“A horse, a horse! My kingdom for a horse!”
She did it!!!
Rachel Alexandra defeated a field of 7 older males to take the Grade 1 Woodward at Saratoga on Saturday afternoon, virtually locking up Horse of the Year honors with yet another history defying stretch run. It may not have been by double digit lengths this time, as had been her trademark against fellow 3-year-old boys and girls, but at the end of the day it may have been her most impressive performance yet.
As anticipated, the pace setup for the race was extremely challenging for the daughter of Medaglia d’Oro. She found herself on the lead being forced to set punishing fractions of :22 and :46 through the opening splits. As the field turned for home, it appeared that the great filly might have bitten off more than she could chew. Macho Again and Bullsbay had taken aim and were unwinding as the field raced to the wire.
Flash back to the moment immediately after her victory in the Haskell. Jockey Calvin Borel indicated that he “didn’t know how great Rachel was” because we had yet to see how she would respond when another horse looked her in the eye in the stretch. Well friends, we got about as close to that on Saturday as we’re likely ever going to see.
As Macho Again looked poised to surge past her for the score, Borel suddenly found more. Like the courageous champion she is, her ears perked and her eyes ablaze, horse and rider determined that history would not be plucked from their grasp within sight of the wire. Somehow, someway, she dug down and found more.
What followed was a moment for all time. The 3-year-old filly crossing the wire in a Grade 1 “distance” race against older boys. Clearly, she must’ve read my “win one for the Vintner” post before heading to the paddock. I tried to warn the boys what they were in for, even going Shakespeare on them get their attention, but they must not have listened.
She has now blazed a trail through history not once, not twice, but THRICE in momentous races. The Preakness, the Haskell, and now the Woodward. I said this over twitter immediately following the race and I think it bears repeating. “Any discussion of another horse deserving Horse of the Year honors is now patently absurd.”
Not to take anything away from other runners, but the accolades for Rachel are simply off the charts now. It’s beyond my comprehension how anyone could even make a case for another horse as Horse of the Year? I suspect such sentiments would be fueled by disdain for her connections, or blind love for another horse. I understand those feelings quite well – it’s just that they’re flat out wrong in my opinion.
True, the Breeders’ Cup “championship” awaits, but I can’t imagine any single race being able to stack up to what this horse has done on the track throughout the year.
What we’ve just witnessed was a unique moment in history that we might not be lucky enough to live to see again. Yes – it was that special. Just like her victories in the Preakness and the Haskell. There’s a reason these types of races don’t happen every year. Rachel is an absolute one-of-a-kind freakazoid of nature.
So what lies next for her majesty? Owner Jess Jackson has hinted at shutting her down for the rest of the year, presumably so he can bring her back fresh for her 4-year-old campaign. My guess is that after a grueling victory like this, where she had to lay it all on the line to prove her greatness, she’s likely had enough – at least for now.
I keep thinking they’ll send her to Dubai next year to race in the World Cup, once again following the path that Curlin blazed for the Jackson/Asmussen camp in ’07 and ’08. It’s important to keep in mind though that Dubai is switching to a synthetic surface. We all know how Jess Jackson feels about them.
The victory makes her a perfect 8 or 8 in 2009, including 5 consecutive Grade 1 victories stretching back to the Kentucky Oaks, which ironically was the race that first brought her to the forefront of the sport’s consciousness. Additionally, she’s now boosted her lifetime earnings to just under $3 million ($2,948,354).
Of course, the possibility of a matchup with Zenyatta in the Beldame courtesy of TVG-Betfair is still out there. I just don’t see it happening as it doesn’t seem like either camp is particularly interested. The Breeders’ Cup is still out there as well, but Jackson has been adamant that he wants no part of the “plastic Classic.”
Ironically, Rachel wasn’t the only horse stringing together her 5th amazing victory against top level competition. European sensation Sea the Stars was equally impressive taking the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown. The victory left racing fans from across the pond speechless searching for races to compare with the performance. The Arc most likely awaits Sea the Stars next, but his connections also have designs on the Breeders’ Cup Classic.
Not a bad Saturday, eh? We just saw the two most magnificent specimens in all of horse racing the world over turn in monster performances. Up next we’ve got Colonel John on Sunday at Del Mar.
This was an impressive race for her. The pace favored a closer and you had very fast closers in here. They would have won this race 99% of the time I would think. She fought on in the stretch and still won, even against some fast older males. It is her best race yet.
I said this over twitter immediately following the race and I think it bears repeating. “Any discussion of another horse deserving Horse of the Year honors is now patently absurd.”
I concur 100%. ^-^
Would it not be great if we could put Rachel Alexander, Regret (1915) and Ruffian, and Twighlight Tear (1940′s) and last years filly all in one race together at the same weights at perhaps a mile and a quarter and see what comes out. I wonder if a computer could get the winner.
Rachel: “Nobody gets in front of me… Nobody.”
Rachel is a gift from God!
@Mike – I totally agree. Arguably her best race in my opinion. I know some will say it’s the exact opposite though. What I liked was that, like the Preakness, she had to run every step of the way and was able to deny two Grade 1 winning closers who had every shot at her. Amazing performance.
@JL Decker – glad you liked that one! Felt pretty strongly about it myself.
@i jorgensen – What a race that would be. See, that’s why we need a kickass racing video game where we can create or unlock those horses, and line ‘em up at any track, distance, and condition our hearts desire.
@Sally C – TOTALLY!!!!! She “big girl’d” ‘em! God I love saying that about her. It’s just so quintessentially true. She big girls everyone!
@Candace J. Serviss – I’d have to concur. It brings such pleasure watching her magnificence on the track. It reminds you that yes, somethings can be as near perfect as possible. How lucky we are to have been alive to see her.
There was a moment there where you could see her notice she was being crept up on and go “who is THAT” and then dig in to find what it took to win. How much weight was she carrying on this, relative to the others, btw?
Being a 3-year-old filly, she was carrying 118 whereas Bullsbay and Macho Again were each carrying 126, so she had an 8 pound advantage. That definitely counts for something.
Dang…just noticed I’ve had “feels” and “they’ll” misspelled in here all along. Must’ve still been shaking with excitement. Must….use….spellcheck.
Hey big man, I was there today and without a doubt this goes down as one of my top horse races as far as excitement I have ever witnessed. !!!
She is brilliant and let me tell you , big man, the fans today at Saratoga love her.
Great to hear, Tony. You’re a lucky guy getting to witness that one in person. Wish to hell I coulda been there.
so there HAS to be something about breeding in both female horses AND humans which makes this kind of thing more possible….too bad I won’t be here to see it 100 years form now – but THIS IS SOOOOO MUCH FUN TO SEE NOW!
The breeding is a part of it. Some horses though want to race and try hard all the time. Others don’t care either way if they win or not. Not every horse is into horse racing. The horses with the breeding that also like to run and want to win, are usually the ones with the career earnings over a million.
Gets me to thinking about horses who stalk and then win- is it more in the breeding or in the training?
That’s a great question. Seems many horses have to learn to stalk and pounce, but then again it would seem logical that many horses would enjoy a more relaxed trip stalking behind the speed. Wonder if it’s just a matter of teaching the horse to be patient until asked, but no so disinterested that they become a too far away from the pace? Must be where the jockeys earn their keep: Timing.
[...] this on Twitter, placed it in recent articles, and feel very strongly about the matter. Following Rachel Alexandra’s victory against older males in the Woodward on Saturday at Saratoga, the race for Horse of the Year would appear to be over. I realize that [...]
[...] AGAIN will rightly take quite a bit of consideration here coming off a defeat by only a head in Rachel Alexandra’s historic Woodward victory. We all know how this angle works; horses who have run competitively against Rachel Alexandra are [...]