Sunday, August 2, 2009

Rachel Alexandra Dominates Haskell Field

Monmouth Park - Oceanport, NJ

Rachel Alexandra stayed just off the pace set by Munnings and surprisingly the Belmont winner Summer Bird until the head of the stretch. When it came time for those three horses to decide the race, all of a sudden Rachel was instantly 4 lengths ahead. Calvin Borel tapped her with the whip to keep her focused and she simply ran away to an easy 6 length win over Summer Bird with Munnings finishing third.

With the easy manner in which she won this race against the best 3 year old colts in training, Rachel etched in stone the notion that she is a filly for the ages. As such, her name belongs with those of Ruffian and Go For Wand when the conversation turns to the greatest fillies of all time.

Owner Jess Jackson will simply say she will tell us what's next when asked where Rachel will race next. That however, doesn't stop the speculation that she may well race in the Travers at Saratoga and generate a rematch between the winners of all three classic races for three year olds this year.

Another possibility posed by the racing media is that Rachel may be entered in the Woodward to take on older horses in that race. The connections of the 11 for 11 Zenyatta talk about these two super horses meeting this year. Racing Rachel in the Woodward could possibly be a way for that to happen if Zenyatta were to make only her second appearance outside California and come to Saratoga for the Woodward.