Norman Stables’ Secret belief offers freshman stallions Aurelius Maximus with her first winner when she debuted on June 14 in her first special weight class at Evangeline Downs.
Secret Faith soon set the pace under jockey CJ McMahon and pulled away from the field to win by 6 1/4 lengths in a final time of :52.71 for 4 1/2 furlongs over Fast main track. This 2-year-old gray or roan is trained by Jayde Gelner, who picked Secret Faith out of the 2023 Texas Thoroughbred Association Yearling Sale for $75,000.
Bred in Louisiana by J. Adcock and Hume Wornall, Secret Faith is out of the Macho Uno St. mares. Jean produces shares. The dam of five winners, St. Jean produced four-time stakes winners and who earned $340,971 Fantasy in the middle of the night (Midnight Lute ) And Strong promise a Broken Vow colt posted three black type wins for Norman Stables.
Aurelius Maximus, son of Pioneerof the Nile, entered the 2021 class at Red River Farms in Louisiana. With his $625,000 acquisition at the 2017 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, Aurelius Maximus won three of eight starts for owners Stonestreet Stables, George Bolton and Peter Leidel. He finished as a narrow runner-up Mr Freeze in the 2020 Fayette Stakes (G2) for trainer Steve Asmussen and finished fourth in the 2018 Champagne Stakes (G1) when trained as a filly by Chad Brown.
