This Side Up: A Wrong Turn Onto the Right Road

They call it “pilot error.” It's just that you have all the correction of perspective, right there, that anyone could possibly require. If a jockey makes a mistake, the consequences obviously tend to be a good deal less drastic than for a guy flying a plane.

Besides, I have never liked the kind of blame culture that unites handicappers and horsemen in casting jockeys as the villains of their woulda-coulda-shoulda world. To be fair, perhaps that's rather more common in my native environment, racing on turf in Europe, where the tendency to restrain a horse for a late run can vividly magnify rider miscalculation. Carrying speed on dirt, however, calls for no less subtle judgement of pace and position–as was conspicuously apparent at Oaklawn last weekend.

But while these guys are only human, and no lives were lost, there's no denying how maddening it can be for those closest to a horse, to see so much patient toil unraveled in a matter of seconds by a jockey who can flit from mount to mount as insouciantly as a butterfly. These big races can represent the apex of a pyramid of development extending not months, but years, and sometimes the whole thing can crumble through the fleeting intervention of a guy who's supposed to be on your side.

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As such, let's hope that connections of Secret Oath (Arrogate) will be rewarded for persevering with Luis Contreras in the GI Kentucky Oaks. He owes them big time, after his panicked lunge for the red button when shuffled back by the colts in the GI Arkansas Derby. The whole industry had a stake in that adventure and not many of us would match the fidelity and compassion of D. Wayne Lukas and his patrons in apparently concluding that Contreras, hardly a regular at this level, will have all due motivation to make amends in the Oaks.

Secret Oath's response to the intemperate demands of her rider was such that she may yet remain the most theatrically talented of the whole sophomore crop. For now, admittedly, that feels a fairly limited distinction so far as the males are concerned. Many observers, indeed, suspect that Secret Oath may have a tougher task on the first Friday in May than might have been the case on the Saturday. But that only makes it doubly vexing that she should have completed her preparations with a really taxing race. Luckily we know that her promising young trainer likes to keep a horse at the plow, and it's not inconceivable that Secret Oath could renew contention with the colts in the GI Preakness S.

I have to admit I wasn't crazy about the fractions set by Contreras in the GIII Oaklawn Mile, either, but by the same token a top-class rider in Flavien Prat arguably shouldn't have exposed Cezanne (Curlin) to a pace that softened him up for Fulsome (Into Mischief) to pounce from last place. Cezanne has required so much patience of the people who gave $3.65 million for him at the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream Sale, now three years ago, and this was another performance in defeat that actually made you think better of the horse. To my mind there's no question that Cezanne is capable of winning a Grade I race and it would be interesting to know whether his rider deflected any blame by suggesting that they had overstretched a sprinter.    Personally, I'd still like to see this guy in the GI Met Mile.

Both these horses, for different reasons, exemplify how the hectic whirlwind of a single race can compress a far wider agenda: an awful lot of time and money, in the case of Cezanne; and a glimpse of happier headlines, for a troubled sport, with Secret Oath.

And it's going to be no different Saturday, when the final round of big Derby trials bring together an awful lot of horses with zero margin for error. As things stand, in fact, of the declared runners only Morello (Classic Empire) and Forbidden Kingdom (American Pharoah) have already secured a gate at Churchill. No coincidence, perhaps, that both are such natural dashers. None of the others, mostly slower burns, can afford the kind of misadventure that last week cost Secret Oath her Derby spot, albeit Messier (Empire Maker) resembles the filly in having unusual reasons for being confined to this single shot at the necessary starting points. But a lot of trainers, as we noted last week, have wittingly painted themselves into this corner by trying to reconcile their preference for a light schedule with the imperative of booking a gate.

Smile Happy (Runhappy) and Zandon (Upstart) probably can't afford another learning experience of the kind they shared in the GII Risen Star S., where both surfaced for the only time in four months and a third time overall. Both line up for the GI Toyota Blue Grass S. needing a statement performance to vindicate their precarious preparation. Smile Happy is in tolerable shape, with 30 points already banked, but Zandon sits on 14 while Emmanuel (More Than Ready), another who needs to have learned fast from a messy third start, has just five.

I'll certainly be rooting for Zandon, bred and raised by a model farm and representing a young stallion punching way above fee. Upstart already has one of the Oaks favorites in Kathleen O. and she could yet be joined by Micro Share (a $450,000 2-year-old) if getting her starting points out of the GII Santa Anita Oaks. Meanwhile Reinvestment Risk, from his sire's debut crop, looks right back in business for the GI Carter H.

This quite amazing breakout by a $10,000 stallion is just one among countless themes latent in one of the most captivating days in the whole calendar, set up perfectly by the joyous rite of spring that is opening day at Keeneland.

But wouldn't it be just typical of this business if all those Blue Grass highwire acts were suddenly toppled by Contreras, riding Ethereal Road (Quality Road) for Lukas? This colt at least compiled plenty of experience in taking four starts to break his maiden and, guess what, maybe didn't benefit from optimal tactics in the GII Rebel S., engaging on the wide outside and only tiring late after the effort of taking charge took its toll. Lukas reckons a bulb has come on since, and don't forget that it was the next horse home in the Rebel who picked up the pieces as Secret Oath surrendered second last week.

No getting away from it, that whole day fell rather flat. But if the sport was diverted from a road to redemption, with Secret Oath, perhaps her rider could already be taking us along on one of his own.

The post This Side Up: A Wrong Turn Onto the Right Road appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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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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Oaks Prep: Arrogate Daughter Secret Oath Very Impressive In Martha Washington Victory

Briland Farm's Secret Oath won like a 1-2 favorite should when she drew off to win Saturday's $200,000 Martha Washington Stakes in dominating fashion and in the process earned 10 points towards eligibility in the May 6 Kentucky Oaks (G1).

Secret Oath settled into fourth as Optionality set easy fractions of :24 and :48 2/5 for the first half mile. The winner dragged her jockey Luis Contreras to the lead rounding the turn for home and from there the race was for second-place only as Secret Oath drew off to win by 7 ¼ lengths in 1:46 1/5 for 1 1/16 miles over a fast track.

Optionality held on for second, 4 ¾ lengths in front of Como Square. They earned four and two points, respectively towards Kentucky Oaks eligibility, while Hypersport earned one point for finishing fourth. The Kentucky Oaks is limited to 14 starters.

“I had a great trip,” Contreras said. “I had so much horse the whole way around. Once I got her on the outside of the horses, she gave me everything she had.”

Secret Oath, an Arrogate filly out of three-time Oaklawn stakes winner Absinthe Minded, won for the third time in five starts and had now earned $285,167. The heavy favorite paid $3, $2.20 and $2.10.

The remaining races in Oaklawn's Kentucky Oaks series are the $300,000 Honeybee Stakes (G3) (85 points) on Saturday, Feb. 26 and $600,000 Fantasy Stakes (G3) (170 points) on Saturday, April 2.

Live racing resumes Sunday with a 12:30 p.m. first post.

Stakes quotes:

In the absence of Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas, Secret Oath was saddled by his longtime assistant, Sebastian “Bas” Nicholl.

Winning jockey Luis Contreras: “She's a really good filly. I had a really clean trip. I had a good break and the fractions really weren't strong in front. I just tried to keep her covered as much as I could. She was fighting with me. She wanted to go every single step of the race. I just tried to keep her covered behind another horse. When I put her outside, she just exploded.”

Winning trainer D. Wayne Lukas: “It was a replay (of her last race) and that's what we were looking for. That consistency is now coming and we're getting that maturity, as far as a professional racehorse. She's been very manageable, but she was a little immature before. But I think it's coming together now and we've just got to keep her happy and fat and we'll go down the road. What was I thinking down the stretch? 'Oh boy, oh boy. Here she comes.' I said, 'Let her roll.' When she made that big move, the fractions were so slow early on, I thought that Steve's (Asmussen) filly (Optionality) might just hang in there because they were slow. I was a little bit concerned, but not when she pulled up to their hips, back to the flanks. I said, 'When he (Luis Contreras) let's her go, she's going to roll.' “

Jockey Ricardo Santana Jr., second on Optionality: “I saw that horse at the three-eighths (Secret Oath) and when I saw him (jockey Luis Contreras) pass me that easy, there was no way I was going to beat him. My horse ran well. Just second best.”

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Avie’s Flatter Returns to Winner’s Circle In Nearctic Stakes At Woodbine

Avie's Flatter returned to the familiar confines of the winner's circle at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario with a victory in the Grade 2 Nearctic Stakes.

In the Grade 1 Woodbine Mile last out, the 5-year-old horse finished ninth behind upset winner Town Cruise, who was also part of the Nearctic field. At the break, Momos grabbed the lead, with Town Cruise and Turned Aside second and third early. Avie's Flatter and Luis Contreras were third entering the race's only turn, going wide into the Woodbine straight.

In the stretch, Avie's Flatter showed no trouble with the yielding turf, building up momentum on the outside of Town Cruise and taking the lead with a furlong to go to win by a half-length. Turned Aside came on late to take second. Olympic Runner passed Momos to take third. Town Cruise, Jolie Olimpica, White Flag, Reconfigure, Admiralty Pier, and Lucky Curlin rounded out the order of finish.

The final time for the six-furlong Nearctic was 1:10.52. Find this race's chart here.

Avie's Flatter paid $16.50, $7.30, and $5.60. Turned Aside paid $17.50 and $10.40. Olympic Runner paid $5.20.

Bred in Ontario by Tall Oaks Farm, Avie's Flatter is by Flatter out of the Empire Maker mare Avie's Empire. Owned by Ivan Dalos, the 5-year-old horse is trained by Josie Carroll. With his win in the G2 Nearctic, Avie's Flatter has three wins in five starts in 2021, for a lifetime record of seven wins in 18 starts and career earnings of $932,937.

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