Raised a Secret's trainer confident despite winless string

ARCADIA, Calif. – Raised a Secret, despite being winless in his last five starts, has trainer Mark Glatt confident about his current form.

“He always gives a good effort,” Glatt said Wednesday.

A 6-year-old, Raised a Secret starts in a tough optional claimer at six furlongs at Santa Anita on Friday, a race Glatt envisions as a prep for the $100,000 Thor’s Echo Handicap for California-breds at six furlongs on July 4.

To win on Friday, Raised a Secret may need to repeat his game third-place finish in the Grade 3 Los Angeles Stakes at Los Alamitos on April 16. Friday’s race drew only six runners but includes the graded stakes winners Lord Nelson and Ocho Ocho Ocho, along with Cherubim, Kafister, and Glacken Too, winners of optional claimers in their last starts. Ocho Ocho Ocho was 14th in the 2015 Kentucky Derby.

KEY CONTENDERS
Raised a Secret, by Songandaprayer
Last 3 Beyers: 100-90-90

◗ Raised a Secret was beaten 1 1/2 lengths by San Onofre in the Los Angeles Stakes at 5 1/2 furlongs. Runner-up Wild Dude returned to win the Grade 2 Kona Gold Stakes at Santa Anita on May 21.

“Those were two very tough horses that outran him,” Glatt said. “The 5 1/2 furlongs is not a bad distance but not his best.”

◗ Owned by Rodney Orr, Raised a Secret won the Harris Farms Stakes at the Big Fresno Fair last October but is winless in five subsequent races. During that span, Raised a Secret has finished second or third in three stakes. Glatt envisions a stalking trip for Raised a Secret on Friday.

“He’s a little better with a target in front of him,” he said. “He puts himself in the race.”

Lord Nelson, by Pulpit
Last 3 Beyers: 92-90-88

◗ Lord Nelson is winless in four starts since a victory in the Grade 2 San Vicente Stakes at seven furlongs in February 2015. A 4-year-old colt, Lord Nelson was third in the Grade 1 Malibu Stakes on Dec. 26 in his last start.

◗ Trainer Bob Baffert said Lord Nelson needed a break earlier this year.

“He wasn’t training well,” Baffert said. “We just stopped him and freshened him. He’s doing well again.”

◗ Earlier this year, Lord Nelson was bought by B. Wayne Hughes’s Spendthrift Farm as a stallion prospect, Baffert said. Lord Nelson previously raced for Peachtree Stable.

◗ Even though he has not raced since December, Lord Nelson has kept good company of late. He worked with Drefong in recent workouts. Drefong won an optional claimer at Santa Anita last weekend.

◗ Baffert said Friday’s distance is not ideal for Lord Nelson.

“It’s a little short for him,” he said. “He’s more of a seven-eighths horse.”

Kafister, by Kafwain
Last 3 Beyers: 90-91-91

◗ Kafister beat Raised a Secret in an optional claimer March 25 but has not started since. Trained by David Bernstein, Kafister was scratched from the Kona Gold Stakes.

◗ Kafister drew the rail Friday and will be near the pace for jockey Flavien Prat.