Secret Oath

SECRET OATH'S run in the Preakness was a mirror image of her race in the Arkansas Derby.

She's VERY good but not the type to beat the best boys of her class.

IMO it was a massive mistake to run back on 2 weeks rest off the big effort of the Oaks.

Some will say, hey take a shot against colts she can always go back to running against fillies. As though these horses are Hot Wheels.

They are perishable commodities with a finite number of chances to shine on the largest stage.

[Dahoss]

I’m holding out on my opinion until I see if Jerry Brown still thinks she’s a generational talent.

[RolloTomasi]

I guess if her running line was a mirror image of the AR Derby, then she probably got another piss poor ride. Nothing like sitting last off a slow pace and making a 5-wide attempt to swoop the entire field with nearly a 1/2 mile to run.

Owner already was quoted as saying the filly was getting time off win, lose, or draw at the Preakness, so it's not like this race in particular will derail her campaign. She's supposed to target the CCA Oaks and Cotillion (owner doesn't think she wants 10 furlongs). Plenty of time to recover from her 4th place, $99K effort in a classic.

At any rate, I like the reproach for those who would treat horses like toy cars, but in the next sentence define horses as "perishable commodities".

Not so much Hot Wheels as Meals on Wheels...

[Dahoss]

Originally Posted by RolloTomasi

I guess if her running line was a mirror image of the AR Derby, then she probably got another piss poor ride. Nothing like sitting last off a slow pace and making a 5-wide attempt to swoop the entire field with nearly a 1/2 mile to run.

Owner already was quoted as saying the filly was getting time off win, lose, or draw at the Preakness, so it's not like this race in particular will derail her campaign. She's supposed to target the CCA Oaks and Cotillion (owner doesn't think she wants 10 furlongs). Plenty of time to recover from her 4th place, $99K effort in a classic.

At any rate, I like the reproach for those who would treat horses like toy cars, but in the next sentence define horses as "perishable commodities".

Not so much Hot Wheels as Meals on Wheels...

Not one of Saez's better efforts. It was like he thought, "this worked on Ethereal Road so...."

In his slight defense, she checked back to last when Happy Jack came over on her going into the first turn.

Either way, she's a really nice filly. Maybe even best of her class. But she's not good enough to beat the better males this year and is nothing close to being a generational type talent.

[RolloTomasi]

Originally Posted by Dahoss

Not one of Saez's better efforts. It was like he thought, "this worked on Ethereal Road so...."

In his slight defense, she checked back to last when Happy Jack came over on her going into the first turn.

Agreed; it wasn't really a mirror image as the filly was shuffled back to last mid-race at Oaklawn rather than in the initial stages like yesterday.

Either way, she's a really nice filly. Maybe even best of her class. But she's not good enough to beat the better males this year and is nothing close to being a generational type talent.

Personally I think her running style of big sweeping (and ultimately unsustainable) moves is a bit of an impediment (similar to many of Abel Tasman's races), but maybe the owner is right regarding her perceived distance limitations.

I wonder how'd she fare if they brought her back off the freshening in the 7-furlong Test instead of the CCA Oaks a couple of weeks earlier.

[Dahoss]

Originally Posted by RolloTomasi

Agreed; it wasn't really a mirror image as the filly was shuffled back to last mid-race at Oaklawn rather than in the initial stages like yesterday.


Personally I think her running style of big sweeping (and ultimately unsustainable) moves is a bit of an impediment (similar to many of Abel Tasman's races), but maybe the owner is right regarding her perceived distance limitations.

I wonder how'd she fare if they brought her back off the freshening in the 7-furlong Test instead of the CCA Oaks a couple of weeks earlier.

I just watched the Oaks again. She made her move into the turn there but it was not as dramatic as the Arkansas Derby or yesterday. Feels like it is all about timing with her. Saez's timing was flawless in the Oaks. Yesterday, not so much.

I'd love to see her in the Test

[moses]

Originally Posted by Dahoss

I just watched the Oaks again. She made her move into the turn there but it was not as dramatic as the Arkansas Derby or yesterday. Feels like it is all about timing with her. Saez's timing was flawless in the Oaks. Yesterday, not so much.

I'd love to see her in the Test

The big mistake was not running her in the Derby. She has the potential to be a generational talent and with the pace signed on in the Derby, she most likely wins that race by 10 lengths. Running her in the Preakness on 2 weeks rest was a mistake though. You don’t do that with generational talents like her..

[King Glorious]

Originally Posted by v j stauffer

SECRET OATH'S run in the Preakness was a mirror image of her race in the Arkansas Derby.

She's VERY good but not the type to beat the best boys of her class.

IMO it was a massive mistake to run back on 2 weeks rest off the big effort of the Oaks.

Some will say, hey take a shot against colts she can always go back to running against fillies. As though these horses are Hot Wheels.

They are perishable commodities with a finite number of chances to shine on the largest stage.

She absolutely can go back to running against fillies and probably could find a weak enough field of males that she can do well against.

The running back on two weeks isn't the issue. Good horses can do that. If I was going to put any thought into an excuse, it would be the total number of races so far this year. But I wouldn't even use that. Good horses can do that too. Hell, even cheap horses can do this. Don't let these new school trainers fool you into thinking that the horses need months off between races. They don't. She just wasn't good enough.