Jon Court | Horse Racing Free Tips

Will Take Charge’s Will’s Secret Creates More ‘Buzz’ In Honeybee

Will's Secret added her third consecutive victory, while adding 50 qualifying points to the GI Kentucky Oaks, in Saturday's GIII Honeybee S. at Oaklawn Park. Sent off the 2-1 choice, the dark bay rushed up to contend with the Ken McPeek-trained duo of Tabor Hall (Candy Ride {Arg}), breaking from the inside, and Oliviaofthedesert (Bernardini), who settled in the three path around the first turn, while 'TDN Rising Star' Sun Path drafted behind the leading trio. Eagerly taking the advantage following a half in :24.25, Will's Secret was again headed by Tabor Hall following a half in :49.70. Her rival's lead didn't last long, however, and Will's Secret returned to the front exiting the far turn as Sun Path loomed large on her outside flank. In front turning for home, Will's Secret dispensed of the tiring Tabor Hall, and while Sun Path took her best shot to her outside, it was Will's Secret who held the edge late, winning by 3/4 of a length over the rail-skimming Pauline's Pearl, who was up in time to best Sun Path by 3/4 of a length.

“She broke really well today and we weren't pressured early on,” winning jockey Jon Court said. “She was comfortable on the front end and able to dictate a moderate, easy pace. I was able to have plenty of horse to finish with and when I called on her, she was full of run down the stretch.”

“It was a great ride,” said winning trainer Dallas Stewart. “She loves that track. She showed a little more versatility, that she can be on the lead and finish it off and that's really good to have in a racehorse. I just told [jockey Jon Court] to stay out of her mouth, let her break away from there and get around that first turn. I think that's important at Oaklawn. You've got to get around that first turn and be in good shape. Looks like we've got that down. She just coasted home from there.”

Will's Secret hit the board in two of her first three trips to post, including the most recent a third-place finish behind Clairiere (Curlin) at Churchill Downs Oct. 25. The Willis Horton homebred returned with a 2 3/4-length score in an off-turf test at Fair Grounds Dec. 20 before airing by 5 1/4 lengths in a muddy renewal of the one-mile Martha Washington S. at the Hot Springs oval Jan. 30.

Pedigree Notes:
Will's Secret is the second graded winner for the D. Wayne Lukas-trained 2013 Champion 3-year-old colt Will Take Charge, who was also campaigned by Willis Horton. The winner's dam, Girls Secret, was purchased by Horton for $375,000 at Keeneland November in 2016 after winning once in seven tries for trainer Anthony Dutrow. The first foal out the Giant's Causeway mare, Will's Secret has a juvenile full-brother as well as a yearling half-brother by Hard Spun. Girls Secret was bred back to Hard Spun.

Saturday, Oaklawn
HONEYBEE S.-GIII, $300,000, Oaklawn, 3-6, 3yo, f, 1 1/16m, 1:44.61, ft.
1–WILL'S SECRET, 122, f, 3, by Will Take Charge
1st Dam: Girls Secret, by Giant's Causeway
2nd Dam: Well Monied, by Maria's Mon
3rd Dam: Queen of America, by Quiet American
1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. O/B-Willis Horton Racing LLC (KY);
T-Dallas Stewart; J-Jon Kenton Court. $180,000. Lifetime
Record: 6-3-0-2, $343,300. Werk Nick Rating: C. Click for the
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Pauline's Pearl, 117, f, 3, Tapit–Hot Dixie Chick, by Dixie
Union. O-Stonestreet Stables LLC; B-Stonestreet Thoroughbred
Holdings LLC (KY); T-Steven M. Asmussen. $60,000.
3–Sun Path, 117, f, 3, Munnings–Touch the Star, by Tapit.
O/B-Juddmonte Farms Inc (KY); T-Brad H. Cox. $30,000.
Margins: 3/4, 3/4, 5 3/4. Odds: 2.10, 18.90, 2.90.
Also Ran: Oliviaofthedesert, Coach, Tabor Hall, Willful Woman. Scratched: Absolute Anna.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

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Ageless Jon Court Voted Jockey Of The Week

A fan favorite at Oaklawn Park for 40 years, Jon Court proved he isn't slowing down as he recorded his 34th stakes victory and his 689th career victory at Oaklawn Park earning Jockey of the Week honors for Jan. 25 through Jan. 31. The award, which is voted on by a panel of racing experts, is for jockeys who are members of the Jockeys' Guild, the organization which represents more than 950 active riders in the United States as well as retired and permanently disabled jockeys.

Riding for trainer Dallas Stewart and owner Willis Horton in the Martha Washington, the 60-year-old Court settled Will's Secret behind the pace setter Sylvia Q who led the field of six through early fractions of :23 3/5 and :45 1/5 for the first half mile. Four wide turning for home, Will's Secret put her head in front at the top of the lane drawing clear of 4-5 favorite Couch to win by 5 ¼ lengths. The winning time was 1:38 3/5 for one mile over a muddy track.

“The strategy was to not let the speed separate from us and keep them within striking distance, just because it is a short stretch, short run to the wire,” Court said. “I was keeping that in mind and mindful that these horses do have speed that carries.”

Court added that winning the Martha Washington had added significance because it was for Horton.

“These silks mean a lot to me,” Court said. “Six years ago I won this race for the Hortons and here we are back again. The odds weren't quite as favoring, but it was a pretty awesome experience to win. I'm known for pulling off long shots. It's just what I do.”

With no plans to retire, Court added, “I'm just very, very fortunate and thankful to the higher powers.”

Lifetime statistics for Court through Sunday, January 31 include 34,427 mounts with 4,194 wins and total purses of $108,191,731.

Court out-polled fellow jockeys Jesus Castanon a stakes winner at Sam Houston, Manny Franco who was second leading jockey by purse earnings, Julien Leparoux also a stakes winner at Sam Houston and Irad Ortiz, Jr. who was the leading jockey by wins with 13.

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At 60, Court Having Too Much Fun To Consider Retirement

Jockey Jon Court rode his first Oaklawn stakes winner at the age of 24, his 10th at 42, his 20th at 51 and his 30th at 56.

If it's still a race against Father Time, Court is winning.

Now 60, Court turned back the clock – again – Saturday afternoon at Oaklawn in Hot Springs, Ark., when he guided Will's Secret to a 5 ¼-length victory in the $200,000 Martha Washington Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at 1 mile.

The Martha Washington was Court's 689th career Oaklawn victory, 34th career Oaklawn stakes victory and first stakes victory as a sexagenarian. He turned 60 Nov. 26.

“At 60, it's amazing,” Court said moments after winning at Oaklawn in a fifth decade. “I'm just very, very fortunate and thankful to the higher powers. Taking care of my health, I was able to do that.”

A year after launching his riding career, Court won 10 races as an apprentice at the 1981 Oaklawn meeting and recorded his first career stakes victory in Hot Springs aboard Earl's Good Time in the $50,000 American Beauty Handicap Feb. 22, 1985. Court was Oaklawn's leading rider in 2000 and has been a fixture in the standings for much of the past two decades, although he was winless in 2020 after missing most of the meet because of a collapsed lung and cracked ribs sustained in an accident going to the gate before a race in February. Court also was sidelined several months after the Oaklawn meet with a wrist injury.

The Martha Washington was Court's first victory with Becky Esch, the jockey's new agent. Esch said when Court's former agent Steve Krajcir called last fall to inquire if she would be interested in taking another rider for the 2021 meet, she initially believed it was Kelsi Harr, Oaklawn's leading apprentice last year.

“I thought he was talking about her,” said Esch, the longtime agent of Walter De La Cruz. “When he told me that he was talking about Jon, I said, 'Are you kidding?' He's a household name around here.”

Krajcir again represents Harr at Oaklawn, along with De La Cruz's brother, Fernando.

Will's Secret, a homebred for Willis Horton of Marshall, Ark., represented Court's final victory in 2020 and first this year. Trained by Dallas Stewart, Will's Secret broke her maiden in a 1 1/16-mile off-the-turf maiden specials weights race Dec. 20 at Fair Grounds. In her stakes and 3-year-old debut, Will's Secret ($18) recorded the most lopsided Martha Washington victory since Rachel Alexandra began her Horse of the Year campaign with an eight-length romp in 2009.

“She's push button,” Court said. “She'll give you the speed when you need it and she'll sit off it. She continues to deliver every time you ask her. Any time in the race, she's pretty much push button.”

Court said the Martha Washington, Oaklawn's first of three Kentucky Oaks points races, had added significance because it was for Horton, best known for campaigning Eclipse Award winners Will Take Charge (the sire of Will's Secret) and Take Charge Brandi.

Court won the $150,000 Smarty Jones Stakes and the $600,000 Rebel Stakes (G2) aboard Will Take Charge in 2013 at Oaklawn, victories at 12-1 and 28-1, respectively, that helped the colt secure a 3-year-old championship. Court won the 2015 Martha Washington aboard odds-on favorite Take Charge Brandi, who was the country's champion 2-year-old filly of 2014. Court and Horton also teamed to win the first division of the 2019 Rebel with Long Range Toddy, who, at odds of 8-1, upset future Eclipse Award winner Improbable.

“These silks mean a lot to me,” Court said. “Six years ago, I won this race for the Hortons, and here we are back again. The odds weren't quite as favoring, but it was a pretty awesome experience to win. You know me, I'm known for pulling off long shots. It's just what I do.”

According to Equibase, racing's official data gathering organization, Court entered Sunday with 4,194 career North American victories to rank 63^rd in history. Court ranked 52^nd in North American history in career purse earnings ($108,191,731).

Retirement? No way, the jockey said. After all, Court's still in session.

“I feel great,” Court said. “That (retirement) is always brought to my attention. I'll do like Scott Stevens says: I am retired. I'm winning races doing it now. I'm really having fun doing it.”

Will's Secret earned 10 points toward starting eligibility for the Kentucky Oaks with her Martha Washington victory. She ranks ninth on the Kentucky Oaks leaderboard, according to Churchill Downs.

Oaklawn's Kentucky Oaks series continues with the $300,000 Honeybee Stakes (G3) March 6 and the $600,000 Fantasy Stakes (G3) April 3. Stewart said next-race plans are pending for Will's Secret, who has been based at Fair Grounds.

“She's a real nice filly,” Stewart said. “She's got a nice future ahead of her.”

Stewart and Horton teamed to win the 2006 Kentucky Oaks with Lemons Forever.

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Will’s Secret, Court Upset Coach To Earn Kentucky Oaks Points In Martha Washington

Rallying wide into the stretch under veteran Jon Court, Will Horton Racing LLC's homebred Will's Secret won Saturday's $200,000 Martha Washington Stakes on a muddy track at Oaklawn in Hot Springs, Ark. Coach, the 4-5 favorite from the Brad Cox barn, finished 5 1/4 lengths back in second, with Joy's Rocket third and Sylvia Q fourth in the field of six 3-year-olds competing for 17 Kentucky Oaks qualifying points (10-4-2-1 to the top four finishers).

A 3-year-old Kentucky-bred by Will Take Charge, who won an Eclipse Award for Horton as champion 3-year-old male in 2013, Will's Secret is trained by Dallas Stewart. He covered one mile on a muddy track in 1:38.7 and paid $18 to win.

Court allowed Will's Secret to sit in the pocket just behind pacesetter Joy's Rocket, who was engaged by Lady Lilly and Sylvia Q through much of the Martha Washington. Fractions were :23.1, :47.35 and 1:12.37 for the first six furlongs.

Court Will's Secret to the outside on the far turn, rallying around the three frontrunners and was four wide into the stretch. Lady Lilly was the first to yield, with Sylvia Q then dropping back. That left Joy's Rocket on the lead, and Will's Secret quickly put her away and drew off for the win. Coach was up late to get the runner-up spot under Florent Geroux by a half length over Joy's Rocket.

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