Secret Oath works fast five furlongs for Breeders' Cup Distaff
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – On an otherwise quiet Monday at Churchill, Kentucky Oaks winner Secret Oath was out for serious work when going five furlongs in 58.80 seconds over a fast track.
Mickaelle Michele was aboard Secret Oath for D. Wayne Lukas, marking the third time this month the French jockey has worked the Arrogate filly. Luis Saez retains the mount for the Breeders’ Cup Distaff on Nov. 5, a race in which Secret Oath figures as an outsider behind the likes of Nest, Malathaat, and Clairiere. Secret Oath has yet to win in four tries, all of them Grade 1 races, since capturing the Oaks on May 6 at Churchill.
◗ Prevalence, a tired fourth as an 11-10 favorite last week in a Keeneland allowance when making his first start in nearly six months, “will live to fight another day,” trainer Brendan Walsh said. “I’m thinking he probably needed the race.”
The 4-year-old Godolphin homebred won the Grade 3 Commonwealth here in the spring.
The $140,000 allowance was won by Heart Rhythm, claimed from his prior start for $100,000 by trainer John Ortiz, who continues to enjoy a breakthrough year. Ortiz also won two races Sunday, with Happy Is a Choice and Ice Orchid, lifting his 2022 totals to 61 wins and $4.7 million in stable earnings.
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