Secret Oath

Secret Oath is a chestnut mare, bred in Kentucky by Brilard Farms, which is owned and operated by Robert and Stacy Mitchell. She was sired by Arrogate, the 2016 American Champion three-year-old colt, in his first year at stud. Her dam Absinthe Minded, by Quiet American, was a multiple stakes winner. The Mitchell's originally planned to sell Secret Oath at the 2020 Keeneland yearling sale, but withdrew her before bidding began due to lack of interest. She therefore races for Brilard Farms as a homebred. She is trained by D. Wayne Lukas, once one of the most dominant trainers in North America with an outstanding record in the American Classics in the 1980s and 1990s. His stable has since reduced to 25 horses. "We didn't start out with six fillies like this one", said Lukas. "We started out with one. We're probably beating the odds that an old man like me with a one-horse stable could take this to the next level." ==Racing career==

2021: two-year-old season Secret Oath made her first start on October 3, 2021, in a maiden special weight race at Churchill Downs. Racing along the rail, she was close to the early leader but ran into traffic problems as the field entered the stretch. She fell back to fifth place while moving to the outside, then stayed on to finish third. On November 27, Secret Oath made her first stakes appearance in the Golden Rod Stakes at Churchill Downs. She tracked the early pace while racing on the outside, then made a bid for the lead on the far turn. She tired in the stretch though and finished fifth, lengths behind the winner, Dream Lith. 2022: three-year-old season Secret Oath made her three-year-old debut on January 29, 2022, in the Martha Washington Stakes at Oaklawn Park, where she went off as the 1-2 favorite. She was carried wide around the first turn as she tried to chase the early leader. She then settled into fourth place down the backstretch and started her move midway through the final turn. She took the lead as they entered the stretch and pulled away to win by lengths. "I just tried to keep her covered as much as I could," said jockey Luis Contreras. "She was fighting with me. She wanted to go every single step of the race. When I put her outside, she just exploded." On February 26, Secret Oath was entered in the Honeybee Stakes where she was the heavy favorite in a field of six. She broke slowly but then settled into stalking position on the rail. She ran into traffic on the far turn but found a hole and quickly moved to the lead. She won easily by lengths. With Secret Oath so dominant against the fillies at Oaklawn Park, Lukas decided to test her against the colts in the Arkansas Derby on April 2. She had a troubled trip but made a strong move while racing six-wide to move from ninth to second. She flattened in the final strides and finished third behind Cyberknife and Barber Road. "She was tired", said Lukas after the race. "That move she made was a terrific move for a filly at this stage of her career, to keep going. Watching it live, I thought she's probably going to hang a little bit here. She almost had to. It was a monster move." Kentucky Oaks The 2022 Kentucky Oaks, held on May 6, attracted 'arguably the best field ever' for the race according to The Thoroughbred Daily News'. In addition to Secret Oath, the field featured Nest (Ashland Stakes), two-year-old champion Echo Zulu, Kathleen O (Gulfstream Park Oaks), with several well-regarded longshots like Nostalgic (Gazelle Stakes) and Desert Dawn (Santa Anita Oaks). Breaking from post position one, Secret Oath settled in eighth place behind a fast early pace. She then moved to the outside and started her run on the final turn. She took the lead in mid-stretch and won by two lengths over Nest. Summer at Saratoga On July 23, Secret Oath clashed with her rival Nest in the Coaching Club American Oaks at Saratoga Race Course. Nest went to the early lead with Society and set slow early fractions while Secret Oath rated just behind. Secret Oath moved into second on the final turn but was unable to respond when Nest kicked clear in the stretch to win by lengths. Lukas commented, "We got beat fair and square" and praised his former pupil Todd Pletcher, who had worked for Lukas before going on his own in 1995. Secret Oath returned to face Nest three weeks later on August 23 in the Alabama Stakes at Saratoga over the longer mile distance. She once again fell short, finishing second to Nest by lengths in a time of 2:03.14. On November 5 in the Breeders' Cup Distaff Secret Oath finished fifth, weakening after taking the lead as the field entered the straight. She was no match for Malathaat who won in a three-way photo finish with Blue Stripe and Clairiere finishing third. ==Retirement==

Secret Oath was retired due to inflammation in her right front ankle. She is to be sold during 2023 November Sale at Fasig-Tipton. She was withdrawn from the same sale last year. ==Statistics==

An asterisk after the odds means Secret Odds was the post-time favorite ==Pedigree==

Secret Oath is inbred 4s x 3d to Fappiano, meaning Fappiano appears in the fourth generation on the sire's side of the pedigree and in the third generation on the dam's side. ==References==