Secret Oath

Secret Oath broke her maiden in her second career start, a 1 1/16-mile maiden special weight race at Churchill Downs on Oct. 31, 2021. She stalked the pace three-wide and drew away in the stretch to win by 5 1/2 lengths.

After a fifth-place finish in the Grade 2 Golden Rod Stakes, Secret Oath bounced back with a dominant 8 1/4-length win in a first-level allowance race at Oaklawn Park on Dec. 31. That set her up nicely for the Martha Washington Stakes on Jan. 29, 2022. She stamped herself as a legitimate Longines Kentucky Oaks contender with a very impressive 7 1/4-length win under Luis Contreras. With that win, Secret Oath earned ten points on the road to the Oaks. 

Secret Oath earned her first graded stakes win in impressive fashion. As the odds-on favorite in the Grade 3 Honeybee Stakes on Feb. 26, she rallied up the inside and drew away to win by 7 1/2 lengths. She earned 50 more Oaks qualifying points with that win. 

For her next start, Secret Oath decided to challenge the boys in the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn on Apr. 2. She raced wide towards the back of the pack in the early stages, then made a promising move on the turn. She flattened out late and finished third, earning her 20 qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve. That placed her on the bubble for the big race. 

Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas decided to point to the Longines Kentucky Oaks with Secret Oath, and the filly validated that decision on May 6. Breaking from the inside post under Luis Saez, she traveled in midpack through the backstretch, stalking a fast pace, before moving up through the far turn. Secret Oath barreled five-wide into the stretch and put away stubborn champion Echo Zulu at the eighth pole, and then outlasted Nest and Desert Dawn for a thrilling win. That victory moved Lukas into a tie with Woody Stephens for most Kentucky Oaks wins at five.

Tested next against males again in the Preakness Stakes, Secret Oath again held her own but was not quite good enough in a fourth-place finish. 

Secret Oath made her first start after taking on males in the July 23 Coaching Club American Oaks at Saratoga, where she squared off against a four-horse field featuring a marquee opponent, Kentucky Oaks runner-up Nest. With Saez aboard, Secret Oath traveled four-wide in the backstretch and moved up to engage Nest in the far turn of the 1 1/8-mile CCA Oaks. She had no closing punch, however, and Nest spurted clear to win by open lengths, with Secret Oath holding second over Nostalgic.

Having defeated rival Nest in the Kentucky Oaks and then losing to that filly in the Grade 1 Coaching Club Oaks, the pair met again in a "rubber match" in the Grade 1 Alabama Stakes at Saratoga on August 20. Secret Oath proved no match that day, settling for a distant second behind Nest with Luis Saez aboard.

Secret Oath made her next start in the Grade 1 $1 million Cotillion Stakes at Parx on Sept. 24, where she finished a distant third behind runaway wire-to-wire winner Society. She closed out her 3-year-old season with a fifth-place finish in the Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff.

A four-month freshening did wonders for Secret Oath as she halted a five-race winless stretch with a convincing 2 3/4-length victory over Clairiere in the Grade 3 Azeri Stakes March 11 at Oaklawn Park in her 4-year-old debut. Secret Oath followed with back-to-back runner-up finishes in the Grade 1 Apple Blossom Handicap in April at Oaklawn and the Grade 1 La Troienne Stakes Presented by Twinspires on May 5 at Churchill Downs on the Kentucky Oaks undercard.

Robert and Stacy Mitchell’s Briland Farm owns and bred Secret Oath. Her sire (father) is Arrogate, the 2016 Horse of the Year. Her dam (mother), Absinthe Minded, was a three-time stakes winner at Oaklawn.