Lady’s Secret Made La Canada Her Playground

The La Canada Stakes, which will be contested for the 32nd time Sunday at Santa Anita, has been won by some top-quality female horses.

Chris Evert won the inaugural running in 1975 and has been followed by stars such as Taisez Vous, Glorious Song, Gorgeous and Spain.

But only one La Canada winner has the distinction of being named horse of the year.

Twenty years ago, Lady’s Secret became the first of three horses trained by Wayne Lukas to win that honor and is one of only five females to be named horse of the year, joining Twilight Tear (1944), Busher (1945), All Along (1983) and Azeri (2002).

A gray daughter of Secretariat out of the Icecapade mare Great Lady M., Lady’s Secret, who was bred in Oklahoma, had an appropriate nickname. She was called the “Iron Lady” because of her ability to withstand rugged campaigns in 1985 and 1986. She raced 32 times at ages 3 and 4, winning 20, and took on males more than once.

She began and ended her magical 1986 campaign for Lukas and owners Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Klein at Santa Anita.

After winning the El Encino Stakes on Jan. 18, Lady’s Secret earned the first of her remarkable eight Grade I victories that year with a 11 1/4 -length romp in the La Canada on Feb. 9, then capped her season with a 2 1/2 -length win in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff on Nov. 1. When Skywalker upset Precisionist and Turkoman in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, the horse-of-the-year title was hers.

In between Lady’s Secret’s victories in Arcadia were wins in Arkansas, New York and New Jersey. All told, she won 10 times in 1986 and was no worse than third in her five losses.

Although her sire was Secretariat, arguably the greatest thoroughbred who ever raced, Lady’s Secret did come from humble beginnings. Her mother was a horse Lukas purchased on behalf of owner Bob Spreen for $65,000 after being impressed with how hard she tried while finishing fourth in a $35,000 claiming race on the Atlantic City turf course in 1978. Great Lady M. went on to win multiple stakes.

As a weanling, Lady’s Secret was purchased by Klein for $600,000 as part of a three-horse package. The other two horses were Ten Cents Plain, who died before ever racing, and Gene’s Lady, who earned nearly $1 million in her career. Lady’s Secret was the runt of the three.

“My son [former assistant trainer Jeff Lukas] and I were concerned about the little gray one because she never grew,” Lukas said. “We started training them at Hollywood Park. Lady’s Secret broke her maiden down here as a 2-year-old, but I told Jeff to take her up to Bay Meadows because they had a little listed stakes and I thought we could probably get some black type with her.

“I didn’t get to see the race and I was just hoping for the best. Jeff called me that night and said that we had won. I said ‘Great, at least we have a listed stakes for her.’ He said that I wouldn’t believe it and that she had run right off the screen.”

For the next two years plus, Lady’s Secret didn’t stop running. Never afraid to run a female horse against males, Lukas did it more with her than any other, including Kentucky Derby winner Winning Colors and Serena’s Song.

“She was very sound and very tough for a little, wiry filly,” he said. “She wasn’t the kind that I would buy or the kind that you would think would take on males, but she had so much heart. Great Lady M. tried very, very hard and that was the one quality she passed on to Lady’s Secret.

“Smaller horses have a great efficiency of motion and they stay sounder longer. Size and muscle sometimes works against horses. The small, wiry ones sometimes last a lot longer.”

To Lukas, Lady’s Secret’s best performance came in the 1986 Whitney Handicap at Saratoga. She beat her six male rivals by 4 1/2 lengths Aug. 2, going wire-to-wire under jockey Pat Day.

Retired in 1987 with 25 wins in 45 starts and earnings of $3,021,325, Lady’s Secret was elected to racing’s Hall of Fame in 1992. Never a particularly successful broodmare, she died on March 4, 2003.