Unlike the coronavirus, Oaks fever is something one doesn't mind having.
Fifteen years since first diagnosed, Arkansas horse owner Willis Horton and trainer Dallas Stewart have come down with another case. Through his connections with the filly's Will's Secret, 60-year-old jockey Jon Court also has been affected. But not to worry.
The only known cure, usually available on the first Friday in May, technically breaks its embargo date this year. Look for Will's Secret in the Kentucky Oaks April 30 after scoring 60 points in two winning preps at Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort.
Although not as easily (5 1/4 lengths) as in the Martha Washington mile Jan. 30, Will Take Charge's dark bay or brown daughter took care of business Saturday in the Grade 3 $300,000 Honeybee. Like her sire, the 2013 Eclipse Award-winning colt, Will's Secret can go longer, showing tactical speed on a fast track after handling the mud last time.
Always prominent, Will's Secret won by three quarters of a length over longshot Pauline's Pearl. Sun Path, beaten favorite last time at Fair Grounds, held the show by almost six lengths over Florida shipper Oliviaofthedesert. Those four divvied up the 85 Oaks qualifying points with 50 to the winner and the rest going on a 20-10-5 basis.
A retired homebuilder from Marshall, Horton hopes to relive the Oaks glory he and Stewart shared with Lemons Forever in 2006. That filly, sired by Belmont Stakes winner Lemon Drop Kid, produced Forever Unbridled, Oaklawn's 2016 Grade 1 Apple Blossom Handicap winner for Stewart and owner Charles Fipke.
"It's always a pleasure to ride for (Stewart) and the Hortons," said Court, a two-time Oaklawn riding champion who missed most of last year with a collapsed lung. "This horse got looked in the eye but beat back a couple of challengers. She handled the track like she does every time."
A Dec. 20 maiden winner at Fair Grounds before shipping to Oaklawn, homebred Will's Secret can train up to the Oaks or go for a Hot Springs sweep in the Grade 3 $600,000 Fantasy, a 100-point prize to the April 3 winner.
It's not lost on anyone that last year's Fantasy produced both the Oaks (Shedaresthedevil, after winning the Honeybee) and Preakness (Swiss Skydiver) winners.
Will's Secret, Stewart said, got exactly what the trainer wanted out of the Honeybee. Now 3 for 6 lifetime with earnings of $343,300, she went the mile and sixteenth in 1:44.61 and, as the 2-1 favorite, paid $6.20, $4.40 and $3
"She showed a little more versatility," said Stewart, one of many former Wayne Lukas assistants who has done well on his own. "She can be on the lead and finish it off, and that's really good to have in a racehorse.
"I told (Court) to stay out of her mouth, let her break away from there and get around that first turn," Stewart said. "I think that's important at Oaklawn. You've got to get around the first turn and be in good shape. Looks like we've got that down. She just coasted from there."
Will's Secret and Tabor Hall, who along with Oliviaofthedesert represented 2020 Fantasy and Oaks-winning trainer Ken McPeek, battled early. The eventual winner went to the front after a half-mile in 49.70 seconds, widening her lead down the lane. Pauline's Pearl, a Tapit filly owned by Barbara Banke, widow of Curlin owner Jess Jackson, and trained by Steve Asmussen, worked out an inside trip for second.
"She broke really well today and we weren't pressured early on," Court said. "She was comfortable on the front end and able to dictate a moderate, easy pace. Therefore, I was able to have plenty of horse to finish with and when I called on her, she was full of run down the stretch. It just worked out very favorably today."
Saturday surprise: Trainer Danele Durham had an immediate response after her fourth-race winner Saturday rocked the toteboard at 87-1.
"That must have been a helluva rider change," the Texan said after 4-year-old Niall, previously 1 for 20, got up by three quarters under Walter De La Cruz and paid a meet-high $176.20 per $2 win ticket.
Niall, a 4-year-old homebred gelding, came off a 20 1/2-length Oaklawn defeat Jan. 29 under Elvin Gonzalez. Before that, he had two "Beyer doughnuts" (minus-0 speed figures) in losses of a combined 131 1/4 lengths. Not since July 27 at Lone Star Park, in a $40,000 maiden race under Lane Luzzi, had Niall posed for the track photographer.
Understandably, Durham wasn't worried about anyone claiming Niall for the $10,000 tag he was entered Saturday. No such offer came. "So," she said, "I keep my horse."
A son of turf star Paddy O'Prado "who does not like the turf at all," Niall came across as a "nervous horse," who nearly bit off his tongue, Durham said, before she changed bits.
Having shown early speed in his best races, Niall got away next to last and uncorked a winning move late down the middle of the track. Runner-up Change Direction and show horse Jack Van Berg represented trainers (Paul Holthus and John Cox) also seeking their first meet winner.
Niall, said Durham, whose best horse was Texas Bling, was about to receive a half-brother on the trainer's Texas farm. "And, no," she said, when someone asked, "I don't bet my horses."