Aqueduct: Cyber Secret bucks bias to score

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - The inside speed bias of Saturday was gone, but that didn't stop Cyber Secret from scoring a gate-to-wire victory in the $75,000 Busanda Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at Aqueduct.

Scratched earlier this month from the Ruthless Stakes and from a subsequent allowance race because of wet tracks, Cyber Secret was starting for the first time in 78 days, and was also stretching out from sprints for the first time.

None of the obstacles deterred the Dick Dutrow-trained Cyber Secret. She quickly went to the front from her inside post with Jean-Luc Samyn, set solid fractions of 23.91 seconds, 47.52 and 1:11.31 while pressed by Marc's Rainbow and Xtra Heart, and had enough left to repel the latter by one length. She ran the mile and 70 yards in 1:41.88 on a fast inner track.

"Being on the inside, you have to take advantage of your position," said Samyn. "Mr. Dutrow told me that if she broke well and showed her speed, to take advantage of it."

On a track that produced outside-rallying winners most of the afternoon, Cyber Secret was the day's only front-end winner.

"She's been doing great but we had to scratch her because of wet tracks" said Sanford Goldfarb, who is part of a syndicate that claimed Cyber Secret for $65,000 from her debut at Saratoga last summer. "She might have gotten a little tired. She wasn't exactly exploding through the lane. I think her best distance will be seven furlongs or a mile. We might have to wait for the main track [scheduled to open March 12]."

Cyber Secret paid $5.50 as the favorite in a field of eight, and earned $49,500 to increase her earnings to $110,110 from a record of 3-1-0 in five starts.

Xtra Heart finished second, 6 1/2 lengths clear of Golden Damsel, who rallied to edge second choice Marc's Rainbow for third by a neck.