Richland Hills Stable and John Kuehl’s Secret Gypsy will be looking to continue her comeback success when she meets seven rivals in the $150,000 Grade III Endine Stakes at Delaware Park this Saturday. The six furlong event for fillies and mares is named after the two-time Delaware Handicap winner (1958 & 1959) who was locally owned by Christiana Stables.

In her most recent, Secret Gypsy posted a 2-length score in the six furlong Grade II Honorable Miss Stakes at Saratoga on August 8. Previously, the 5-year-old daughter of Sea of Secrets notched a 4 ¾-length score in the six furlong $100,000 Saylorville Stakes at Prairie Meadows on June 25. Before her victory in the Saylorville, her last victory dated back to March 21, 2009 when the Kentucky-bred conditioned by Ronny Werner posted a 1 ¼-length win in the six furlong Grade II Distaff Handicap at Aqueduct. Since then, she ran ninth in the Grade I Humana Distaff at Churchill last May and tenth in the $70,000 Finney Stakes sprinting on the Saratoga turf last August. After an eight month layoff, she returned with a third-place effort in the $50,000 Queen Stakes over the synthetic surface at Turfway Park on March 27. She followed with a fifth in the $75,000 MaKettle Stakes at Indiana Downs on May 3 and a third in the Grade III Winning Colors at Churchill on May 31.

There was a very good reason for the five race winless stint over a fifteen month period.

“She has had some issues with her knees and we have had to operate on her a couple of times, so that has been the biggest reason,” said trainer Ronny Werner. “She has comeback off those operations well. She has done well and we have been fortunate that she has made it back both mentally and physically. It is a mental battle as well, but she is tough. She is a warrior and I have a ton of respect for her and she sure has been running good for us.”

Her last race put the exclamation point on the time and effort dedicated to her comeback and now her team is hoping to keep moving forward.

“We were really pleased with her effort,” Werner said. “She took it to the next level and really stepped up her game, but we are looking forward and hopefully we will keep her on this pattern.”

Secret Gypsy has a career record of seven wins, two seconds and two thirds from 16 starts with earnings of $506,926.