special weights graduate Call Me Jamal is pointing for Oaklawn's $750,000 Southwest Stakes (G3) for 3-year-olds at 1 1/16 miles Jan. 29, the gelding's trainer Mike Puhich said Friday morning.

Owned by prominent Pacific Northwest heart surgeon Mark Dedomenico, Call Me Jamal was a front-running winner Dec. 18 under Geovanni Franco. In the 1 1/16-mile race, Call Me Jamal surrendered the lead in deep stretch before battling back to win by a head. It was his third career start and first around two turns.

“If he's as good in two weeks as he is today, he's definitely going,” Puhich said, referring to the Southwest. “He's ready.”

A chestnut son of the late Malibu Moon, Call Me Jamal is named after Seattle Seahawks All-Pro safety Jamal Adams.

The Southwest is Oaklawn's second of four Kentucky Derby points races. The series began with the $250,000 Smarty Jones Stakes Jan. 1.

Other locally based horses pointing for the Southwest include Dash Attack for trainer Kenny McPeek, Barber Road (John Ortiz), Ben Diesel (Dallas Stewart) and Osbourne (Ron Moquett).

Dash Attack, Barber Road and Ben Diesel finished 1-2-7, respectively, in the 1-mile Southwest. Osbourne finished second in the $400,000 Springboard Mile Stakes Dec. 17 at Remington Park in his last start.

All four horses recorded workouts over a fast track Friday morning. Dash Attack (:49.80), Ben Diesel (:49) and Osbourne (:49.20) went a half-mile. Barber Road (1:03.60) went 5 furlongs.

Smarty Jones third-place finisher Ignitis is under consideration for the Southwest, Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas said.

Like the Smarty Jones, the Southwest will offer 17 points to the top four finishes (10-4-2-1) toward starting eligibility for the Kentucky Derby. Post positions for the Southwest will be drawn Jan. 24.

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