Audley Farm hopes Secured Freedom has a little Bodemeister in him
Sophomore Va-bred tries his luck in Saturday’s San Felipe
Nick Hahn
March 6, 2026
Audley Farm’s equine manager Jaime McDiarmid wants Secured Freedom, a moderate 8-1 shot in Saturday’s $200,000, Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita, to follow Bodemeister’s path well past the wire. It’s been fourteen years since that Audley Farm predecessor used a second-place finish in the San Felipe to catapult to an Arkansas Derby win and a challenge in the 2012 Triple Crown.
Both were April Virginia-bred foals bred at Audley Farm, sold at the Keeneland September yearling sale, and both found success early in their careers in California.
This article contains affiliate links. If you click and buy, we may earn a commission at no extra charge to you.
Pick up reliable and rewarding tickets for major events!
“I’m lucky to say that it’s been during my time at Audley, having Bodemeister,” said McDiarmid, Audley’s manager since the turn of the century. “Obviously, it brings back a ton of memories, the finest memories you could ever have. Bode ran second in the San Felipe. He broke his maiden at Santa Anita. We’ve been there. We realize how terribly difficult it is. It’s really a day-by-day thing.”
Trained by Tim Yakteen, Secured Freedom has earned six Kentucky Derby points so far with a third-place finish in the Robert Lewis Stakes Feb. 7. Typically a Derby berth requires between 30 and 40 points. The San Felipe winner earns 50 points, with finishers through fifth place earning points in the seven-horse field (50-25-15-10-5).
While their journeys may have followed similar paths thus far, their styles could not be more different. Bodemeister was a beast on the front end and might have been a candidate to win the Triple Crown himself if not chased down by I’ll Have Another in both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness. He held on for second in the first two legs of the Triple Crown despite being tested early by Trinniberg in the Kentucky Derby. Early in his career, Secured Freedom’s tendency seems to be toward late running.
“I love the way he closes and gallops out, it’s amazing,” observed McDiarmid. “He looks like he’s got that bit down. We just have to get him in gear first. I think he’s run really well each time he’s started. He’s obviously still quite green. It just takes him a while to get going. I’d be hopeful that with a little extra distance he might be a little closer this time.”
Kazushi Kimura, the only jockey to ride Secured Freedom in his three-race career, retains the mount. His rides include a four-length win to break his maiden just before New Year’s at 6 1/2 furlongs and a four-length loss in the Bob Lewis, where he finished third at a mile.
“He went real wide and he was way out of it,” analyzed McDiarmid. “When they hit the lane, he made up some ground, which is great. It looks like he loves the dirt, which is great for Audley. We’re dying for a dirt horse. We haven’t had one for a while.”
Secured Freedom is by Practical Joke out of the winless Uncle Mo mare Securely, part of the Audley broodmare band.
“He was a very straightforward animal as a foal,” McDiarmid said. “We really didn’t have any issues with him. He was a good, leggy type and always had plenty of strength about him.”
Turner Kobayashi is the general manager of Audley Farm, which has bred Determined Kingdom, Greyvitos, and Mandy’s Gold in recent years. Over the past two years, Audley has been Virginia Breeder of the Year, until the late Larry Johnson’s Legacy Farm in nearby Bluemont won the award for 2025.
“We sit on top of a beautiful shelf of limestone in the Shenandoah Valley,” explained McDiarmid about the farm once surveyed and owned by George Washington. “The horses do amazingly well here. We don’t have to feed them very much. It’s really good hay we throw to them and a little bit of feed, and they just do tremendously well. It’s incredible what you see with the yearlings as they develop through the summer. We’re never short on pasture. The farm is set up to be able to handle many more, but we have a broodmare band of somewhere between 12 and 14 mares.”
Audley’s history is a proud one. Among other achievements, the farm stood Sir Barton, the first American Triple Crown winner in 1919, at stud for six years.
“Sir Barton gives us a really great place to start a conversation with people. We’re lucky that we have a property such as this,” continued McDiarmid. “Virginia itself is a wonderful place to raise a horse. I think you only have to look at the history books. Everyone who breeds horses here, because there are only a small number of us, is very serious about it.”
Secured Freedom was purchased for $110,000 by Pierre and Leslie Amestoy and Roger Beasley.
“I wish those guys the best of luck coming up,” said McDiarmid. “If he can show up this weekend, they might have a bit of fun with him, which would be amazing.”
McDiarmid was part of the Kentucky Derby walkover for Bodemeister and is hopeful of another stroll. “We were very lucky with Bode,” recalled McDiarmid, speculating about a potential future walkover. “I say we have to get the wife a new hat for May.”
Pick up reliable and rewarding tickets for major events!
LATEST NEWS
- Laurel Park picks and ponderings: March 7, 2026
- Audley Farm hopes Secured Freedom has a little Bodemeister in him
- Off to the Races Radio lineup for March 7
- Triple Crown: San Felipe Stakes picks and analysis
- CNL: Stowaway headlines Golden Horseshoe ‘cap
- Triple Crown: Tampa Bay Derby picks and analysis
