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)