BALTIMORE, Md. – With Secret Oath, his record-extending 46th Preakness starter, Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas will try to defeat top male 3-year-olds with a distinguished filly. As a Preakness (G1) rookie 42 years ago, Lukas wrote a different story, beating the heralded Genuine Risk – the first filly to win the Kentucky Derby (G1) in 65 years and just the second in history – with Codex.
Lukas, 86, talked about his first appearance in the Triple Crown, a series he later dominated, Wednesday morning a couple of hours after Secret Oath had a routine gallop on the track at Pimlico Race Course in preparation for Saturday’s Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown.
“I turned out to be the bad guy,” Lukas said. “Before the race, I was the unknown guy, some cowboy who came in here and brought a horse. That was the story. After the race, half of America thought I was a bad guy. All the women.”
Lukas and Hall of Fame jockey Angel Cordero Jr. were vilified after Codex carried Genuine Risk wide, allegedly bumping her in the second turn and entering the stretch. Codex went on to beat Genuine Risk by 4 ¾ lengths. Genuine Risk’s rider Jacinto Vasquez filed an objection, claiming foul, that the stewards did not allow.
“But the emotion was there anyhow,” Lukas said. “The Derby darling got beat soundly here.”
The Maryland Racing Commission promptly launched an investigation and conducted hearings that Lukas said lasted several days. He said he took a helicopter in from Belmont Park to Pimlico daily to attend the hearings.
Lukas said that a series of still images were matched against the film of the race, a pan angle from the side, proved that Codex had not fouled Genuine Risk.
“We knew right where it was and they never did touch,” Lukas said. “He herded her out, but they didn’t touch. The lawyer said we found the smoking gun. When they came in that day with those still photos that they put it on the big screen, you could run it over and over and you could tell everything was identical to the pan.”
Lukas acknowledged that Cordero tried and succeeded in getting a tactical advantage.
“Cordero knew that she didn’t want to go inside. For some reason Genuine Risk didn’t want to run inside of horses. So, typical Cordero, he gave her the inside,” Lukas said. “If you stopped the film at the quarter pole, you could have driven a big semi in there. (Vasquez) elected not to jump in that hole. So, he went out. He was going to go around Codex. He wouldn’t have gone around Codex because we were just starting to run, but he thought he could. Cordero just moved over. He was in the 6-, 7-hole; she was in the 8-hole.”
Lukas said he appreciated the circumstances this week – a reversal of the 1980 Preakness, the possibility of winning the Preakness with a filly.
“Absolutely, it would be sweet. That’s why we’re here,” he said. “Filly. Colt. Government mule. I don’t care. I’m here to win the thing.”
Maryland Jockey Club Press Release
Photo: The Coach ponies Secret Oath in a morning work at Pimlico Wednesday. (Jerry Dzierwinski/MJC)
