Celebrity Secret, with just four wins in 18 career starts, has been quietly trotting a path to riches, with $755,556 in earnings. He's been second or third 11 times, most of them in major races.
He was second to Crazed in the Colonial Trot on August 17; second to Deweycheatumnhowe in the Dancer Memorial on July 11; and fourth to the latter in the Hambletonian.
Trainer Staffan Lind says the consistent son of Yankee Glide is coming in to the Trotting Derby sound and in good flesh.
"He's doing very well, I'm very pleased with him," says Lind. "He's as good as he was in the beginning of the season. I have no complaints. He's an easy keeper, he eats good and he takes good care of himself. He never gets too anxious about traveling or a new environment."
Celebrity Secret has spent many a summer day chasing after Deweycheatumnhowe and Lind knows Dewey may have to wake up on the wrong side of the stall if he's to be beaten. "He's [Deweycheatumnhowe] a very good horse, so it can happen by him having a bad day or someone else being really good. But of course, if he gets to race his way, it's going to be very hard to beat him."
Lind says that Celebrity Secret has not been discouraged by his recent role as runner up. "He has improved mentally, especially this year, he likes to race and he wants to beat other horses."
Lind notes that he's also a horse that does well with any kind of trip, saying "I think he's very versatile, he can race from any position, he can even come first up [race on the outside]. He's strong and he can usually keeps his speed all the way to the wire."
While Celebrity Secret wears trotting hopples, Lind says he barely needs them. "I'm training him every time without them. It's just something we put on last year when he wasn't really himself. And when I put them back on this year, I had them very, very loose; he's just more confident with them."
(Harness Racing Communications)