Southern Secret rallied late to score a surprise victory

The son of Southern Cat, one of the outsiders in the field, caught the frontrunning favorite Atomic Trigger in the final strides to take the Handicap Druid

On the inside, Southern Secret got the better of Atomic Trigger to secure the victory / JUAN I. BOZZELLO

It was an eye-catching performance from jockey Lucrecia Carabajal on Wednesday at the Hipódromo de San Isidro, as she guided Southern Secret (115½ lbs.), one of the longshots in the field, to a stunning victory in the day’s feature, the Handicap Druid (1800 meters, dirt).

When the favorite and topweight Atomic Trigger (Cosmic Trigger, 132 lbs.) looked home and dry, the final strides proved endless for him. Carabajal never gave up aboard trainer Hugo M. Pérez’s charge, and with a furious late rally along the rail, she nailed her rival on the wire to win it by a head.

Carabajal’s patience—keeping the Stud El Rebenque II runner unhurried at the back of the pack—combined perfectly with a hefty 7½-kg weight advantage, and the fast early pace that Atomic Trigger set up front. The favorite carved out quick fractions of :22.73 and :46.58 for the opening 400 and 800 meters, pressured throughout by Dragonet (Treasure Beach, 118 lbs.) and Chanclette (Super Saver, 119 lbs.).

Turning for home, Atomic Trigger put those rivals away—they would fade to finish last and next-to-last—and opened what appeared to be a winning margin. But inside the final furlong, the finish line couldn’t come soon enough, and Southern Secret came flying up the rail to snatch the victory in dramatic style.

Señor Dan (Señor Candy, 129 lbs.) finished 2½ lengths back in third, while Titanic Blade (Daniel Boone, 120½ lbs.) was another three-quarters of a length away in fourth. The Rosario-based Safety Honour (Safety Check, 131 lbs.) never factored and wound up seventh. Final time: 1:49.37, with splits of 1:12.60 and 1:36.12.

Bred by Haras El Gusy, Southern Secret is a son of Southern Cat (Scat Daddy) out of the talented Family Secret(Brancusi), winner of the Handicap Acheron, from the historic “Jewish” female line developed at Haras Ojo de Agua.

For Southern Secret, who had shown mixed form in his previous three graded stakes starts, this marked his third career win from just 12 outings.