Barb Lehman has informed Trot Insider that 11-year-old Western Hanover gelding Secret Weapon had to be humanely euthanized on Thursday, November 28.

Lehman, who comprises one half of Secret Weapon Stables, told Trot Insider that the career winner of 56 races and more than $654,000 in purse earnings suffered an injury to one of his hind legs while jogging a slow mile Thursday morning at Victory Lane Farms in Flamborough, Ont.

Lehman and Secret Weapon’s trainer, Wayne Preszcator, told Trot Insider that the incident came out of nowhere. “We were going a three-minute mile and his leg just broke,” said Preszcator, who said that he has never seen anything like it in all of his years in the industry.

Secret Weapon Stables claimed the bay in 2006, and that is when he became a fixture in Ontario harness racing. Secret Weapon travelled the province contesting the Preferred and upper conditioned ranks, and, in doing so, compiled a very respectable bankroll in the process.

Spreading his love east, Secret Weapon ventured out to Prince Edward Island on three occasions (2009, 2010, 2011) to slug it out in the pinnacle of east coast racing, The Gold Cup and Saucer. He was a game, dead-heat winner in Trial 3 of the 2009 Gold Cup and Saucer (he just missed taking all the marbles in the $60,000 final five days later).

2009 Gold Cup and Saucer – Secret Weapon (1:53.4 – Dead Heat)

Although he recorded a pair of fourth-place finishes during the 2010 Gold Cup and Saucer, Secret Weapon made his presence felt in the 2011 edition, where he paced to a dominant, 12-length win in 1:52.1 during the ‘Cup’ consolation.

From 254 career starts, Secret Weapon recorded 56 wins, 34 second-place finishes and 27 thirds. His career bankroll settled at $654,602 and he took his record (1:50.3) at age four over Mohawk Racetrack’s seven-eighths-mile oval. To this day, Secret Weapon is still a record holder at Hanover Raceway, as his standard of 1:53 is still tops for an aged pacing gelding.

Lehman, who co-owns the bay along with Thomas Moser, told Trot Insider that Secret Weapon was a little more than a month away from retirement when the freak occurrence happened Thursday.

“He was slowing down this year, but he just loved to be out on the racetrack,” Lehman explained. “He had been so good to us and wanted to keep racing, but we had made the decision that it was time for him to be retired.”

In his last race, which came on November 18 at Western Fair Raceway, Secret Weapon was able to do what he liked best: win. In the Western Fair’s Preferred 3 Pace, Secret Weapon ground down the leader in the middle half and got up for a handy, one-length win.

Please join Standardbred Canada in offering condolences to the connections of Secret Weapon.