Tag: secret oath

It’s ‘Oath’ and Coach in the Oaks

The legend of trainer D. Wayne Lukas got just a little bit longer Friday afternoon.

Fully four decades after Stonereath Farms' Blush With Pride (Blushing Groom {Fr}) gave the Hall of Famer a maiden victory in the GI Kentucky Oaks–now sponsored by Longines–and 32 years after Seaside Attraction (Seattle Slew) provided William T. Young's Overbrook Farm with their lone success in the fillies' feature for Lukas's fourth and most recent winner, Briland Farm homebred Secret Oath (Arrogate) was back to her brilliant best beneath the Twin Spires, as she capitalized on a frenetic pace and outfinished GI Central Bank Ashland S. heroine Nest (Curlin) for a decisive tally. Arizona-bred longshot Desert Dawn (Cupid) was up for third over pace-pressing champion and 'TDN Rising Star' Echo Zulu (Gun Runner).

“It feels great,” said Lukas, impeccably clad as is his big-race custom. “I've said all week, as trainers we think it's us. After you win one, the real satisfaction is for the [owners] who raised her and let them have the opportunity to enjoy this and get the thrill.”

Lukas joins the legendary Woody Stephens on five Oaks wins.

Secret Oath outran odds of 31-1 to be third on her one-mile debut over a rain-affected Churchill strip Oct. 3 and ghosted her rivals by 5 1/4 lengths when tried around two turns on Halloween before finishing a well-beaten fifth in the local GII Golden Rod S. Nov. 27.

Relocated to Oakawn Park for the winter, the track at which her dam Absinthe Minded (Quiet American) did the majority of her best work, the chestnut took things to a new level in a one-mile allowance on New Year's Eve, whooshing home and leaving Friday's GII Eight Belles S. victress Matareya (Pioneerof the Nile) 8 1/4 lengths in her wake. The 7 1/4-length winner of the Jan. 29 Martha Washington S., Secret Oath followed up by a similar margin in the GIII Honeybee S., sewing up a spot in this event in the process. But instead of taking the path of least resistance against her peers in the GIII Fantasy S., connections rolled the dice against the boys in the GI Arkansas Derby, a race whose $1.25-million purse was better than double that of the Fantasy. But little went right, as she was bothered at the start, was consigned to a six-wide run around the turn and peaked on her run about a sixteenth from home to finish third behind Cyberknife (Gun Runner). Lukas vowed that, win or lose, it was onto the Oaks and Secret Oath took care of the rest on an intermittently rainy Friday afternoon.

A Superlative Steer from Saez…

Luis Contreras was Secret Oath's partner for her four-race campaign in Hot Springs, but he came under some fire for his Arkansas Derby ride and was ultimately replaced by Luis Saez, whose agent Kiaran McLaughlin served as an assistant to Lukas before going on to a successful training career of his own. The Panamanian, who celebrates his 30th birthday May 19, had a previous relationship with Lukas, having won the 2013 GI Travers S. and GI Clark H. with champion Will Take Charge (Unbridled's Song).

The joint-third choice for the Oaks with the previously undefeated Kathleen O. (Upstart), Secret Oath was away without incident from stall one, but drifted back to midfield as a hot pace developed, as was widely expected. Echo Zulu was first to break the line, but she was soon supplanted on top by Fantasy heroine Yuugiri (Shackleford) who led the way through an opening quarter-mile in a demanding :22.45.

Eighth and ground saving as the Oaks field rounded the clubhouse turn, Saez pulled Secret Oath away from the inside and improved three wide and in the clear down the backstretch, now racing just in advance of Nest at the rail, with GII Rachel Alexandra S. upsetter Turnerloose (Nyquist) between those two.

Out of harm's way as they entered the turn, Secret Oath commenced an eye-catching move around Desert Dawn and Venti Valentine (Firing Line), catapulting herself from eighth to third in the space of a sixteenth of a mile, and was poised to strike outside of Echo Zulu nearing the stretch.

Saez cut the ribbons once heads were turned for home and Secret Oath drove past Echo Zulu entering the final furlong and a half. Nest, full of run but with nowhere to go on the swing into the stretch, was produced wide leaving the quarter pole, but Secret Oath had gotten the jump by then and was home for a comfortable victory. Desert Dawn kept on for third ahead of Echo Zulu, who was the only one of those involved in the pace to be anywhere close at the finish.

“I rode a lot of good fillies, but this one is pretty special,” Saez said. “It's an honor to be a part of Mr. Wayne [Lukas] because he's a legend. And we win a lot of big races for him, the Travers. And win the Oaks for him, it was like everything for us. So pretty grateful to be a part.

He continued, “She did it pretty easy. I remember at half a mile, I saw everybody in the lead pretty far. And [in] two jumps I was right there. She did it so easy.”

Lukas said all options are on the table for Secret Oath, including the GI Preakness S. in 15 days' time, or the sex-restricted GII Black-Eyed Susan S.

Briland Brilliance on Full Display…

Robert Mitchell and his wife Stacy purchased Secret Oath's then 10-year-old second dam Rockford Peach for $36,000 in foal to Running Stag at the Adena Springs sale at Fasig-Tipton in 2001, and clearly the best of the 11 foals she produced for Briland Farm was her fourth to hit the ground, Absinthe Minded.

Also trained by Lukas, the daughter of the good filly sire Quiet American won two renewals of the Bayakoa S. and the Pippin S. at Oaklawn and was placed twice in the GI Apple Blossom H. Outside of Arkansas, Absinthe Minded was narrowly runner-up in the 2011 GII Shuvee H. and third in that year's GII Molly Pitcher S. All totaled, the mare won six times from 35 starts and bankrolled over $607,000.

The fourth foal for her dam, Secret Oath was cataloged through Bluewater Sales as hip 1242 to the 2020 Keeneland September Sale, but a bit of fate intervened and she was withdrawn.

“She looks like her mother and her sister. She just kind of had that tall, thin, arrogant like,” Robert Mitchell said. “Tall, thin, narrow,” added Stacy.

Robert picked up from there: “That's not the classic commercial horse. And I thought, 'Well, if she looks like her mother, her mother placed in five graded stakes and won a number of graded stakes. Why don't we just pull her out and keep her?'”

Absinthe Minded is the dam of a 2-year-old filly by Medaglia d'Oro and missed when bred back to Arrogate for 2021. She was most recently covered by Unbridled's Song's Lane's End-based son Liam's Map.

 

 

 

Lukas Loving Every Minute of It…

Secret Oath's Oaks success came just a matter of hours after Lukas decided to remove Ethereal Road (Quality Road) from Saturday's GI Kentucky Derby.

“I thought he was a little bit flat,” he explained. “I didn't think that he was moving as well. And I knew that if I ran him in the Derby that I would eliminate the [GI] Preakness [S.] in all consideration. It would just be too many all right in a row.

“So I talked to the owner (Julie Gilbert/Aaron Sones). He was in Hawaii, couldn't be here anyhow. So he said do what you want to do, treat him like you own him. So we took him out. And we'll look at the Preakness in two weeks.”

The reverence and esteem in which Lukas–who still rides out in the mornings–is held was on clear display in the immediate aftermath of Friday's race. Lukas watched the race alongside his former assistant and fellow Oaks-winning trainer Dallas Stewart and 'the Coach' accepted congratulations from and exchanged hugs with former assistant Todd Pletcher in the tunnel.

“Those guys that were so influential in my career and carried me to where we are today, they put me on their shoulders and carried me,” Lukas reflected. “And I know it. I couldn't do it alone. I never could with all the horses we were training. So we're still very tight. It's a close-knit family.”

 

 

Friday, Churchill Downs
LONGINES KENTUCKY OAKS-GI, $1,250,000, Churchill Downs, 5-6, 3yo, f, 1 1/8m, 1:49.44, wf.
1–SECRET OATH, 121, f, 3, 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
1ST GRADE I WIN. O-Briland Farm; B-Briland Farm, Robert & Stacy Mitchell (KY); T-D. Wayne Lukas; J-Luis Saez. $705,250. Lifetime Record: 8-5-0-2, $1,295,417. Werk Nick Rating: F. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Nest, 121, f, 3, by Curlin
                1st Dam: Marion Ravenwood (SW, $112,598), by A.P. Indy
                2nd Dam: Andujar, by Quiet American
                3rd Dam: Nureyev's Best, by Nureyev
($350,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP). O-Repole Stable, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Michael House; B-Ashview Farm & Colts Neck Stables (KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher. $227,500.
3–Desert Dawn, 121, f, 3, by Cupid
                1st Dam: Ashley's Glory, by Honour and Glory
                2nd Dam: Ashley Secret, by Dr. Carter
                3rd Dam: Whatever It Takes, by Hatchet Man
1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. ($32,000 RNA Ylg '20 OBSOCT). O/B-H & E Ranch (AZ); T-Philip D'Amato. $113,750.
Margins: 2, HF, HF. Odds: 4.40, 2.40, 50.00.
Also Ran: Echo Zulu, Kathleen O., Shahama, Turnerloose, Cocktail Moments, Candy Raid, Nostalgic, Goddess of Fire, Hidden Connection, Yuugiri, Venti Valentine. Scratched: Beguine.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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Nest Favored at 5-2 in Kentucky Oaks for the Ages

LOUISVILLE, KY – Just how deep is the 14-horse field assembled for Friday's GI Kentucky Oaks?

Unbeaten champion 2-year-old filly and 'TDN Rising Star' Echo Zulu (Gun Runner), a game front-running winner by a nose while making her sophomore debut in the GII Twinspires.com Fair Grounds Oaks, was installed as the third choice on Mike Battaglia's Kentucky Oaks morning-line at 4-1. Last term's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies heroine, a $300,000 Keeneland September Yearling graduate, was assigned post seven at Monday afternoon's draw held at Churchill Downs.

“She trains like a horse that expects to win and that's a wonderful thing,” Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen said of the L and N Racing and Winchell Thoroughbreds colorbearer. “She got tired in her first race off the bench, but the fast fillies are inside of her and we are pleased to draw on the outside of them.”

Repole Stable, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Michael House's Nest (Curlin), a head-turning heroine of the GI Central Bank Ashland S. at Keeneland, was given the nod as the 5-2 morning-line favorite for the Oaks. The $350,000 Keeneland September Yearling purchase will break from post four. Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, also represented by longshots Goddess of Fire (Mineshaft) (post five) and Shahama (Munnings) (post 13), looks to capture his second straight Oaks after saddling Malathaat (Curlin) to a popular score last year.

“I'm happy with the draws for Nest and Goddess of Fire,” four-time Oaks winner Pletcher said. “We were hoping to be somewhere in the middle. With Shahama, it's OK. She isn't real sharp away from the gate, so she may have a better chance out there than if she was stuck down inside.”

The ultra-impressive unbeaten GII Gulfstream Park Oaks winner Kathleen O. (Upstart), assigned post 10, is the second choice at 7-2. Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey won the Oaks in 1993 with Dispute.

Secret Oath (Arrogate), a runaway winner of the GIII Honeybee S. and third as the favorite while facing males in the GI Arkansas Derby, drew the rail for the legendary D. Wayne Lukas, who is seeking his fifth Oaks victory. She is 6-1 on the morning-line.

From the rail out, the complete Kentucky Oaks field with morning-line odds:

1-Secret Oath (Arrogate) (6-1)

2-Nostalgic (Medaglia d'Oro) (15-1)

3-Hidden Connection (Connect) (20-1)

4-Nest (Curlin) (*5-2)

5-Goddess of Fire (Mineshaft) (15-1)

6-Yuugiri (Shackleford) (30-1)

7-Echo Zulu (Gun Runner) (4-1)

8-Venti Valentine (Firing Line) (20-1)

9-Desert Dawn (Cupid) (20-1)

10-Kathleen O. (Upstart) (7-2)

11-Cocktail Moments (Uncle Mo) (30-1)

12-Candy Raid (Candy Ride {Arg}) (30-1)

13-Shahama (Munnings) (15-1)

14-Turnerloose (Nyquist) (20-1)

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Secret Oath Could Try Preakness After Oaks

Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas indicated Secret Oath (Arrogate) may take another shot against the boys in the GI Preakness S. at Pimlico May 21 following tilt at the May 6 GI Kentucky Oaks. Secret Oath finished third in the GI Arkansas Derby in her first start against males.

“We had no intention of running in the [GI Kentucky] Derby; running a mile and a quarter, in a 20-horse field,” Lukas said. “Whether you could make a case or not that she's one of the better 3-year-olds in the country–which you can–we had no intention of that.”

He continued, “We were running in the Arkansas Derby because the race was [worth] $1.25 million. That in itself was the incentive. If she had won the Arkansas Derby, we wouldn't have run in the Kentucky Derby. We were pretty adamant that we were going to run in the [Kentucky] Oaks and have the best filly in the country.”

The second jewel in the American Triple Crown is contested over 9 1/2 furlongs.

“That's what the nomination was for,” Lukas said. “That's what we thought: If we have a big Oaks, now we cut back in distance. We go to a 14-horse field versus 20. We go on a different surface, tight turns, where speed would be good. It changes the whole game when you go to the Preakness.”

Lukas has won the Preakness on six occasions, most recently with Calumet Farm's Oxbow in 2013. The Preakness also gave Lukas his first Triple Crown victory, that coming with Codex in 1980.

“I have good luck at the Preakness,” said Lukas, who also has won the Derby and GI Belmont S. four times apiece. “I always have had.”

Secret Oath, by champion Arrogate, won the Martha Washington S. and GIII Honeybee S. this winter at Oaklawn earlier this season. She ranks with 80 points for the May 6 Oaks.

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Zozos Leads Derby, Oaks Workers at Churchill

'TDN Rising Star' Zozos (Munnings), most recently runner-up to Epicenter (Not This Time) in the GII Louisiana Derby Mar. 26, continued his preparations for the May 7 GI Kentucky Derby with a five-furlongs work that was timed in 1:00.20 Friday morning at Churchill Downs.

Breezing in the company of his GI Longines Kentucky Oaks-bound stablemate Turnerloose (Nyquist), the Barry and Joni Butzow homebred was out at 5:30 a.m. and broke off about a length behind the GII Rachel Alexandra S. heroine before galloping along through fractions of :24 flat and :48.40. The move began at the half-mile pole and concluded with Zozos on even terms with Turnerloose at the seven-eighths marker. Zozos galloped out three-quarters of a mile in 1:13.60.

“He's a really smart horse,” said jockey Florent Geroux, who will ride Zozos's GI Arkansas Derby-winning stablemate Cyberknife (Gun Runner) in the Derby. “He's starting to come into his own and it was a really nice work this morning. I settled back of [Turnerloose] and he finished up nicely with her. Both horses worked well.”

 

 

 

Hidden Brook Farm and Black Type Thoroughbreds' Hidden Connection (Connect) came out shortly after the Cox pair and covered a similar distance in 1:00 flat, pulling up six furlongs in a strong 1:12.60 with ReyLu Gutierrez aboard, who said the work was “awesome.”

Secret Oath (Arrogate) will face her peers in the Oaks, having finished third to Cyberknife and Barber Road (Race Day) in the Arkansas Derby and returned to the tab Friday morning. The Briland Farm homebred was timed in a slick :59.20 (:12.40, :23.60, :35.20), and Luis Saez, who takes over from Luis Contreras for the Oaks, was in to put the filly through her paces.

“I talked to [jockey] Luis [Contreras] after the race and he was sort of surprised with how much of an explosive kick she had at the three-eighths pole,” said Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas, whose last Oaks victory came courtesy of Overbrook Farm's Seaside Attraction (Seattle Slew) in 1990. “With that explosive kick at that point in the race, it was a little too much too soon. She got shuffled back at the start and got into contention but it was too much to ask. We ran in the Arkansas Derby for a million-and-a-quarter [dollars] and I thought we were the best horse going into the race and I still think we were the best.”

 

 

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