Nachor Secret, ridden by Martin Munoz, wins the $133,900 Blue River Derby by 3/4-lengths at Horseshoe Indianaplis on Saturday.

© Coady Media

SHELBYVILLE, IN–JULY 20, 2024–Nachor Secret has returned as a new horse in 2024. The bigger, better, stronger version of the Habits Secret son. Ridden by Martin Munoz, Nachor Secret dominated the field in the 22nd running of the $133,900 Blue River Derby Final on Saturday, July 20, at Horseshoe Indianapolis.

Nachor Secret came into the race off a second-place finish to the fastest qualifier from the trials, AP Miss Lunas Tide. He began from post five in the field of 10 and was the center of a lot of contact coming out of the gate, but he stood his ground and rallied straight out of early trouble to gain a short advantage.

Midway through the 400-yard dash, Nachor Secret hit another gear, lengthening his stride and rolling under the wire as a three-quarter length winner in :19.649. Priddy Fabulous and Saul Lopez held their ground inside for second, followed by Nachor Secret’s stablemate, Tin Knocker, and Diego Villamil Bocanegra for third.

“He broke good,” said Martin Munoz through translation by trainer Ricardo Martinez. “The further he went, the better he got today.”

Nachor Secret earned race favorite status, paying $5.00 for the win. The grey colt is out of Martinez’s stallion, Habit’s Secret. Martinez raced both the sire and the dam of Nachor Secret and is reaping the benefits of that investment with Nachor Secret's success.

The winning connections of Nachor Secret accept the $133,900 Blue River Derby trophy at Horseshoe Indianapolis on Friday. © Coady Media

It was his second career stakes win this season, coupled with the Harley Greene Derby victory. He is five for ten and has only missed the board once in his career. His overall earnings tally now tops $169,000.

“He’s been training good when he turned three because he’s been behaving better,” explained Martinez. “As a colt last year, he was very badly behaving, but we couldn’t cut him because it was during the season. As soon as he ran his last race, he cut him, and it’s made a big difference with him. I usually try to keep them intact as a colt because they seem to come back better from a trial to the final like this, but only if they are behaving. He’s been a better horse to deal with this year.”

Habits Secret competed at Horseshoe Indianapolis for Martinez, winning 10 of 26 lifetime starts before he retired to stud duty at Dr. Roger Beam’s Midwest Equine and Veterinary Hospital in Trafalgar, Ind.

The No Secrets Here stallion has many accolades already. He was the number five freshman leading sire in the nation in 2018 and is a 100 percent money producer. Nachor Secret is his latest star in a long line of stakes winners and isn’t done yet.

“We’ll keep him (Nachor Secret) in the Indiana bred program and finish up with that,” added Martinez on the future of Nachor Secret.

This is Martinez's second win in a row in the Blue River Derby. Last year, he connected with Tachas Secret, another product of Habits Secret, at the event.

Longshot Priddy Fabulous goes off at 19-1 odds, paying $15.60 for his second-place finish. The son of One Fabulous Eagle has two career wins from 11 starts with $83,293 in the bank, including the Horseshoe Indianapolis August Overnight Stakes.

Breeder Roger Lewis repurchased Priddy Fabulous in the QHRAI Stallion Service Auction for $3,200. He was later sold to his current owner, Salvador Villalobos. Anthony Cunningham trains the sorrel gelding out of My Girls Rock by Rock Solid Jess.

Also trained by Ricardo Martinez, Tin Knocker has lit the board eight of 11 starts with $111,323 in earnings. The son of Habits Secret placed third in the Harley Green Derby in June. Last year, he placed second in the Leader of the Sale Futurity and fifth in the Gordon Mobley Futurity.

His owner, Gerardo Corral, repurchased him for $10,500 in the QHRAI Stallion Service Auction. Carlos Ramos bred Tin Knocker out of the Favorite Cartel mare Favorite Sissy.

Sin Tachas Secret, Dupont Beach, The Good Candy, Cisco Beach, Ap Miss Lunas Tide, and Ap The Doves Light complete the order of finish.

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The 22nd season of live Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing extends through Thursday, Nov. 14. Racing is held Monday through Thursday at 2:10 p.m. For more information on live racing at Horseshoe Indianapolis, visit www.caesars.com/horseshoe-indianapolis/racing or find the track on Social Media @HSIndyRacing.

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