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THEY SAID IT APRIL 29, 2010 "I though she just looked tremendous. You know, you walk up to her in the paddock and you realize that she knows everything that she's done and she doesn't blink from it. It's amazing to me. Witness what she did last year and we're amazed with how she did it but for her to mentally handle it and not let it be overwhelming I think speaks volumes about who she is and how tough she is on the inside." —trainer Steve Asmussen on how RACHEL ALEXANDRA (Medaglia d'Oro) schooled in the paddock Thursday; the bay filly is entered in Friday's La Troienne S. (G2) at Churchill Downs "We tried to make a race and tried to adjust her schedule to that as opposed to training her and letting her indicate when she's ready. We were trying to get her ready and it's just a completely different approach. I felt that if the race at Oaklawn (the Apple Blossom [G1]) was going to come off we needed a race before then out of respect for the competition so we put things in motion. With the half-mile that week she had a total of seven works in six months and that's not something from a handicapping angle you guys usually support." —Asmussen on preparing Rachel Alexandra for the her seasonal debut in the March 13 New Orleans Ladies at Fair Grounds "I think it would be hard to say because I think that there was so much room for improvement from what she was down there (at Fair Grounds) to who she is here." —Asmussen when asked to compare Rachel Alexandra's fitness level now to where it was for the New Orleans Ladies "Everything happens for a reason. I don't think we're meant to understand everything when it happens but we're very blessed that she came out of the race healthy and that we have the opportunity that we have tomorrow. For whatever reason it didn't happen." —Asmussen on Rachel Alexandra's loss in her seasonal debut "It will be a well-watched 1:26 in the afternoon race, won't it?" —Asmussen when asked if Rachel Alexandra would overshadow the Kentucky Oaks (G1) later on Friday "Very good. Zardana's like a pit bull. She tries very hard." —trainer John Shirreffs on La Troienne contender and New Orleans Ladies winner ZARDANA (Brz) (Crimson Tide) "I really can't describe that. She's undefeated. She's done everything we've ever asked her to do. She's been there every time. She won the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1)." —Shirreffs when asked how he feels about Zenyatta (Street Cry [Ire]) "I think they should have split it. I agree with the people that thought there should have been co-champions." —Shirreffs on Zenyatta losing out to Rachel Alexandra for Horse of the Year honors "Rachel Alexandra is a brilliant filly. She won the Oaks by 20 lengths. We've never seen that. She has speed, stamina. She has a lot of great qualities." —Shirreffs on Rachel Alexandra "From my experience I've met a lot of people who have expressed how much those two fillies have meant to them, which in turn has brought other people into the game." —Shirreffs on the impact Zenyatta and Rachel Alexandra have had on racing "I don't like to read that stuff. We're so close to the horses. They mean so much to us because we work with them on a daily basis. We know what they're doing and how much they're putting out and how hard they're trying. Sometimes they (the fans) get disappointed and they'll send those off-handed comments that they probably don't mean them way they sound. I try not to read it." —Shirreffs on comments posted by Zenyatta and Rachel Alexandra fans
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