Nest and Secret Oath go at it again in Alabama Stakes
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – When Nest ran away to a 12 1/4-length victory over her Kentucky Oaks vanquisher Secret Oath in last month’s Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks here, it felt like she ran right to the top of the 3-year-old filly division.
Saturday, Nest will try to stay atop that perch when she faces Secret Oath and five others going 1 1/4 miles in the Grade 1, $600,000 Alabama Stakes, the marquee race of the summer for 3-year-old fillies at Saratoga.
Nest came into the Coaching Club American Oaks off runner-up finishes to Secret Oath in the Kentucky Oaks and to her own stablemate Mo Donegal in the Belmont Stakes on June 11. It was how she came out of the Belmont that prompted trainer Todd Pletcher to run Nest back in the Coaching Club American Oaks, and she even took him by surprise with how dominant she was in that 1 1/8-mile race.
“We were expecting a good performance,” said Pletcher, who trains Nest for Mike Repole and Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners. “That was even more than we hoped for. She’s had a good four weeks since then and looks great coming into this.”
Two things that Pletcher has always felt about Nest is that the daughter of Curlin would get better as the year went on and that she would appreciate more distance.
“She’s so much stronger than she was early in the year,” Pletcher said. “The amazing thing she’s done through the campaign is gain weight. You can just see how much stronger she is now than she was.”
When asked about the 1 1/4 miles of the Alabama, Pletcher said: “She’s a filly that’s always indicated that longer is better. The mile and a quarter suits her perfectly.”
Irad Ortiz Jr. will ride Nest from post 4.
When Nest defeated Secret Oath in the CCA Oaks, it was Secret Oath’s first loss to a filly this year. She beat fillies in the Martha Washington and Grade 3 Honeybee at Oaklawn before her Kentucky Oaks win. Her two other defeats this year came in the Arkansas Derby (third) and Preakness (fourth).
D. Wayne Lukas, trainer of Secret Oath, believes jockey Luis Saez took Secret Oath out of her preferred off-the-pace running style in the Coaching Club, which took away her late foot. Lukas said he’s had a heart-to-heart discussion with Saez and even had the jockey work her the last few weeks.
“Just run her own race,” Lukas said. “We don’t need to get creative here; we just need to do what she does best.”
Moreover, Lukas believes Secret Oath is simply doing better now than she was heading into the Coaching Club, which came eight weeks after she finished fourth against colts in the Preakness.
“I got her better now than I’ve had her,” Lukas said. “She’s right on target now.”
If there’s an upsetter in the field, Gerrymander is likely it. She defeated Nest in the one-turn-mile Tempted Stakes last fall at Belmont Park. Her 3-year-old debut was delayed until May when she ran sixth in the seven-furlong Eight Belles Stakes at Churchill Downs. She may not have been totally ready for that race and she had trouble at the start. She rebounded with a three-length victory in the Grade 2 Mother Goose, which had just a four-horse field.
Chad Brown trains Gerrymander. In 2019, he won the Alabama with Dunbar Road, who also was coming off a Mother Goose victory, though she wasn’t facing the quality of competition that Gerrymander meets Saturday. Brown believes the time from the June 25 Mother Goose to the Alabama has done Gerrymander well.
“I don’t think a race in between for this particular horse would have been beneficial,” Brown said last week. “I love the way she’s trained. I think longer is better for her.”
The remaining four fillies seem like a reach as win candidates. Nostalgic did win the Grade 3 Gazelle at Aqueduct in April, but was soundly beaten in the Kentucky Oaks and the CCA Oaks. She does have three-time Alabama-winning trainer Bill Mott saddling her, and Mott believes she will appreciate the 1 1/4 miles of this race.
Goddess of Fire, also trained by Pletcher, has finished second in four stakes, including, most recently, the one-mile Wilton here on opening day. Pletcher is adding blinkers to her equipment.
With three wins from six starts, trainer Phil Bauer is having an excellent Saratoga meet. He sends out longshot Skratch Kat, who won a first-level allowance on July 1 at Churchill.
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Calumet Farm has pulled off a bevy of upsets in graded stakes on the New York Racing Association circuit in recent years. Calumet will try again with She’s Keen, a daughter of 2015 Travers upset winner Keen Ice. She’s Keen won a first-level allowance here July 28 when able to dictate terms on the front. Rusty Arnold trains.
The Alabama goes as race 10 on an 11-race card that begins at 1:05 p.m. and includes the Grade 2 Lake Placid for 3-year-old fillies on turf and the $150,000 Smart N Fancy for female turf sprinters.