Secret Oath

STRENGTHS: She has been among the top 3-year-old fillies in the country all year and just posted a clear-cut win in the top race for that division while also earning the top figure of her career. She already has experience vs. colts via her valiant try in the Arkansas Derby, where things did not work out perfectly from a trip perspective. Most importantly, she is not going to be facing a big field in the Preakness, with many of the Derby also-rans passing this race. She is more tactical than she was able to show in the Arkansas Derby after being bumped at the start, and can pull a better trip this time, assuming a clean break.

WEAKNESSES: As well as she ran winning the Oaks two weeks ago, that still wasn’t an effort that puts her on par with a horse like Epicenter. She had some excuses when taking on colts in the Arkansas Derby, but she was not exactly an unlucky loser in that race, and that was not the strongest prep we saw along the trail. She is talented but this is going to be the toughest race of her career and she is likely going to have to earn another new top in order to be competitive.

BETTING VALUE: There is little chance of her going favored in the Preakness, as she did in the Arkansas Derby, but she still has a following and is going to take some money in this watered-down Preakness field. Save Epicenter, who is going to be a clear-cut favorite, she has as much going for her as anyone in the field and should be taken seriously in all pools. – Mike Beer

SIRE: A son of Unbridled’s Song, and thus from the classic Unbridled line, Arrogate earned $17,422,600, a record for a North American-based racehorse, the bulk earned during a remarkable fourrace streak of Grade 1/Group 1 races. He kicked that off with a 13 1/2-length track-record victory in the 2016 Travers. He then edged two-time Horse of the Year California Chrome by a half-length in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, securing a divisional Eclipse Award. In the inaugural Pegasus World Cup, his 4 3/4-length victory established another track record of 1:46.83 for 1 1/8 miles. In the Dubai World Cup, in what many consider his finest hour, Arrogate was away slowly and made a dramatic last-to-first rally to defeat champion Gun Runner by 2 1/4 lengths. In the mold of their sire, many of Arrogate’s runners seem to be later bloomers who improve with experience. Secret Oath, who debuted last fall and has won three stakes this year around two turns is a solid example.

DAM: Absinthe Minded, by Quiet American, made 35 starts over four seasons. She was a two-time winner of the Bayakoa and also won the Pippin at Oaklawn Park, all at 1 1/16 miles. She was twice on the board in the Grade 1 Apple Blossom. She is the dam of three winners, all around two turns, from four starters. Second dam Rockford Peach won at up to 1 1/8 miles while making 73 starts over six seasons. She is a half-sister to Puerto Rican champion El Ordenador, who won at up to 1 3/16 miles. She is also a half to the dam of Darby Sky, a stakes-winning steeplechaser at marathon distances.

OUTLOOK: Secret Oath combines two classic sires in Unbridled and Quiet American, and her development suggests there is more in the tank as she tries to go an extra sixteenth. – Nicole Russo