Secret Oath, Nest meet again in CCA Oaks
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – When they finished first and second in the Kentucky Oaks 11 weeks ago, Secret Oath had an unimpeded trip whereas Nest did not.
Saturday, Todd Pletcher, the trainer of Nest, hopes for smoother sailing when he seeks to avenge that loss to Secret Oath in the Grade 1, $500,000 Coaching Club American Oaks at Saratoga.
The presence of Secret Oath, a winner of three stakes this year, and Nest, the Grade 1 Ashland winner, kept the field for this 1 1/8-mile Grade 1 fixture down to five. The New York Racing Association opted to card it as the fifth race on an 11-race card that includes the Grade 3, $200,000 Caress Stakes for female turf sprinters. First post is 1:05 p.m.
Around the far turn of the Kentucky Oaks, Secret Oath, under Luis Saez, made a three-wide move toward the leaders. Meanwhile, Nest, who was saving ground under Irad Ortiz Jr., was held up a touch behind a tiring Yuugiri before having to switch four to five wide for the stretch drive. Moreover, Nest had another horse right to her outside and she persevered to get second, two lengths behind Secret Oath.
“If we could have been clear moving forward, we’re going to make it a lot closer for sure,” said Pletcher, who trains Nest for Repole Stable and Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners. “Then she went all the way down the lane with a filly laying on top of her. Definitely from the 3 1/2 to the five-sixteenths pole she was willing to move forward, she just didn’t have a place to do it. That’s when Secret Oath made that sweeping move and got the jump on us.”
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Secret Oath and Nest left the Oaks to take on males in a 3-year-old classic. Secret Oath finished fourth in the Preakness, while Nest ran second to her stablemate Mo Donegal in the Belmont Stakes. Pletcher ran Nest in the Belmont because he was confident the distance would be to her liking.
Pletcher said Nest, a daughter of Curlin, was none the worse for wear for trying the 1 1/2-mile Belmont.
“She proved that she belonged in the race, she ran great,” said Pletcher, who has won seven runnings of the CCA Oaks. “I’m super happy the way she came out of it.”
Irad Ortiz Jr. rides Nest from post 3.
In a small field like this, early position figures to be key. The undefeated Society, trained by Steve Asmussen, looms the primary speed of the field. Pletcher feels Nest won’t be too far away from her.
“I think she has enough tactical speed to get into a stalking position,” Pletcher said. “Secret Oath seems to make that big sweeping move.”
Secret Oath, a daughter of Arrogate owned by Briland Farm, tried to make that sweeping move in the Preakness, when she was checked by the wire first time and raced last of 10 early on. Secret Oath ran basically one-paced in the final three-sixteenths, finishing 6 1/4 lengths behind Early Voting.
“We didn’t have a trip that would’ve made it a winning race,” said D. Wayne Lukas, trainer of Secret Oath. “I think she’s as good as any of those horses but like all fillies who run [against males] you got to have somewhat of a trip and she just didn’t get it.”
Lukas said he’s looking for something more along the lines of the trip Secret Oath got in the Kentucky Oaks. Lukas, like Pletcher feels with Nest, believes Secret Oath can be closer to the pace if need be.
“I think we’re pretty versatile,” Lukas said. “We haven’t tried to change her style. When you ask her to close the gap between the pacesetters and where she normally places herself, she gets there pretty quick. We obviously won’t be on the lead, but we’ll be close enough where we can make it interesting.”
Society figures to be on the lead. A daughter of Gun Runner, Society is 3 for 3 with a victory in the Monomoy Girl Stakes on June 18 at Churchill Downs. That was her first start around two turns, and she was a bit rank. Asmussen expects a more comfortable filly this time around.
“She came out of two one-turn races, and when they lined up down the backside she wanted to accelerate,” Asmussen said. “Tyler [Gaffalione] did a good job with her that day, and I think she’s been a lot more settled since that race in her training.”
Butterbean, a daughter of Klimt, has won three straight races and is coming back in two weeks after her three-length victory in the Grade 3 Iowa Oaks for trainer Kenny McPeek. Nostalgic, trained by Bill Mott, won the Grade 3 Gazelle at Aqueduct in April before finishing 10th with a troubled trip in the Kentucky Oaks.