Sunday, August 8, 2010
SECRET GYPSY REMAINS SHARP AT THE SPA IN HONORABLE MISS
By Jon Forbes
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Secret Gypsy kept her unbeaten record over the Saratoga main track intact with a two-length triumph in Sunday’s 19th running of the Grade 2, $150,000 Honorable Miss Handicap for fillies and mares.
Looking for a graded stakes victory to complement her maiden and allowance victories at the Spa, Secret Gypsy settled in second off the flank of One Smokin’ Lady, who inherited the lead after the expected pacesetter Warbling missed the break. After the early leader began to backpedal as the field turned for home, Secret Gypsy took command and maintained a clear lead to the wire.
“I knew my filly would be in a good place but when [Warbling] blew the break, it put me up there,” said winning rider Jamie Theriot. “I just was, ‘Well, I’m going to stay here’. From there, it was just a matter of time because I was in a stalking position and let her run through her lane. She finished very well.”
Hour Glass held off Warbling to finish second, while Pretty Prolific and One Smokin’ Lady completed the order of finish.
Secret Gypsy, whose record stands at 7-2-2 from 16 starts, returned $6.10 as the 2-1 second choice and covered six furlongs in 1:09.82. Including the $90,000 winner’s share of the Honorable Miss purse, the 5-year-old has earned $506,926 to date for owners Richland Hills Stable and John Kuehl.
After capturing the 2009 Grade 2 Distaff Handicap at Aqueduct, Secret Gypsy went on a five-race losing streak before she regained the winning thread last time out with a 4 ¾-length victory in the Saylorville at Prairie Meadows June 25.
“Her races and her confidence have been getting better,” said winning trainer Ronny Werner. “Sometimes it’s hard to get fillies back – she’s had some problems in the past and we were working through that, mentally and physically. She’s done well here. I wish it was a longer meet! She’s changed her style of running a little bit this year. She’s starting to sit off a little bit more and relax more, and that just comes with age.”
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