Cyber Secret now is the target

ELMONT, N.Y. - Though trainer Richard Dutrow Jr. can sometimes be given to hyperbole, he has managed to keep his filly Cyber Secret's upset of champion Storm Flag Flying in last month's Comely Stakes in perspective.

"I don't think Storm Flag Flying ran her race," Dutrow said. "I think we beat her when it wasn't her day. So, we're not all pumped up about that."

Saturday, Cyber Secret will go from hunter to hunted when she meets four rivals - none named Storm Flag Flying - in the Grade 2, $200,000 Nassau County Breeders' Cup at Belmont Park. The Nassau County, run at seven furlongs, will go as race eight on a nine-race card that also includes the Grade 3 Bold Ruler Handicap for older male sprinters.

Cyber Secret, a daughter of the nondescript sire Cyberspace, has won 3 of 4 starts this year and 5 of 8 in her career. She won the Grade 3, seven-furlong Cicada from a stalking position, and went wire to wire in the Grade 3, one-mile Comely. She could be the main speed again in the Nassau County under Shaun Bridgmohan.

"Judging from what I've seen, I believe seven furlongs is her best distance," Dutrow said. "It looks like she's doing good, she's happy, and she's coming into the race the right way."

Cyber Secret, who won her maiden at Belmont last fall, will break from post 2, the same post she had for the Comely and Cicada.

Tony Dutrow, Rick's brother, has one of the two potential upsetters in the field. Randaroo won her first three starts, including the Grade 3 Valley Stream at Aqueduct last fall. She was beaten a neck as the 1-20 favorite in last month's Smart Halo Stakes April 13 at Pimlico, a result that still puzzles Dutrow.

"It's obvious something wasn't right, but I don't know what it was,'' Dutrow said. "They were claiming horses that beat her. I can't make an excuse for her. I scratched my head for four or five days before finally saying let's move forward."

Dutrow named John Velazquez, who was on Randaroo in the Valley Stream, to ride.

House Party, trained by Allen Jerkens, is the other filly capable of knocking off Cyber Secret. House Party runs back two weeks after winning the Legal Light Stakes at Delaware Park by 8 1/4 lengths. She will be reunited with Jose Santos, who rode her to victory in the Old Hat Stakes at Gulfstream in February.

"The key to getting her to go seven furlongs is relaxing early on," Jerkens said. "Jose Santos has gotten her to relax before."

City Sister and Uphill Skier make their stakes debuts.