Top: 31,000 fans gathered at Saratoga on Saturday to watch RA in action & (below) the bay wonder with Calvin Borel in saddle [Pics: equidaily.com & wikipedia.org]
If you strongly believe in the racing adage "horses for courses", what do you call a filly who has won at numerous racetracks in six different American states?
Call her Rachel Alexandra.
Born on January 29, 2006 on a Kentucky farm, she shot into limelight three months ago when she became the first filly in 85 years to win the Preakness Stakes (the last this race was won by a filly was in 1924 when Nelly Morse crossed the wire ahead of the boys.)
The six American states that Rachel Alexandra has conquered in her short career so far, when winning 11 races from 14 starts and amassing nearly US $3m, are Kentucky, Louisiana, Arkansas, Maryland, New Jersey & New York. During most of her victories, she has pulverized her rivals, including top colts of her age, by wide margins and, in some cases, setting new course records.
A write-up about her on Wikipedia.org says:
"Rachel Alexandra is an exquisite bay filly with a distinctive upside-down-exclamation-point-shaped white blaze on her nose. She is considered quite tall for a filly and stands an estimated 16 hands at the withers. She is known for her calm and gentle disposition yet her passion for running and winning races. Her preferred style of running is generally that of a front runner (running on the lead) or a stalker (running close to the lead.)
Rachel Alexandra was bred and originally owned by Dolphus Morrison who named her after his granddaughter. Before she became sucessful as a racehorse, Dolphus Morrison sold part interest in her to Michael Lauffer. Her initial trainer was Hal Wiggins, Morrison's regular trainer, who trained her up until the Kentucky Oaks 2009. After her Kentucky Oaks victory, Rachel Alexandra was sold for an undisclosed amount (rumoured to be in excess of $10 million) to Stonestreet Stables & Harold T. McCormick, with billionaire Jess Jackson of Kendall Jackson Winery holding controlling interest. Her current trainer is Steve Asmussen. Her regular jockey is Calvin Borel."
Nearly 31,000 fans visited Saratoga racetrack on Saturday (Sep 5) when she won the Group 1, Woodword Stakes, this time beating top older males. She acted a bit termperamental in the pre-race paddock parade, throwing off her rider Calvin Borel, and a lot many people wondered how she was going to tackle some of the best older males in the business with such excitability. But Rachel Alexandra set a fast pace, cut blazing fractions and still held on to win gracefully when challenged by Bullsbay.
Watch that video on the Race TV channel of my racing toolbar to get a glimpse of RA's greatness and grit.
