Secret Message up in time for Nassau Stakes score

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Secret Message closed stoutly in the final furlong to beat out the favored Starship Jubilee in the Grade 2, $ 177,450 Nassau Stakes on Sunday at Woodbine.

Secret Message ($6.60) raced about four lengths off the lead on the backstretch, and then dropped back to trail the six-horse field on the turn in the one-mile event.

Starship Jubilee came three-wide to hit the front exiting the turn, and then opened up a clear lead through the stretch, but Secret Message caught her in the final strides to win by three-quarters of a length in a time of 1:35.30 over yielding turf.

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Get Explicit finished a distant third. She was followed by Red Cabernet, Summer Luck, and pacesetter Ghostly Presence.

Trevor McCarthy rode the Maryland-based Secret Message for trainer Graham Motion.

“The plan was to just let her break, and get her to settle,” McCarthy said. “She was pretty sharp today, so I was a little nervous about how good she would break. We got some nice cover, and were able to follow [Starship Jubilee] the whole way around, get through, and get the job done.”

A 4-year-old by Hat Trick, Secret Message earned $105,000 for the partnership Madaket Stables, ERJ Racing, Elayne Stable, and Bouchey Thoroughbred Ventures.