Secret Oath Wows in Martha Washington Romp
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Photo: Coady Photography
Secret Oath wins the Martha Washington Stakes at Oaklawn Park
Briland Farm's Secret Oath won like a 1-2 favorite should when she drew off to win the $200,000 Martha Washington Stakes Jan. 29 in dominating fashion and in the process earned 10 points towards eligibility in the May 6 Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1) at Churchill Downs.
The D. Wayne Lukas trainee settled into fourth as Optionality set easy fractions of :24.09 and :48.58 in the 1 1/16-mile race. 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 1/4 lengths, timed in 1:46.21.
Optionality held on for second, 4 3/4 lengths in front of Como Square . They earned four and two points, respectively towards Kentucky Oaks eligibility, while Hypersport earned a point for finishing fourth. The Kentucky Oaks is limited to 14 starters and qualifying points are used to determine which horses make the field if it oversubscribes.
"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, now with earnings of $285,167. The heavy favorite paid $3 to win on a $2 win ticket.
"It was a replay (of her last race) and that's what we were looking for," said her Hall of Fame trainer. "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 lets her go, she's going to roll.'"
#SecretOath #AbsintheMinded pic.twitter.com/v6noRfU6Pe
— Briland Farm (@BrilandFarm) January 29, 2022
Briland Farm and Lukas also campaigned Secret Oath's dam, Absinthe Minded. Besides her stakes wins at Oaklawn, Absinthe Minded also ran second in the Apple Blossom Handicap (G1), the track's major race for older fillies and mares.
Secret Oath is her first stakes winner from five foals, with three winners from her foal to race. She also has an unraced Medaglia d'Oro 2-year-old filly.
Video: Martha Washington S. (BT)
Bob's Edge Upsets King Cotton
One race after the Southwest Stakes (G3), Bob's Edge upset the $150,000 King Cotton Stakes with a come-from-behind victory at odds of 7-1. The 4-year-old Competitive Edge gelding had one horse beat after a quarter-mile in :21.90 as pacesetters Nashville and Home Base battled it out on the front end. After a half-mile in :45.60, jockey Luis Quinonez urged Bob's Edge into contention and he fanned four-wide into the far turn, surging past the frontrunners and drawing clear by 2 3/4 lengths at the wire.
Owned by Michael and Patricia Freeny and Jennifer Grayson Taylor, Bob's Edge ($16.60) clocked the six furlongs in 1:10.50 in his first stakes victory.
Bob's Edge captures the King Cotton Stakes at Oaklawn Park
Home Base was second at 27-1 and Seven Army Nation was third at 14-1. Even-money favorite Nashville was seventh, while grade 1 winner Collusion Illusion was eighth.
Trained by Larry Jones, Bob's Edge won for the fifth time in 12 starts and has now earned $396,428.
Bob's Edge was bred in Kentucky by Westwind Farms and is the second stakes winner for his dam, the Bluegrass Cat mare Catticus. The mare also produced 2018 Zia Park Princess Stakes winner Watch Me Burn (Hold Me Back ) and has a yearling colt by Audible .