By Alan Carasso
Briland Farm homebred Secret Oath (Arrogate) laid down yet another marker on her march toward the GI Longines Kentucky Oaks, streaking clear of her foes for a fluent 7 1/2-length romp in Saturday's GIII Honeybee S. at Oaklawn Park.
Prohibitively favored, with GII Golden Rod S. runner-up Yuugiri (Shackleford) the only other one the bettors wanted, Secret Oath had to be re-balanced after breaking a bit inward at the start and was a joint-last into the clubhouse turn as Optionality (Gun Runner) and Yuugiri matched motors up front. A fraction keen and racing with her mouth open as they reached the backstretch, the chalk settled better approaching the three-eighths pole, but was hemmed in for several strides as Ice Orchid (Super Saver)rolled up three wide to enter the fray. With Optionality beginning to retreat at the fence, Luis Contreras grabbed hold of Secret Oath, guided her around her weakening foe, shot through an opening at the inside left by Yuugiri and widened under a left-handed stick to crush.
“I got a great break and good position,” Contreras reported. “I just sat right behind and at [the three-eighths pole], she tried to pull me again. I just waited and waited. My thinking was to go outside, but I had another horse right there, so I stayed a little longer. When I saw the rail open and asked her to go, she made a tremendous move.”
For his part, Lukas was not ruling out swinging for the fences over the coming weeks.
“She's nominated here [GI Arkansas Derby] and the [GI] Kentucky Derby,” he said. “You know what's really good here? The thing that I'm most happy about is that [Oaklawn] has changed [the date of the Arkansas Derby] from [three] weeks in front of the Kentucky Derby to five. Boy, if you're training a good filly, that's another little caveat that I like. I like it if I have a colt. I like that five-week break. But if you have a filly, you'd have to say, 'Wow!' You're going to get a little extra time.”
A 5 1/2-length maiden winner at second asking while trying two turns for the first time at Churchill on Halloween, Secret Oath was only fifth in the Nov. 27 Golden Rod, but atoned in no uncertain terms with an 8 1/4-length allowance romp going the short-stretch mile at this venue Dec. 31. Sent off at 1-2 in the Jan. 29 Martha Washington S., she had better than seven lengths on Optionality on the wire and was similarly dominant Saturday.
Pedigree Notes:
The first graded winner for the late Arrogate, Secret Oath is one of three winners from four to the races for her dam–also trained by Hall of Famer Wayne Lukas–to a half-dozen victories from 35 career starts. Five of Absinthe Minded's career tallies came over this track, including the 2011 and 2012 runnings of the Bayakoa S., the 2012 Pippin S. and top-three finishes in the GI Apple Blossom H. Secret Oath has an unnamed 2-year-old half-sister by Medaglia d'Oro and Absinthe Minded is expecting a foal by Unbridled's Song's son Liam's Map this season.
Saturday, Oaklawn
HONEYBEE S.-GIII, $300,000, Oaklawn, 2-26, 3yo, f, 1 1/16m, 1:44.74, ft.
1–SECRET OATH, 122, 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 GRADED STAKES WIN. O/B-Briland Farm and Robert &
Stacy Mitchell (KY); T-D. Wayne Lukas; J-Luis Contreras.
$180,000. Lifetime Record: 6-4-0-1, $465,167. Werk Nick
Rating: D. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Ice Orchid, 117, f, 3, Super Saver–Singlet, by Real Quiet.
1ST BLACK-TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK-TYPE. O/B-Shortleaf
Stable (KY); T-John Alexander Ortiz. $60,000.
3–Yuugiri, 117, f, 3, Shackleford–Yuzuru, by Medaglia d'Oro.
O/B-Sekie & Tsunebumi Yoshihara (KY); T-Rodolphe Brisset.
$30,000.
Margins: 7HF, 1 3/4, 7HF. Odds: 0.30, 13.90, 3.60.
Also Ran: Free Like a Girl, Red Queen, Optionality. 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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