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HANDICAPPING INSIGHTS SEPTEMBER 11, 2009 by Dick Powell No matter where you rank RACHEL ALEXANDRA (Medaglia d'Oro) among the all-time great fillies, you have to admit that she is the first to even try the campaign that she has undergone this year. She began her sophomore season with the typical stops along the way. Original trainer Hal Wiggins started the year off in the Martha Washington S. at Oaklawn Park then shipped back to Louisiana where she won the Fair Grounds Oaks (G2). Next, it was back to Oaklawn where she dominated the Fantasy S. (G2) by nearly nine lengths. The early season goal was the Kentucky Oaks (G1) and she passed that with flying colors, drawing off to win by an incredible 20 1/4 lengths and earning a career-best BRIS Speed rating of 111. At this point, she was well on her way to having a sensational sophomore season, and her owner and trainer loudly proclaimed after the Oaks that they were going to run her the traditional way since fillies should be racing against fillies. But wine magnate Jess Jackson pulled out his checkbook and quickly purchased Rachel Alexandra after the Oaks. The filly was turned over to Steve Asmussen and the traditional road soon became a road that has never been traveled. They announced immediately that her next start would be the Preakness S. (G1) and she promptly won the second jewel of the Triple Crown. After wisely skipping the Belmont S. (G1), they sent Rachel back to her division and she beat up her fellow sophomore fillies in the Mother Goose (G1) by 19 1/4 lengths in very fast time. Back with males in the Haskell Invitational (G1), she ran what was probably her best race to date as she won by six lengths in very fast time, earning a new career-best BRIS Speed rating of 116. At this point, Team Rachel had a difficult decision to make. Do they go to the Alabama S. (G1) and dominate her division again? Do they go to the Travers S. (G1) and beat up the same sophomore males from the Preakness and Haskell? Do they go to the Pennsylvania Derby (G2) and go for another $1 million purse. Or, do they take on older males in the Woodward (G1) and try to set the bar so high it may never be achieved again? Team Rachel chose the Woodward last Saturday and anyone that was there will never forget it. A crowd of 31,171 turned out to see whether Rachel could beat a group of older male horses and accomplish something that appears to have not been done before; at least in the modern era when record-keeping is more reliable. Despite pressing a fast pace and racing at least three paths off the rail, Calvin Borel was able to take a clear lead into the far turn of the Woodward. She put away early challenges by Da' Tara (Tiznow) on the inside and Past the Point (Indian Charlie) on the outside, and now it was time to brace for the closers. Whitney (G1) winner Bullsbay (Tiznow) was the first to attack at the top of the stretch, but Rachel repulsed his bid without too much effort. Unlike her other races when Borel was able to celebrate through the stretch, she was all business on Saturday as Macho Again (Macho Uno) was flying by horses from the back of the pack to arrive on the scene with a furlong to go. It looked like Macho Again would win on momentum alone as he was making up ground with every stride, but Borel got busy on Rachel and she responded like an all-time great. Despite all the energy she had used up to that point, Rachel countered with a final furlong of :12.81 which was good enough to hold on by a head to the relief and delight of the crowd. She carved out a place in history that will be hard to equal since I don't see anyone in today's world even trying to achieve what she has this year. I have been to many big races at Saratoga, but the crowd's roar through the stretch was as deafening as I ever heard it. Unlike many big races where the crowd's sentiments are divided among many participants, it seemed like everyone wanted the 3-10 favorite to hang on in the stretch and she delivered. So where do we go from here? Rachel Alexandra earned a BRIS Speed rating of 106, which is one point better than her Preakness victory but down significantly from the Haskell and Mother Goose. It's been a long campaign and she was running on fumes in the stretch. She has the look of a horse that is about to run a poor race next time out so the question is where will the next time out be or will there even be a next time out? Jackson says that he wants to run her next year, but his synthetic phobia is causing him to say that he would pass up the Dubai World Cup (UAE-G1) since Meydan will have a Tapeta main track. (Note to Jackson: Tapeta is the safest racing surface anywhere and there's no reason to think that Rachel would not love racing on it but based on Curlin's loss in the Breeders' Cup Classic [G1] last year on ProRide, Jackson is now saying that Rachel will not run in Dubai.) If not Dubai, where does he race Rachel next year in a way that the reward of her winning will be greater than the risk of her getting hurt? Can Jackson resist the temptation to breed her to Curlin or will he race her as a four-year-old against mostly males with the Breeders' Cup Classic back at Churchill Downs as her ultimate target? Lots of questions and the answers will not be ready for a while so in the meantime go back and watch the replay of the Woodward over and over again and appreciate what Rachel did and how great our sport can be.
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