Celebrity Secret Upsets, Forces Race-Off

Celebrity Red Mile.jpg

Celebrity Secret became just the second horse to find the chink in the armour of Deweycheatumnhowe when he sailed past Ray Schnittker's star student en route to winning the $273,600 second heat of today's Kentucky Futurity at The Red Mile.

John Campbell hustled Celebrity Secret off the gate and found himself going head-to-head with Clerk Magistrate and Trevor Ritchie through an opening quarter clocked in :27.4. Deweycheatumnhowe, in the meantime, had nestled into the three hole for Ray Schnittker.

Celebrity Secret - Heat 2

Clerk Magistrate eventually worked his way to the front, but he quickly came under attack from Deweycheatumnhowe, who was up to engage the leader at the mid-way point. The two trotted in tandem past that marker in :56 seconds, and they continued to go at it to the third station in 1:24.4.

Deweycheatumnhowe managed to dispose of Clerk Magistrate as the field turned for home, but he was overtaken by a pair of rivals half-way down the lane when Crazed and Celebrity Secret spoiled Schnittker's chances of a straight-heats score in the Kentucky Futurity.

Celebrity Secret dug down deep to fend off a very determined Crazed, who missed out by a narrow margin. Celebrity Secret stopped the clock in a career-best clocking of 1:52.3 to defeat Crazed, who finished in the runner-up spot, and Deweycheatumnhowe, who had to settle for third prize.

Staffan Lind conditions the three-year-old son of Yankee Glide, who finished fifth in the first heat, for the partnership of Celebrity Farms of New York and the Celebrity Secret Stable of Kentucky.

After going 0-for-8 as a rookie, Celebrity Secret has put together a 6-5-0 record in 16 starts this season. His bankroll stands at $1,093,436.

(Photo courtesy of Nigel Soult)

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