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Skipping Shuvee, Secret Oath Targets Personal Ensign

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Though Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas rarely passes on big stakes opportunities, he is skipping the GII Shuvee S. Sunday with Secret Oath (Arrogate).

After she turned in an uncharacteristic dull performance in the June 10 GI Ogden Phipps S., Lukas and the 4-year-old filly's breeder-owners Robert and Stacy Mitchell are using a little-bit-less-is-more approach at Saratoga Race Course.

“She's really, really doing well,” Lukas said Wednesday morning, “but we have made a decision to run here only once. We're trying to space her program so it leads to the Breeders' Cup. What we've got mapped out is the [Aug. 25 GI] Personal Ensign and then the [GI] Spinster at Keeneland. [The Mitchells] live in Louisville, so the Spinster is like the Kentucky Derby to them, and then the Breeders' Cup. That's the program that they have asked me to follow and that's not bad.”

Lukas, who will turn 88 on Sept. 2, brought 19 horses–10 of them 2-year-olds–to Saratoga this summer. Typically, he has been active at the entry box. Through the first four days of the meet, he has three seconds from five starters.

It's a very safe bet that by the time Secret Oath goes into the gate for the Personal Ensign, the other 18 horses in the stable will have made at least one start. Lukas said that Saratoga is the ideal spot for Secret Oath to get ready for the Personal Ensign, where she is likely to re-engage with standouts Clairiere (Curlin), Nest (Curlin) and Played Hard (Into Mischief), who are headed to the Shuvee.

“She thrives here because we don't have an opportunity to graze for an hour every afternoon like we do here,” he said. “We've got a chance to get her out every afternoon.”

Last year, Secret Oath won the GI Kentucky Oaks and finished fourth in the GI Preakness S. At Saratoga, Nest avenged her loss in the Kentucky Oaks and trounced Secret Oath in the GI Coaching Club American Oaks and the GI Alabama S. Secret Oath was third in the GI Cotillion S. and fifth in the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff.

Beginning this season at Oaklawn Park, Secret Oath beat Clairiere by 2 3/4 lengths in the GII Azeri S. and was beaten a neck by that foe in the GI Apple Blossom. On Oaks Day, May 5 at Churchill Downs, Secret Oath and Tyler Gaffalione were second by a neck to Played Hard. In the Phipps on June 10 at Belmont Park, she never was able to muster her off-the-pace run. It was just the fourth off-the-board finish in her 17-race career.

“The other day, I definitely think it was the track, and so does Tyler, that she had a sub-par race,” Lukas said. “He said it was rolling underneath her. Every time he gathered her up, she moved. Every time he asked her to run, he said she didn't get a hold of it. What happens here in the Personal Ensign, who knows?”

Lukas saddled his first starters at Saratoga in 1984, launching a run of 36 consecutive years at the track. He skipped 2020 and 2021 because of Covid-19 and a downturn in the quality of his stable. With Secret Oath as the centerpiece of the stable, he returned last summer and compiled a 7-6-2 record from 31 starts. He picked up his 61st stakes win at Saratoga with Naughty Gal (Into Mischief) in the GIII Adirondack S.

Secret Oath breezed five furlongs in 1:01 Monday over the Oklahoma training track in the midst of her longest break between races this season.

“I think it helps her,” Lukas said. “She's a better horse this year. If you want to know the truth, she can probably take more, but we're not going to test that. We're just going to space it out and come into the Breeders' Cup. We're skipping the Shuvee. It would be pretty easy to drop into the Shuvee, test the waters and see how she handles the track. We're going to just go for broke in the Personal Ensign.”

The Mitchells had planned to sell Secret Oath last fall, though Lukas urged them to keep her in training as a 4-year-old. He said he told them Secret Oath could earn millions more in purses this season and still bring a multi-million price at auction. They did pull her out of the sale and she has earned $576,350 this year.

“Well, if she never did anything more that would be pretty good,” Lukas said, “but she's going to get more. Three more and they're all big [purses].”

Lukas picked up a pair of seconds with his 2-year-olds on opening day–Lady Moscato (Quality Road) in a maiden special weight and Saratoga Secret (Arrogate) in the GIII Schuylerville S. His third second came Sunday with Just Steel (Justify), a $500,000 yearling purchase, making his second career start.

An easy winner in her debut at Ellis Park, Lukas said that BC Stable's Saratoga Secret showed in the Schuylerville that she is a promising filly.

“I thought her race was good,” he said. “She's another Arrogate and she's very immature, even more so than Secret Oath was. She's small and slight. She will benefit from the time. She's going to go in the [Sept. 3 GI] Spinaway.”

Lukas never lacks enthusiasm for his young horses and he is high on this crop.

“I think it's the best bunch we've had since probably the mid-'80s or '90s when we were a lot stronger than most,” he said.

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Champion Nest Primed for Seasonal Debut in Shuvee

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – There will be no easing back into competition for champion Nest (Curlin). Certainly not on a Sunday in July at Saratoga Race Course.

In the first start of her 4-year-old season–which was delayed by illness–in the GII Shuvee S., Nest is likely to face Clairiere (Curlin), the leader of the older female dirt division, and GI La Troienne winner Played Hard (Into Mischief).

“It's not the position we set out to be on at the beginning of this year, but it's kind of where we are,” Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher said. “We've given up some recency to some really good horses, so hopefully she runs well and it brings her forward.”

Nest, co-owned by Repole Stable, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Michael House, really strengthened her case for the 3-year-old filly championship last summer at Saratoga with emphatic victories over Secret Oath (Arrogate) in the GI Coaching Club American Oaks and the GI Alabama S. Secret Oath won the GI Kentucky Oaks by two lengths over Nest, the 2-1 favorite. In the showdowns at Saratoga after Triple Crown tests against males–Secret Oath was fourth in the GI Preakness S., Nest was second in the GI Belmont S.–Nest left no doubt about who deserved to be at the top of the table. She won the CCA Oaks by 12 1/4 lengths and the 1 1/4-miles Alabama by 4 1/4.

In her first test against older horses, Nest crushed the field in the GII Beldame S. by 9 1/4 lengths. She was the 7-5 favorite in the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff, but ended up fourth, some 3 1/4 lengths behind stablemate Malathaat (Curlin), who nipped Blue Stripe (Equal Stripes {Arg}) and Clairiere. Malathaat clinched the older filly Eclipse Award with that performance. Pletcher said Nest had a less-than-ideal trip in the Distaff at Keeneland.

As scheduled, Nest was given the next few months off to recover from her eight-race, five-victory season. It turned out to be a much longer break than planned. Pletcher said that three hours after she made the cross-Florida trip from the farm in Ocala to his stable at Palm Beach Downs, she spiked a fever. She got in a three-furlong work Apr. 15, had another upper respiratory issue and did not breeze again until May 13 at Belmont Park.

“We missed a month,” Pletcher said. “She got a pretty good lung infection that took us a while to get under control. Our original plan was for maybe running the [Apr. 21 GIII] Doubledogdare at Keeneland or the [May 5 GI] La Troienne at Churchill as a prep for the [June 10 GI] Ogden Phipps. It took us too long to get ready, so here we are.”

Pletcher said he considered bringing Nest back in the GIII Molly Pitcher Saturday at Monmouth Park, but opted to ship her to Saratoga and walk her across Union Ave. to run in the Shuvee.

She worked nine times at Belmont Park before completing her preparation Sunday morning with a half-mile breeze in :50 in company over the Oklahoma training track.

After what was a routine pre-race work, Pletcher said the most impressive part of Nest's breeze happened after the timing ended in front of the clocker's stand.

“The gallop out,” he said. “She seems to keep going.”

Clairiere has been a top-notch homebred performer for Stonestreet Stables and Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen. She has won eight of 19 starts and earned $3.1 million. Last year she handled Malathaat in the Shuvee, but was never a factor while finishing last of five in the GI Personal Ensign S. This year, she was second to Secret Oath in the GII Azeri S. and has won the GI Apple Blossom H. and Ogden Phipps. Played Hard was third in the Phipps, her 10th straight top-three finish since October 2021.

Considering the probables listed by NYRA, the Shuvee is likely to go off with a small, high-quality field. Pletcher said it figures to be a tough test.

“We expect big things from her always,” he said. “It's a lot to ask of her, but she ran well in her debut at a mile and a sixteenth and she's basically run well pretty much every start of her career. Hopefully we've got her fit enough to perform well and this is the first step towards bigger goals.”

Pletcher said he has not noticed any significant changes in Nest this season.

“She was so good last year that it's hard to see,” he said. “I think the main thing is she's filled out a bit, maybe carrying a little more condition than she was last year.”

What Nest has shown Pletcher in training is the running style that made her so effective during her championship season.

“It's what makes most of the good ones good, kind of a high cruising speed and the ability to carry it over a distance of ground,” he said. “As you saw last year, she has that ability on the dirt to accelerate, really quicken, the last part of a race. A lot of times, horses just have to keep grinding away but as we saw in the Coaching Club and the Alabama last year, she can cruise and then quicken.”

A few minutes after the workout Sunday, Pletcher said that gear-changing move was on display.

“If you saw the end of the gallop-out there,” he said, “she was all of a sudden 10 lengths in front of the other horse.”

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Played Hard Carries the Rigney Motto to Ogden Phipps

One short elevator ride from the top of the Churchill Downs grandstand down to the ground floor was all the time it took for Phil Bauer to officially become a Grade I-winning trainer.

On Kentucky Oaks Friday, Bauer was watching from upstairs as his trainee Played Hard (Into Mischief) took the lead going into the stretch of the GI La Troienne S. and, with Johnny Velazquez aboard, fought off last year's Oaks victress Secret Oath (Arrogate) to win by a neck. When Bauer and an elated crew of Rigney Racing supporters raced to the elevator to get their picture taken, they unknowingly avoided the hair-raising anxiety of sitting through an objection raised by Secret Oath's rider Tyler Gaffalione. By the time the group made it to the winner's circle, it had been determined that there would be no change. Richard and Tammy Rigney's Rigney Racing and their trainer Phil Bauer had just earned their first Grade I win.

“It was such a special day, I guess a dream come true,” reflected Bauer, who grew up in Louisville. “You obviously strive to reach that level and to finally do it was just, I don't want to say a relief because relief is almost expecting something. You dream about it and then once it's real, it's something you can reflect on and be proud of. It all boils down to the team and how everybody came together. You think back to when we first bought the filly and then to get there, it's so satisfying and you're very happy for the Rigneys for what they've put into the game. It's long overdue and hopefully many more to come.”

Much of Played Hard's success, and the rise of Rigney Racing in the past few years, Bauer credits to a change in game plan.

Bauer was working as an assistant for Kenny McPeek when Richard Rigney–owner of the Louisville-based beverage company Clarendon Flavor Engineering–offered him the opportunity to become the private trainer for Rigney Racing. The operation launched in 2013 and, despite winning their very first race, saw very little success in their early years together. After earning only 27 wins from 250 starts in their first five years, they decided to enlist the help of bloodstock agent John Moynihan.

Played Hard, a $280,000 Keeneland September purchase, was part of one of the first Rigney Racing crops put together with Moynihan's assistance.

“John Moynihan was a big piece of the puzzle and made a world of difference in the last five years with bringing in quality racehorses,” explained Bauer. “The proof is in the pudding. You can see in the last five years for us, we've really started to excel and it boils down to the horse. [Richard and I] go to the sales, look at the short list and pick the ones that we like the most, but John is driving the boat and it has helped a lot.”

Bauer had high hopes for Played Hard when they took her home after the Keeneland sale and his faith in the daughter of Into Mischief grew after each trip to Ocala to visit the youngster. The filly didn't make the races at two and was unsuccessful in her first three starts at six furlongs, but once she stretched out, she stepped up to a new level. She ran second in the GIII Comely S. as a sophomore and at four, she bookended a third-place finish in the GI Spinster S. with two Grade III wins at Churchill Downs. Her victory in the La Troienne, where she went off at close to 9-1, was her first start since winning the GIII Falls City S. last November.

“I was a little nervous that she wasn't tight enough, but I think she has matured into a racehorse that knows the game now,” Bauer explained. “Just in daily training, she hates horses in front of her and she'll want to get to them. With her overall demeanor as an athlete, she's a competitor. It's something that some horses lack, but she's got plenty of it.”

Bauer is hoping that the 5-year-old's winning ways will continue on into this weekend, when she'll have another matchup with Secret Oath in the GI Ogden Phipps S. Played Hard will once again team up with John Velazquez to face a six-horse field that also includes last year's Ogden Phipps winner Clairiere (Curlin), plus GISW Search Results (Flatter).

“We originally thought, 'Well, let's just come back in the Fleur de Lis at the end of the Churchill meet,'” said Bauer. “We kept an eye on the Ogden Phipps and while it's not coming up light, it's just coming up with a reduced field. The fact that she's got the grade one, we felt like in the big picture if we can win or be extremely competitive in it, it's only going to help her credentials as the year comes to an end and hopefully keep her name in the conversation for an Eclipse Award or hopefully the Breeders' Cup.”

The Rigney Racing operation comes into Belmont weekend riding a hot streak at Churchill Downs.

GISP Xigera returns a winner in her 3-year-old debut on June 2 at Churchill Downs | Coady

Xigera (Nyquist) got the ball rolling last Friday when she took an allowance contest going a mile on the turf in her 3-year-old debut. A maiden winner last summer in Saratoga, the filly was third in the GI Darley Alcibiades but then finished last in a field of 14 when she took her connections to their first Breeders' Cup for the Juvenile Fillies Turf.

“We felt so confident going into the Breeders' Cup and to run as bad as she did was just a hard pill to swallow,” Bauer admitted. “She never grabbed the bit that day and there was no major excuse that we could point at, so we decided to give her the winter and let her develop. She came back much more mature physically and mentally. We were anxious to get a start in her and hoping she would return to form so when she did, it was just like a sigh of relief. We're hopeful that she can continue to climb the ladder and hopefully produce some stakes wins for us this year.”

Bauer said that everything, quite literally, is on the table for the filly's next start. While Xigera has always shown an affinity for turf, she trains well on the main track in the morning and performed well in the Alcibiades on dirt last fall.

Xigera's efforts were followed up with a win on Sunday from Warrior Johny (Cairo Prince). The 4-year-old gelding came in off a seven-month layoff to take an allowance optional claimer by four lengths.

Also last weekend, Bauer had two second-place finishes with Anna's Arabesque (Munnings), who was third last month in an overnight stake at Churchill Downs, and Little Prankster (Practical Joke), a $425,000 yearling purchase who has now finished second in her first two career starts.

“I think she's one to definitely keep an eye on,” reported Bauer. “She actually works in company with a lot of the horses we've already covered, so you know her ability is there.”

Phil Bauer and Richard Rigney | Keeneland

With 27 horses currently stabled at Churchill Downs and more trainees returning off layoffs or joining the barn as 2-year-olds this summer, Bauer said they have high hopes for Rigney Racing this year. They'll have to work hard to meet last year's achievements, when they were the leading owner at the Churchill Downs spring meet, took home six of their 13 starts at Saratoga and finished the year with a record 21 wins.

“It's something that we felt was coming,” Bauer said as he reflected on their recent achievements. “You don't always anticipate extreme success in this game, but you have a general idea that you can at least be competitive in certain areas based on what horses you have in the barn and how they're training. That has been the case the last couple of years. The whole program has finally gotten legs and taken off. It's what we were striving for and for it to be here, it's been a lot of fun.”

Bauer's connection with the Rigneys runs much deeper than a trainer-owner relationship.

“[Richard] is one of my best friends,” he shared. “We golf together all the time. I'm very fortunate and blessed that [the Rigneys] stuck with me and continued to build around what we started out together. That means a lot to me. They're great people and they care about everybody and want to have a family atmosphere here at the barn. It's a pleasure to train for them and it's even sweeter when we're able to be victorious.”

Played Hard's name originated from what has come to be a meaningful adage for the Rigneys.

“The name came from their motto of life of if you lived well, you played hard,” Bauer explained. “And they enjoy life. I think when their time is gone, people will be able to look back and say, 'Well they did about all you can do.' At the same time, they make everyone's lives around them better.”

While there was a host of over 60 of the Rigneys' closest friends and family present at their home track in Louisville for the La Troienne victory, come this weekend it will be a much different experience as Bauer and Richard Rigney take on Belmont together for Played Hard's bid in the Ogden Phipps.

“I don't know if I'll ever be able to top the feeling of our first grade one being at home with the cast that Richard had present at the races, but obviously winning a grade one at Belmont on Belmont Day would be surreal as well,” Baur said. “Richard and I are the only ones going up Saturday, that was just the way it kind of worked out, so maybe it would be even sweeter if we can celebrate together and focus how we started and where we've gotten to be.”

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Into Mischief Filly Not Playing in La Troienne

Making her first start since winning last fall's GIII Falls City S. at 45 cents on the dollar, Rigney Racing's Played Hard (Into Mischief) rewarded those that remained loyal to her from a pari-mutuel perspective with a near 9-1 upset in Friday's GI La Troienne S. at Churchill Downs. For the second time in as many races, Briland Farm's Secret Oath (Arrogate)–who won the GI Longines Kentucky Oaks on this program 12 months ago–took a dirty beat in Grade I company, having been pipped on the post in the Apple Blossom H. last time, while Search Results (Flatter), beaten a neck by Malathaat (Curlin) in the 2021 Oaks, was a brave third.

“I went to bed many nights dreaming of this moment,” said trainer and Louisville native Phil Bauer, who was unsaddling his first top-level winner. “Horse racing can be like climbing Mount Everest. Today, I feel like we've made it to the top. As a Louisville guy, this means everything to me. It's so hard to put into words what Tammi and Richard Rigney mean to me. They've supported me through the highest of the highs and the lowest of the lows.”

Ridden for some speed by John Velazquez, Played Hard argued the early issue inside of Search Results and Society (Gun Runner), but when it was clear that Florent Geroux was intent on taking the latter to the top, Velazquez took a tug on Played Hard and pulled her to the outside to hound the front-runner from second. Society led through a half in a solid :47.28 and took the field into the second turn, but Played Hard was breathing down her neck and came calling for the lead with just under 2 1/2 furlongs to go. A few lengths behind, Secret Oath was making ominous progress after covering ground, but had to be asked by Tyler Gaffalione.

In front as they hit the top of the lane, Played Hard was urged along to maintain her advantage, but Secret Oath, six or seven wide off the final corner, looked to have the momentum down the center of the track while Search Results refused to lay down at the rail. Played Hard drifted out under a left-handed crop and she and Secret Oath brushed, but she boxed on gamely and was home narrowly best. A claim of foul against the winner was ultimately disallowed and the result stood as is.

“She's very brave. All the credit goes to Mr. Phil Bauer and his team,” said Velazquez, winning the La Troienne for the third time. “She's been working really good, and I didn't know if she had enough to beat Secret Oath today. But she put in a couple of good works here. I knew she was going to run well. The whole team did such a great job, to get her ready after a long layoff, and to run with this horse. I've got to give it to Phil, great job.”

Tyler Gaffalione said the incident in the stretch likely cost Secret Oath the race.

“Honestly, it felt a lot worse than it looked,” he said. “My filly must have been getting tired at that point, and we came together. I had pretty good position going into the first turn, then we ran into traffic, and a lot of shuffling, so I didn't want to get myself in a bad spot, so I got her out of there. She's got such a tremendous kick, that I wanted to rely on that.”

Off the board just once in eight previous runs beneath the Twin Spires, Played Hard romped home by 5 3/4 lengths in the GIII Locust Grove S. during Churchill's September meet last fall, then was third, but soundly defeated, in the GI Juddmonte Spinster S. at Keeneland ahead of her Falls City performance.

Pedigree Notes:

The 16th Grade I winner for her spectacular sire, Played Hard–a $280,000 Keeneland September acquisition–is out of daughter of SW Well Dressed, the dam of G1 Dubai World Cup hero Well Armed (Tiznow); GSW Witty (Distorted Humor), the dam of Grade III winner Bombard (War Front) and MGSP Amuse (Medaglia d'Oro); GISP Helsinki (Distorted Humor); and of the dam of GISW and current Darley Japan stallion American Patriot (War Front). Well Lived is the dam of the 3-year-old colt Highest Regards (Candy Ride {Arg}) and delivered a colt by Constitution Apr. 3. Played Hard is bred on a similar cross to champion Wonder Wheel as well as Grade III winner Comical. Rocket Can, who starts in Saturday's GI Kentucky Derby, has asecond dam by Tiznow.

Friday, Churchill Downs
LA TROIENNE S. PRESENTED BY TWINSPIRES-GI, $750,000, Churchill Downs, 5-5, 4yo/up, f/m, 1 1/16m, 1:42.48, ft.
1–PLAYED HARD, 123, m, 5, by Into Mischief
1st Dam: Well Lived, by Tiznow
2nd Dam: Well Dressed, by Notebook
3rd Dam: Trithenia, by Gold Meridian
1ST GRADE I WIN. ($280,000 Ylg '19 KEESEP). O-Rigney Racing, LLC; B-Susan Casner (KY); T-Philip A. Bauer; J-John R. Velazquez. $441,750. Lifetime Record: 15-6-5-2, $1,420,140. Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree or free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Secret Oath, 123, f, 4, by Arrogate
1st Dam: Absinthe Minded (MSW & MGISP, $607,747), by Quiet American
2nd Dam: Rockford Peach, by Great Above
3rd Dam: Strawberry Skyline, by Hatchet Man
O-Briland Farm; B-Briland Farm, Robert & Stacy Mitchell (KY); T-D. Wayne Lukas. $142,500.
3–Search Results, 123, m, 5, by Flatter
1st Dam: Co Cola (GSP), by Candy Ride (Arg)
2nd Dam: Yong Musician, by Yonaguska
3rd Dam: Alljazz, by Stop the Music
($310,000 Ylg '19 KEESEP). O-Klaravich Stables, Inc.; B-Machmer Hall (KY); T-Chad C. Brown. $71,250.
Margins: NK, HF, 1HF. Odds: 8.93, 1.68, 4.02.
Also Ran: A Mo Reay, Desert Dawn, Pauline's Pearl, Soul of an Angel, Sixtythreecaliber, Society, Classy Edition.
Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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