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A16 SPORTS
Thursday 19 May 2022
Old Man & The Filly: Lukas saddling Secret Oath in Preakness

By STEPHEN WHYNO in the corner of the stakes
AP Sports Writer barn at Pimlico, where he
BALTIMORE (AP) — D. holds court every morn-
Wayne Lukas sat atop his ing as horse racing’s elder
pony just after 6 a.m. and statesman. “The best is still
stared at Secret Oath while in front of her.” The best
she got a bath following horse in the Derby isn’t in
her first trip to the track at the way, after the owner
Pimlico Race Course. of Rich Strike decided not
Lukas believes she could to run him in the Preak-
be one of the best fillies he ness after the 80-1 upset
has ever had. That belief at Churchill Downs. To be-
and her winning the Ken- come the seventh filly to
tucky Oaks in impressive win the Preakness, Secret
fashion the day before the Oath will have to beat fa-
Derby inspired him to enter vorite and Derby runner-up
Secret Oath in the Preak- Epicenter, which would put
ness Stakes, where she her in the company of the
could give the 86-year-old likes of 2009 champion Ra-
Hall of Fame trainer a re- chel Alexandra and Swiss
cord-tying seventh victory Skydiver, who beat Au-
in the second jewel of the thentic in this race in 2020.
Triple Crown. Lukas knows all about fan-
“She gives you reason ev- Luis Saez rides Secret Oath, center front, across the finish line to win the 148th running of the tastic female horses, hav-
ery day to feel good,” Lu- Kentucky Oaks horse race at Churchill Downs Friday, May 6, 2022, in Louisville, Ky. ing trained 15 who won the
kas said from his usual spot Associated Press Eclipse Award for the top
filly of the year. Winning
Colors in 1988 became one
of just three fillies to win the
Kentucky Derby, and Se-
cret Oath two weeks ago
gave him a fifth victory in
the Oaks. She could have
run in the Black-Eyed Susan
Stakes on Friday, but Lukas
was willing to roll the dice
on Secret Oath being bet-
ter than the colts this time
after finishing third in the
Arkansas Derby in April.
“She’ll catch them. Wheth-
er she will run by them,
we’ll find out,” said Lukas,
who cited Secret Oath’s
turn of foot as her biggest
asset. “She’s got that ac-
celeration. She runs along
with them. And when they
ask her to move, she’s got
a devastating kick. She
breaks their hearts.”
Two time Triple Crown-
winning trainer and good
friend Bob Baffert told Lu-
kas that Secret Oath re-
minded him of Arrogate,
who he considered the
best horse of his career.
Secret Oath is the daugh-
ter of Arrogate and glides
more like him than Lukas’
star fillies of decades past.
“She’s got more to do, but
she’s got a chance to be
as good as any of them,”
Lukas said. “I don’t think
that’s out of line. We’re
talking about one that, she
gets over the ground bet-
ter than any of them I’ve
had. Her efficiency: boy,
she is a pretty mover.” q