One of the big questions for any athlete is how performance will be affected by age. Some get better as they mature, while others, do not. This is absolutely the case with Thoroughbreds. An impressive three-year-old season does not always equate to success in later years. If the grade 2 Azeri Stakes is an accurate barometer, the 2022 Kentucky Oaks champion looks to be even better in 2023.
Making her four-year-old debut at Oaklawn Park on March 11, Secret Oath looked every bit the outstanding female that won the Lillies for fillies in the Kentucky Oaks. Running against an accomplished field of seven other females, this D. Wayne Lukas-trained daughter of Arrogate was very impressive in her first start of 2023. Settling off the early pace, Secret Oath swung wide at the top of the stretch and powerfully took the lead. Using the amazing turn of foot possessed by her pappy, it was no Secret as to who was the best on this day. Easily outdistancing two-time grade 1 winner Clariere, Lukas’s charge won by a geared down 2 3/4 lengths. The Azeri was her sixth win in fourteen career starts and the grade 1 Apple Blossom at Oaklawn is her likely next target.
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