Forest Secrets, a 3-year-old filly trained by John Ward of Monarchos fame and ridden by Hall-of-Famer Chris McCarron, won the Grade 1, $200,000 Acorn Stakes yesterday at Belmont by a neck at odds of 50-1.

The victory didn’t come easy. After battling on the front end, Forest Secrets was headed by 7-5 favorite Victory Ride in deep stretch. But she battled back to grab the lead in the final strides, also holding off Real Cozzy, who finished another neck back in third.

Forest Secrets, who ran the mile in 1:34.4, paid $102.50 keying a $343.50 exacta.