Un Ojo upsets Rebel; Secret Oath may face males after Honeybee romp

Feb 27, 2022 James Scully/TwinSpires.com

Overlooked at 75-1, Un
Ojo rallied up the inside to edge Ethereal Road in the latter stages of
Saturday’s $1 million Rebel S. (G2) at Oaklawn Park. The New York-bred gelding sprung
a massive upset with Ramon Vasquez and virtually stamped his Kentucky Derby
ticket, picking up a 50-point prize in the qualifying race.

Ricky Courville trains the late-running son of Laoban for
Cypress Creek Equine, and Un Ojo returned a $152.80 win mutuel.

Along with the Rebel, Oaklawn also offered the $300,000 Honeybee
S. (G3) for three-year-old fillies, and Secret
Oath appears headed to a Kentucky Derby qualifier following her second
straight convincing win in a Road to the Kentucky Oaks series race.

Un Ojo, who only has one eye, stalked the pace in third down
the backstretch as Kavod showed the way through splits in :23.42, :48.86, and
1:14.30. Southwest (G3) winner Newgrange, the 4-5 favorite, tracked the
pacesetter in second before coming under a ride on the far turn and giving way.

Ethereal Road rallied boldly through the final turn on the
outside, striking the front in upper stretch, and the last-out maiden winner was
a bit rank drifting outwards after straightening for home. Un Ojo held his spot
along the inside and began to surge in the final furlong, closing determinedly
to get up late by a half-length.

Un Ojo finished 1 1/16 miles on the rainy fast track in
1:45.69.

Ethereal Road held second at 15-1 by a nose over Barber
Road, who split foes late to just miss the place at 6-1. Kavod, Chasing Time,
Newgrange, Dash Attack, Ben Diesel, Stellar Tap, Cairama, and Texas Red Hot
rounded out the finish.

The Rebel awarded points on a 50-20-10-5 scale to the top
four.

Un Ojo broke his maiden at Delta Downs last November for
Courville in his second career start. After a fourth in the Jean-Lafitte S., he
shipped to New York to record a fast-closing neck second in a lucrative New
York-bred stakes at Aqueduct in mid-December for trainer Anthony Dutrow.

The dark bay moved back to open company in Feb. 5 Withers S.
(G3), a Road to the Kentucky Derby series event, and Un Ojo got up late to be a
non-threatening second to Early Voting at 28-1. He’s expected to transfer back
to Dutrow for the April 9 Wood Memorial (G2) at Aqueduct

Bred by Southern Equine Stables, Un Ojo is out of the
stakes-placed A.P. Indy mare Risk a Chance. He increased his earnings to
$776,321 from a 6-2-2-0 career line.

In the Honeybeee, Secret Oath proved much the best after
overcoming trouble on the far turn, checking and altering path to the inside for
the stretch drive, and her connections are considering a bid against males
after the impressive 7 1/2-length win.

Luis Contreras was up for owner/breeder Briland Farm and
Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas, who indicated the $1.25 million Arkansas
Derby (G1) on April 2 is under consideration for her next start.

After earning 10 points toward a Kentucky Oaks berth romping
in the Jan. 29 Martha Washington S. at Oaklawn, Secret Oath added another 50 in
Saturday’s Road to the Kentucky Oaks series qualifier.

The daughter of Arrogate has utilized a powerful turn of
foot to win her last three starts going away, and her four-time Kentucky Derby-winning trainer has experience running fillies against males, capturing the 1988 Derby
with Winning Colors.

“We thought her real success would come with two turns,”
Lukas said. “To see it three times in a row, I think she’s got it down. She’s
really a pro.”

Favored at 3-10 over five Honeybee rivals, Secret Oath
completed 1 1/16 miles in 1:44.74, nearly a second faster than Rebel winner Un
Ojo later on the program.

Ice Orchid got up late to edge Yuuguri for second, and Free
Like a Girl, Red Queen, and Optionality came next under the wire.

Out of the multiple stakes-winning Quiet American mare
Absintheminded, who was also trained by Lukas, Kentucky-bred Secret Oath broke
her maiden the second time out at Churchill Downs in late October. She
rebounded from a fifth in her stakes debut, the Golden Rod (G2) in late
November, to romp over allowance foes at Oaklawn a month later.

Secret Oath has how earned $465,167 from a 6-4-0-1 record.