Juvenile Spotlight: Secret Circle

One of my favorite things to do is find young horses that have the potential to be superstars. It is very entertaining and rewarding to "discover" two-year-olds before they go on to record prestigious victories. Juvenile Spotlights highlight some of the two-year-olds I have "discovered." Some Juvenile Spotlights feature horses right after they have broken their maiden or after they record their first major victory. Either way, I have followed these horses since before they hit the headlines. I don't do a Juvenile Spotlight on every two-year-old I "discover", but I try to feature as many as I can.

Eddington has been one of my favorite studs since 2007. He has not had tremendous success as a sire, producing just nine stakes horses - none of them graded winners - in his three crops of racing age. However, his sire, Breeders’ Cup Classic and Kentucky Derby winner Unbridled had much success as a sire, siring forty-nine stakes winners.

Eddington at Claiborne Farm

I had no idea who Eddington was until I visited Kentucky for the first time in 2007. I was blown away by Eddington when I visited the esteemed Claiborne Farm. Maybe it was his shining copper coat and refined head. Maybe it was the fact that he was one of the first grade one winners I ever touched. Nonetheless, I have been a fan of him ever since.

One of Bob Baffert’s two-year-olds could be Eddington’s first superstar. The colt’s name is Secret Circle. He is a bay colt out of the stakes-winning Dixieland Band mare, Ragtime Hope. Ragtime Hope’s dam, Good ‘N Smart, has produced one stakes winner other than her, Really Polish, who is also grade three-placed. Secret Circle’s full brother, Eddington Limit, has raced solely at Woodbine, recording one win and one second in five lifetime starts. Secret Circle could add to the black-type horses in his pedigree.

If he did, he most definitely would not surprise Baffert or anyone who saw his maiden win at Del Mar on July 23. Sent off as the favorite in a field of ten two-year-old maidens, Secret Circle led the whole way under jockey Rafael Bejarano, crossing the wire first by seven and one-quarter lengths. Bejarano was so impressed he even pumped his fist as they galloped out past the wire after an easy hand ride.

2009 Champion Two-Year-Old Male
and 2010 Champion Three-Year-Old Male,
Lookin at Lucky
Photo: Terri Cage

Owned by Karl Watson, Mike Pegram, and Paul Weitman, the colt is a possible contender for the Del Mar Futurity (GI) on September 7. He will be one to watch not only throughout his two-year-old season, but his three-year-old season as well. After all, his connections had the 2009 Champion Two-Year-Old Male and 2010 Champion Three-Year-Old Male in Lookin at Lucky and have a top three-year-old this year in Haskell Invitation (GI) winner Coil. As of now, he may just be an impressive maiden winner, but Secret Circle is on many watch lists, including mine.




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