Will's Secret tallies Oaks points with Martha Washington upset
At the top of the Oaklawn stretch in the $200,000 Martha Washington Stakes, four 3-year-old fillies had a chance at a win. In the end, it was Will’s Secret who fought through the muddy straightaway to earn the victory over the favored Coach and Joy’s Rocket.
Contested at a flat mile, the Martha Washington was a 10-4-2-1 points race for the Kentucky Oaks.
Trained by Dallas Stewart, Will's Secret rated off the pace as Lady Lily shot to the front out of the gate. However, she was quickly overtaken by Joy’s Rocket.
Joy's Rocket and Sylvia Q spent most of the race dueling for the lead, with Joy’s Rocket taking the inside position. The field ran fractions of 23.61, 47.35 and 1:12.37 for six furlongs.
Going into the far turn, Coach -- who went off as the 4-5 favorite for trainer Brad Cox -- went to the front accompanied while accompanied by Will’s Secret with Jon Court up. However, Will's Secret then slingshotted clear and never looked back, winning in a final time of 1:38.78.
“She broke good and I know speed has been pretty tough today for the majority of the races,” Court said. “We were looking, after analyzing the race we chose the strategy that worked out very effectively today.”
Coach proved second-best and was followed by across the wire by Joy’s Rocket and Syliva Q. All four earn qualifying points towards the Kentucky Oaks.
Will's Secret was exiting a sharp 2 3/4-length maiden win on Dec. 20 at Fair Grounds in her fourth start. The daughter of Will Take Charge out of Girl’s Secret, by Giant’s Causeway, is a homebred for Willis Horton Racing.
“I was a little worried about it, honestly, because it was only a mile,” Stewart said in an Oaklawn release after the race. “She runs the stretch really, really good. I was a little worried. She had been going a mile and a sixteenth. I just worried about shortening her up because it can be a little tricky sometimes. Obviously, she’s a lot smarter than me.”
The filly returned $18.00 for the win after going off at 8-1.