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Nest Dominates Alabama

Repole Stable, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Michael House's Nest (Curlin) left little doubt who the best 3-year-old filly in the country is with a second straight tour-de-force victory over GI Kentucky Oaks heroine Secret Oath (Arrogate) in Saturday's GI Alabama S. at Saratoga.

The overwhelming 1-5 favorite wasn't off to the smoothest of beginnings, bobbling slightly and bumping with longshot Nostalgic (Medaglia d'Oro) at the start. It didn't seem to matter one bit once the 1 1/4-mile journey was officially underway with Nest finding a perfect spot in a stalking third rounding the clubhouse turn.

Up a slot into second behind longshot leader She's Keen (Keen Ice) and traveling like a winner every step, Nest hit the front outside the five-sixteenths marker with jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. taking multiple looks in the rearview mirror. He had a very good view of the aforementioned Oaks winner, who was beginning to make her move at the quarter pole and the stage was set for the highly anticipated rubber match. Or so it seemed.

Nest floated out Secret Oath about six wide at the top of the stretch and absolutely exploded once straightened from there, displaying an electrifying turn of foot to win going away by a geared-down 4 1/4 lengths.

“That was a special performance today,” winning trainer Todd Pletcher said. “To see her come back and it seemed like she hardly drew a deep breath. I was a little concerned at the start, she got away in a bit of a tangle. I was hoping we'd get a good position and we ended up getting the position that we wanted. It was a little hairy for the first couple of strides, but after that it was all her.”

A jaw-dropping winner of Keeneland's GI Central Bank Ashland S. Apr. 8, Nest was two lengths behind Secret Oath as the favorite on the first Friday in May beneath the Twin Spires May 6. She showed her class after stumbling at the start with another second-place finish, this time against the boys, in the final leg of the Triple Crown in the GI Belmont S. June 11. Nest entered the Alabama following a 12 1/4-length powerhouse victory over Secret Oath in the GI Coaching Club American Oaks at the Spa July 23.

“It's at the point now where that's what you expect from her,” Pletcher said. “It takes a little while to build a resume like that, but she's run well in every start of her life and I thought this was a special performance today. We've run a lot of horses in the Belmont and I don't think I've ever had one come out as well as she did.”

Nest was also under consideration for another shot at males in next Saturday's GI Runhappy Travers S. before landing on the Alabama.

“This is a really, really good filly and we put her in the right spot today,” winning co-owner Mike Repole said. “I know everyone wanted the Travers, but she's an Eclipse Award winner now, I think, and I think this is the right route for her and we did what was right for the horse.”

As for what's next, Pletcher added, “Obviously, the Breeders' Cup is the main target, so now we have to figure out if we want to run once in between now and then or how we'll do it. We'll assess how she comes out of it first and come up with a game plan.”

Pedigree Notes:

One of Curlin's 18 Grade I winners, $350,000 Keeneland September graduate Nest is the second straight daughter of the two-time Horse of the Year to annex the Alabama, joining her stablemate and 2021 champion 3-year-old filly Malathaat, who is also out of an A.P. Indy mare.

Curlin's fellow top-level winners Clairiere and Paris Lights are out of mares by top broodmare sire Bernardini, and Nest's stakes-winning dam Marion Ravenwood is bred on the same cross as Bernardini, being out of a Quiet American mare herself.

In addition to Nest and 2021 GI Santa Anita H. hero Idol, Marion Ravenwood is responsible for $275,000 KEESEP '21 yearling Lost Ark (Violence), who took his unveiling by 5 1/2 lengths for Pletcher and Harrell Ventures earlier this summer at Belmont. Out of GSW/GISP and $2.5-million FTKNOV seller Andujar, Marion Ravenwood was bred to Curlin for 2023.

Saturday, Saratoga
ALABAMA S.-GI, $600,000, Saratoga, 8-20, 3yo, f, 1 1/4m, 2:03.14, ft.
1–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; J-Irad Ortiz, Jr.. $330,000. Lifetime Record: 9-6-2-1, $1,735,550. *1/2 to Dr Jack (Pioneerof the Nile), MSP, $156,155; Full to Idol, GISW, $426,964. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–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
O-Briland Farm; B-Briland Farm, Robert & Stacy Mitchell (KY); T-D. Wayne Lukas. $120,000.
3–Goddess of Fire, 121, f, 3, by Mineshaft
       1st Dam: Feel That Fire (SW, $147,280), by Lightnin N Thunder
       2nd Dam: Ubetwereven, by French Deputy
       3rd Dam: Raysor Lake, by Private Account
1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. O/B-Red Oak Stable (KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher. $72,000.
Margins: 4 1/4, 2, 2. Odds: 0.35, 4.80, 22.00.
Also Ran: Skratch Kat, Gerrymander, Nostalgic, She's Keen.
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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Saturday Preview: Rubber Match in the Alabama

There is plenty to play for in Saturday's 142nd running of the $600,000 GI Alabama S. at Saratoga, where Nest (Curlin) and Secret Oath (Arrogate) face one another for the third time head-to-head–each with one victory to their credit–with divisional supremacy awaiting the winner.

An 8 1/4-length tour-de-force tally in Keeneland's GI Central Bank Ashland S. accorded Nest the role of favoritism in the GI Longines Kentucky Oaks, but she was no match for the somewhat forgotten Secret Oath, dropping a two-length decision. A meritorious second to stablemate Mo Donegal (Uncle Mo) in the GI Belmont S., the $350,000 Keeneland September grad reversed the Oaks form with a 12 1/4-length thumping of Secret Oath in the GI CCA Oaks July 23, good for a 104 Beyer Speed Figure that is a half-dozen points stronger than anything her six rivals has earned and nine more than Secret Oath's top. A GI Runhappy Travers S. start was an option next weekend, but she sticks with a path of lesser resistance for the Alabama.

“Whenever you're running four weeks off a huge effort like that, you're always concerned about if you're running back too soon,” said trainer Todd Pletcher, who won his third Alabama with 'TDN Rising Star' Malathaat (Curlin) last year. “But, in her case, she's done so well since the race there's no reason not to.”

Wayne Lukas, who won the Alabama twice in the 1980s with Life's Magic in 1984 and with Oaks winner Open Mind five years later, looks to equal his former pupil. Secret Oath's second clash of the season with the boys in the GI Preakness S. resulted in a non-threatening fourth and she figures to strip fitter off the CCA Oaks, her first start in 63 days.

“She's really had a good month since that debacle in the [CCA Oaks],” Lukas said. “In fact, I feel like she's better now than any time I've had her. She's really flourished here at Saratoga. [Jockey] Luis [Saez] has worked her three times since that race so he's getting more familiar every day with her, too. So, that should help us as much as anything. We're anxious to run her.”

Gerrymander (Into Mischief) defeated next-out GIII Monmouth Oaks heroine and 'TDN Rising Star' Shahama (Munnings) in the GII Mother Goose S. June 25, but will probably need to find a few lengths to trouble the heavy hitters.

 

 

 

Spendarella Vulnerable in Del Mar Oaks?

Gainesway Stable's Spendarella (Karakontie {Jpn}) took her career record to three wins from as many starts with a convincing 1 3/4-length success in the GII Appalachian S. at Keeneland in April and, with trainer Graham Motion unafraid to tackle the deepest of deep waters, took that undefeated mark into the G1 Coronation S. at Royal Ascot June 17. The $220,000 Keeneland September purchase had the misfortune of running into her fellow flawless rival Inspiral (GB) (Frankel {GB}), who scored by 4 3/4 lengths first off the layoff and has since defeated the boys in the G1 Prix Jacques Le Marois at Deauville.

But Saturday's GI Del Mar Oaks figures something other than a walk in the park for Spendarella, who faces a fresh challenge from Euro import Txope (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}). The bay, previously trained by Philippe Decouz, was stakes-placed in France earlier this season on the synthetic and on the turf and was last seen posting a mild upset when proving 3/4 of a length too strong in the G2 German 1000 Guineas at Duesseldorf June 12. The bay most recently topped the Arqana Summer Mixed Sale on a bid of €1.2 million from the BBA Ireland on behalf of Yulong Investments. She makes her U.S. debut for the John Sadler barn and can be the fly in the favorite's ointment.

 

 

 

With The Moonlight Backs Up For Lake Placid

Godolphin's With The Moonlight (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) makes her third start in the last six weeks as the expected favorite in the GII Lake Placid S. back at the Spa. After failing to see out the 12-furlong distance of the G1 Cazoo Oaks June 3, the homebred completed a Frankel exacta behind McKulick (GB) in the GI Belmont Oaks Invitational July 9 but turned the tables on that foe last time in the GIII Saratoga Oaks Invitational. The latter is missing this time around, but the Chad Brown barn is represented by a quartet–each lined up next to the other–including GIII Lake George S. one-two finishers Dolce Zel (Fr) (Zelzal {Fr}, gate 5) and Eminent Victor (Mr. Z, post three); Consumer Spending (More Than Ready, post four), winner of the GII Wonder Again S. and third in the Belmont Oaks; and 'TDN Rising Star' Haughty (Empire Maker, gate six).

In non-graded stakes action Saturday, Grade I winner Rattle N Roll (Connect), who lost all chance at the start of the GIII Indiana Derby July 9, looks to return to winning ways in the $250,000 St. Louis Derby at FanDuel Racing (results in Monday's TDN), while 2-year-old males and females prep for next month's GI Pattison Summer S. and GI Natalma S., respectively, in the Soaring Free S. and Catch a Glimpse S. at Woodbine.

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D. Wayne Lukas Turns Back Time at Summer in Saratoga

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY – This has been a turn-back-the-clock, very D. Wayne Lukas-like, summer at Saratoga for the Hall of Fame trainer.

As he approaches his 87th birthday on Sept. 2, the racing legend has won a graded stake, finished second in two others, and made his presence felt at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale with the purchase of five yearlings for $2.725 million, led by of a son of Medaglia d'Oro for $1.35 million.

After skipping the past two Saratoga seasons due to a combination of the Covid-19 pandemic and a downturn in talent in his stable, Lukas returned in July with the star filly Secret Oath (Arrogate) and 15 others he felt had the quality to compete at the tough meet in upstate New York. While the Briland Farm homebred disappointed, finishing a distant second to Nest (Curlin) in the GI Coaching Club American Oaks on July 23, Lukas said he is satisfied with the way things worked out in the opening weeks of the season. Through Sunday's 24th day of the 40-day meet, Lukas' stable had a record of 3-4-2 from 19 starts– 47 percent in the money–and  earnings of $433,259.

“I think we've done all right, except for that one race,” he said after supervising the morning training from the back of his pony. “That one race bothers me and is nagging at me a little bit. I'm talking about the Coaching Club Oaks. That really bothered me. I know that our filly is so much better than that and we didn't get a chance to showcase her yet.”

Lukas said he was unhappy with the way jockey Luis Saez rode Secret Oath in the CCA Oaks and discussed that race after he worked her five furlongs in 1:01.55 on Aug. 9. Lukas described the breeze over the Oklahoma training track as “brilliant.”

“If you take that one out of it, I think everything else has been real fine,” Lukas said. “I really have enjoyed getting some of the 2-year-olds started and so forth. I think we can finish up here with a little flourish.”

BC Stable's 2-year-old Bourbon Bash (City of Light) sent Lukas to the winner's circle on Saturday to celebrate his eight-length victory in a maiden special weight race. He said the colt could make his next start in the GI Hopeful, a race Lukas has won a record eight times.

“He's been training really strong,” Lukas said. “He's a very immature looking horse, if you look at him closely, but he's starting to get his act together. Having the one out and the rest of the field didn't have any, he got away beautifully and Flavien (Prat) put him on cruise speed and away he went.”

Lukas said the Hopeful on the final day of the meet could be a good fit.

“We're right here,” he said. “You know me, when they're good I like to run them back. That was not a hard race on this horse. ”

On Aug. 9, the second night of the Saratoga Sale, Lukas purchased the Medaglia d'Oro colt for John Bellinger, a partner in the new BC Stable, that owns Bourbon Bash and Summer Promise (Uncle Mo), who was second in the GIII Schuylerville S. on opening day. It was the first time in a while that Lukas bought a seven-figure yearling.

“I don't know it just exactly. It had to be had to be mid-2000s–2005, 2006, 2007, somewhere in there,” he said. “We've been active in the sales, but we're buying $400,00-$500,000 ones which is not to be watered down. But this horse, we got into a bidding war with I think WinStar and some of those people. That was plenty for him, but he was something else. Good horseman all said the same thing. Actually, Kenny McPeek and I were talking and he said it was the No. 1 horse in the sale for him.”

Lukas said he called Bellinger a couple of hours before the session started and proposed buying the horse.

“I said, 'I think the best horse in the sale is selling tonight,'” Lukas said “I said, 'we can probably put together a group of three or four, or, John, you can just step up if you want to and we'll just try to buy him.'”

Lukas told him the colt would sell for “north of a million, for sure” and Bellinger agreed have Lukas jump into the bidding.

Lukas on his pony | Mike Kane

Naughty Gal's victory in the GIII Adirondack S. was Lukas's third graded stakes victory of 2022 and matched his combined total for the previous seven seasons. He expects to bring her back in the GI Spinaway S. on the closing weekend of the meet. With $2,614,795 in earnings through Sunday he is a cinch to have his best year since 2014 when he topped $4.7 million. His success has brought him new business.

“Surprisingly, yes. It really has,” he said. “I don't know if the exposure or the fact that people were sitting back and saying 'He's old. I wonder if he's still got it?' You know, that attitude. Then when you bang, bang, bang start to get on the front page again, they probably think 'Well, hell, he's out there and he's doing okay, we can give him another horse.' I don't think anybody questions that we can train. I think that's probably a given. But at my age they could sure question the work ethic and some of that and I think they feel comfortable.”

Among the additions to his stable in recent months were 14 horses owned by former client Willis Horton Racing LLC.

“Not only that, I've gotten a couple of new ones in the sale ring by buying yearlings, which is now a three-year look down the road,” he said. “So they must think I'm doing okay, physically.”

Lukas has made a few concessions to his age–using a cane when he is walking and steps to get up off the ground and onto his horse–but said he only feels old when he looks in the mirror. Earlier in the meet he had a mild case of Covid-19, which kept him away from the stable. It was a far different than his bout in 2020 when he said he thought he might die from the virus.

Lukas is confident in Secret Oath | Mike Kane

Secret Oath steps back into the spotlight this week and will face Nest again Saturday in the 142nd running of the Grade I Alabama S. The outcome could have a significant impact on the 3-year-old filly championship. Secret Oath beat Nest in the GI Kentucky Oaks then ran fourth in the GI Preakness S. Nest came out of her runner-up performance in the Oaks to finish second in the GI Belmont S. and ran away from Secret Oath in the CCA Oaks to win by 12 1/4 lengths.

Lukas said Saez told him after that Secret Oath “never felt better” under him. In the CCA Oaks, Secret Oath was closer to the pace and was wide in her first start in some eight weeks. At the top of the stretch, when it looked like the two stars would battle to the wire, Nest easily ran away from her rival.

With a race over the track and couple of breezes since the race, Lukas said he is confident that Secret Oath is capable of winning the 1 1/4-mile Alabama. She will be his 14th starter in the race. He was won it twice, most recently with Open Mind (Deputy Minister) in 1989

“I think it's just a trip,” Lukas said. “She actually is doing better right now than any time. I really feel that. I think she's filled out and getting stronger and everything. The work really put a punch on that line that she is better and Luis, when he worked her, said the same thing.”

“So we're down to a trip. We've got to get a trip, the trip we got in the Oaks back in Kentucky. If we get that I am not afraid of anybody.”

Lukas praised Nest, trained by is former assistant Todd Pletcher, and said the rivalry is something to look forward to.

“This thing's going to get down to where–this is not Alydar and Affirmed–but I think we could have a great fall with these two fillies,” he said.

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‘A Great Crowd Pleaser’ as Hall of Famers Clash in CCA Oaks

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY – Though the GI Coaching Club American Oaks Saturday is short on depth, it is long on star power with Secret Oath (Arrogate) and D. Wayne Lukas taking on Nest (Curlin) and his long-ago former assistant Todd Pletcher.

The rematch of the most accomplished 3-year-old fillies in the land puts two Hall of Fame trainers, very friendly rivals indeed, back together on the big stage of Saratoga Race Course.

Seventy-nine days after Secret Oath beat favored Nest by two lengths in the GI Kentucky Oaks, the stars of the division meet again for the first of what could be two showdowns at Saratoga this summer. The historic GI Alabama S. will be run Aug. 20.

“If you're going to be the best, you better beat the best,” Lukas said. “I think it'll be a super-good race, a great crowd pleaser. I respect the other horses that are going, too.”

(Click below to watch Zoe Cadman's video with Wayne Lukas on Secret Oath.)

The nine-furlong CCA Oaks drew a field of five. From a low of four last year to twice having seven start, the race has averaged 5.5 starters since it was moved from Belmont Park to Saratoga in 2010. Also in the field are GIII Iowa Oaks winner Butterbean (Klimt), unbeaten Society (Gun Runner) and GIII Gazelle S. winner Nostalgic (Medaglia d'Oro).

Nest at Saratoga last week | Sarah Andrew

There is no question who the headliners are, though.

“They are two very good fillies and it seems like the race will go through them, but at Saratoga, strange things can happen,” Pletcher said with a knowing smile.

Just last year, Pletcher's unbeaten 1-5 favorite Malathaat (Curlin), finished second to 14-1 Maracuja (Honor Code) in the CCA Oaks.

Secret Oath carried the 86-year-old Lukas back to Saratoga after a two-year absence. He brought along 15 other runners, but getting the Briland Farm homebred into the Spa's championship-making races was the primary reason for his return. Five of the last six Eclipse Award-winning 3-year-old fillies won either the CCA Oaks or the Alabama. The sixth, Covfefe (Into Mischief) in 2019, did not run in either race, but had a victory in the GI Test S. on her resume.

Following her win in the Kentucky Oaks, Lukas ran Secret Oath in the GI Preakness S. She finished fourth, 6 1/4 lengths behind Early Voting (Gun Runner), and Lukas said she would get a bit of a breather and then prepare for Saratoga. The Preakness was her fifth race of 2022, second in two weeks and her second against males; she was third in the GI Arkansas Derby.

Lukas said Secret Oath has flourished between Pimlico and Saratoga and exceeded his expectations.

“We haven't missed a day,” he said. “I thought that she put on weight and got a little bit stronger and filled out more than I thought she would. I didn't back up that much on her. I just didn't put those works real close together.”

Secret Oath on Thursday | Sarah Andrew

Like his old boss, Pletcher moved his standout filly up, who is co-owned by Repole Stable, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Michael House, to the Triple Crown series after the Kentucky Oaks. Despite stumbling at the start, Nest turned in a solid second by three lengths to stablemate Mo Donegal (Uncle Mo) in the GI Belmont Stakes.

“The one thing that we were monitoring closely after Belmont was how she came out of it,” Pletcher said. “And we were saying, 'OK, if we need a little more time we will go to the Alabama.' But she's done so well out of the race. I think she's gained weight since she ran in the Belmont. She's trained super. She's just doing really, really well. The concern when you run against colts is that it can potentially knock something out of them. In her case, she was so well-prepared and well-bred for the distance that it wasn't a hard race on her.”

While Nest had an easy three weeks, Pletcher said it was clear right away that she did not need another month before her next start.

Nest opened the year with easy victories in the Suncoast S. at Tampa Bay Downs and the GI Ashland S. at Keeneland. She was the 2-1 favorite in the 14-horse Kentucky Oaks, while Secret Oath was next at 4-1. Lukas figured Nest was the horse to beat in the Oaks, a race he had not won since 1990 with Seaside Attraction (Seattle Slew).

“I'm not a very good handicapper, but I thought she was,” he said. “I talked to Todd and he told me he really liked her. That was good enough for me. I respect his opinion. He told me that he really liked her and he said, 'I think it will be the two of us.'”

Pletcher was spot-on with that analysis and figured that Secret Oath was the standout in that crowd. Before the Arkansas Derby she had romped over females in three straight races at Oaklawn Park.

“It was a loaded Oaks,” Pletcher said. “There were a lot of nice fillies with really strong records coming in. We felt that as impressive as she was, and she had the race against colts and kind of had a rough trip that day, that she certainly seemed liked the one to beat.”

Lukas said he did not tell jockey Luis Saez just to focus on Nest.

“We thought we had to beat them all,” Lukas said. “Luis thought that when she was in front of us he could go get her whenever he wanted to, and pretty much did when he was ready to. I told him not to go too early. I thought we had to beat them all in the Oaks. That's the prestigious one. That's the one you want.”

Saez was never far from Nest in the early stages of the Oaks, but he was a few paths off the rail, while Nest and Irad Ortiz, Jr. were committed to the inside. Secret Oath surged to the front at the top of the stretch and took command.

Pletcher and Lukas in 2006 | Horsephotos

“She's a super-impressive filly,” Pletcher said. “We love Nest and saw how strong Secret Oath could be in the Oaks. I think we would have made it a little closer if we got a little bit of a different trip. We kind of got bottled up for a moment in the far turn. And that's when Secret Oath kind of blew the race open. We're looking forward to the rematch and see what happens.”

Pletcher is the career leader in wins in the CCA Oaks with seven. Lukas has a pair of victories, the most recent in 1989 with champion Open Mind (Deputy Minister) a few weeks after Pletcher joined his staff following his graduation from the University of Arizona. Pletcher worked for Lukas until late in 1995 when he opened his own stable.

As he discussed the race, Pletcher said aside from the meeting of two top fillies, the storyline should be about how well Lukas is doing this year.

“He's an amazing man,” Pletcher said. “I've always said I think he's the greatest horse trainer of all time. Not only when you think about what he's done in the Thoroughbred business, but before that he dominated Quarter Horses. A lot of people have trained horses and won lot of races, but you can really say he's the guy that changed the training game.

“For him to still achieve at the highest level after all these years, it's remarkable that he continues to have the passion for it and the desire to come out here every morning and do it. It's great to see him still competing at the highest level.”

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