Racing enthusiasts have witnessed separate winners for the first two Jewels of the Triple Crown series – Aston Martin in the Barbados Guineas over 1570 metres and Summer Time in the Barbados Midsummer Creole Classic over 1 800 metres.
Come Saturday, at the home of racing, the Garrison Savannah, the featured event will be the United Insurance Barbados Derby.
The combination of owners Rose Gemmell and Sir Charles Williams along with trainer Andrew Nunes will be looking to share the secret.
Open Secret looks very capable of taking the final leg of the Triple Crown series.
This filly has all the ingredients in her pedigree as her sire, Moon Solitaire, landed his first local Derby winner last year when his offspring, Kendal Moon, took that event. Open Secret’s credentials are further strengthened as her dam, Secret Habitat, also won the Derby in 1993.
Sir Charles will be seeking his fourth Derby success, having scored with Secret Habitat, Apostle (part-owned with Elias Haloute) in 2007 and Kendal Moon. Trainer Nunes is seeking a third triumph, having saddled Apostle and Kendal Moon.
In her first taste of the race track, Open Secret strode to a half-length victory in the Grandstand Posse Paul Best Trophy Handicap Division-B over 1 570 metres, giving the impression that the longer the distance, the better will be the result.
Open Secret then engaged the powerhouses of her division – Galaxy, Aston Martin, Finbar, Rickoshey and Iamsogroovy – in the grade 1 Barbados Guineas over 1 570 metres. She was welcomed to the big league with a warm 7 ¾ lengths drubbing at the hands of Aston Martin, finishing 10th in the 12-horse field.
Her next appearance was another 1 570-metre event for non-winners of two races when she finished fifth of ten.
Such a performance would have left quite a few of her fans disappointed as that field appeared there for the taking.
The next assignment for Open Secret was a return clash with her conquerors of the Guineas when they square off in the Midsummer Creole Classic over 1 800 metres. It was felt that based on her pedigree this distance should at the least bring her close to the principles but the end results were: Summer Time first; Rickoshey, second; Aston Martin third; and Open Secret, fourth. The results, however, did not reflect her true performance as they could have read a lot different had her jockey, Antonio Whitehall, not lost his steels going towards the three-furlong marker.
Unable to regain his balance in the saddle, Whitehall and his charge Open Secret rode their luck along the rails to capture the final position. Noticeably, two of the three horses that finished before her were fully extended.
While she has only won one race from her four starts, her breeding plus the extra furlong in the Derby coupled with her misfortunes in the Midsummer Creole Classic are all mitigating factors that classify her to be a major threat next race day.
