Rachel Alexandra back in Kentucky; 'Bird aims for Belmont

Scott Blasi leads Rachel Alexandra back to her stall at Churchill on Sunday (Reed Palmer Photography/Churchill Downs) At 6 a.m. (EDT) Sunday, just under 12 hours after her impressive victory in the Preakness S. (G1), RACHEL ALEXANDRA (Medaglia d'Oro) left Pimlico for the return trip to trainer Steve Asmussen's barn at Churchill Downs. Asmussen said the filly owned by Jess Jackson's Stonestreet Stables and Harold T. McCormick, would go back to the track on Wednesday and would probably have her first post-Preakness work on May 25. Scott Blasi, Asmussen's chief assistant, accompanied the three-year-old miss on the flight. Blasi led her off the van at 10:20 a.m. and back to the barn, where she was walked and bedded down in Stall 24. "She traveled great," Blasi said. "She'll be left alone the rest of the day; that's what she wants. She'll definitely walk for three days so the earliest she'd go back to the track would be Wednesday. We'll just continue to evaluate her and keep our options open. "We're very pleased with how she ate last night and her attitude is good and she's physically in good shape," Blasi added. "We're just very fortunate to be in this position. She's all class and all heart. All of the credit goes to her." Since Jackson and McCormick purchased the filly about 10 days before the Preakness, Asmussen and his staff are still getting to know her. She had one workout between the purchase and the race, where she became the first filly in 85 years to win the Preakness. "This time, we have something to measure it to, as far as how she feels and how she's acting," Asmussen said. "It's our first comparison, so to speak. We're not going to tell her how she's feeling. She'll tell us how she's feeling."

Asmussen did not rule out the filly running in the Belmont S. (G1) on June 6,

but he didn't commit to it either. He said he will relay information about how

Rachel Alexandra recovers from the race and performs in the breeze to Jackson

and his wife, Barbara Banke.

"I personally think she's proven what he set out to prove with her

immediately, which doesn't eliminate anything," Asmussen said. "But I think it

does take a tad of the urgency off it."

Asmussen smiled at a question about the need to win two-thirds of the Triple

Crown with a filly.

Blasi carefully leads racing's newest star down the ramp (Reed Palmer Photography/Churchill Downs) "The reason she ran in the Preakness is because she was doing extremely well," he said. "If you're doing extremely well, what are you waiting for? I think if they're doing well, you ought to run them. We're just going to pet on her and tell her how great she is for a little while and see where that leads her." With her front-running victory, Rachel Alexandra validated the decision to run her against males just over two weeks after she crushed the field in the Kentucky Oaks (G1). It was Asmussen's second win the Preakness in three years. Curlin gave Asmussen his first classic in 2007, rallying to regain the lead from Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Street Sense. "I've spent a lifetime trying to get into this position," Asmussen said. "The overwhelming feeling is pride." The Preakness win was clearly a bittersweet experience for veteran trainer Hal Wiggins as he watched Rachel Alexandra, who has been out of his barn for just over a week, become the first filly in 84 years to win the Preakness. Wiggins watched Rachel Alexandra's bid for history Horseman's Service Center adjacent to the paddock after saddling Betty Bye (Evansville Slew) to finish fourth in the 11TH race at Churchill Downs. "When the gates opened, I was pulling for her," Wiggins said. "Down the backstretch I was expecting her to be behind a horse or two, but she just bounded out of there. Where she was, I just thought she was in perfect position.

"I'm just really, really proud of her and Calvin. Racing is real fortunate to

have him out there like that. There's nothing phony about him -- it's all

genuine. People see that and they realize that, and I'm just tickled for him.

I'll tell you, if anyone deserves it he does."

Wiggins was also impressed by Derby winner Mine That Bird, who closed

strongly to lose by only a length to Rachel Alexandra.

"I'll tell you what, I was really proud of that Derby horse," Wiggins said.

"Some of those guys were saying he might be a one-race wonder and that the wet

track (on Derby Day) might have had something to do with it, but he showed he

was legitimate. He really did."

Asmussen has praised Wiggins' work in the development of Rachel Alexandra,

whose final race for Wiggins was her record-smashing 20 1/4-length victory in

the Kentucky Oaks on May 1. Asmussen did so again on NBC Sports' national

telecast of the Preakness on Saturday.

"I appreciate that," Wiggins said. "It's a tribute to the crew here at the

barn. I appreciate that, I really do."

Trainer Chip Woolley reported that his Kentucky Derby winner MINE THAT BIRD (Birdstone)

was feeling fine on the morning after his runner-up finish in the Preakness.

Mine That Bird failed to duplicate his last-to-first Derby performance Saturday,

but his last-to-dangerously close-second-place finish behind Rachel Alexandra at

Pimlico was still mighty impressive.

"Nobody can question his ability. Like I said: in the Derby, he passed 18

horses in a quarter of a mile -- 18 of the best horses around in a quarter of a

mile. There's no fluke in that," Woolley said. "He did the same thing

(Saturday). He made a huge move and ran hard. We just didn't get there."

Mine That Bird dropped back to last again Saturday before picking up the

chase on the far turn. Yet, unlike the circumstances in his rail-hugging Derby

run under Calvin Borel, the little gelding's new rider, Mike Smith, was forced

to swing wide to circle a wall of horses in front of him on the turn into the

homestretch. Mine That Bird made a strong wide run through the stretch, cutting

Rachel Alexandra's lead from four lengths to one at the finish of the middle

jewel of the Triple Crown.

"Any time you have a horse that lays last in a 13-horse field, you've got a

big chance of having traffic trouble. This track, the way it was set up, I was

really concerned about getting a good trip around there. Sure enough, the horses

stacked up on the turn and hurt us," Woolley said. "We couldn't get one smooth

run through there and we had to check a few times and were in tight. Mike did a

great job riding the horse. I'm thrilled to death. I couldn't ask more from the

rider. Things didn't quite set up like you'd like. That's horse racing."

Woolley plans to van his gelding back to Churchill Downs on Monday to prepare

him for a start in the Belmont.

"My horse will be much more suited to the Belmont -- big wide track, big wide

sweeping turns. It should play a little better to my horse. It'll probably be a

shorter field, which eliminates some of the traffic," the New Mexico-based

trainer said. "We're excited about going. As long as he's good the next couple

days, like he looks this morning, that'll be the plan."

Woolley revealed that Smith will have the mount aboard Mine That Bird in the

Belmont, even if Rachel Alexandra bypasses the third leg of the Triple Crown,

leaving Borel free.

"Like I kept telling people, the key to him was getting him back. He'd never

been taken back and sat on like that before, and that's what I'd been trying to

make happen," Woolley said. "I, finally, in Calvin, found a guy who would lay

him back there and do it like I wanted to do. Then, of course, Mike followed

suit very well (Saturday) and did a super job for us."

Woolley credited Smith, a fellow New Mexican, for giving Mine That Bird a

heads-up ride, especially during a traffic build-up on the final turn.

"If Mike stays on the fence any longer than we did, we'd have ended up in

real trouble," he said. "They were just stacked up on us, and if we'd have

stayed on the fence, we sure would have been in trouble."

Woolley continues to have great admiration for his hard-trying gelding.

"You've got to be super proud of him. The horse runs through his bridle," he

said. "Everything you ask of this horse, he just does it, lays it on the line."

The emergence of Mine That Bird as a star on the Triple Crown trail has been

a rewarding experience for his trainer.

"You spend a lifetime working to get here. It's kind of a stamp on your

career when you win that first one. Then, you come back and re-stamp that same

stamp on the next on," Woolley said. "There's no doubt we got him where we

wanted him."

Mine That Bird, a 50-1 Derby long shot who was sent to post Saturday as the

6-1 third betting choice, is expected to have a presence in the East this year.

"Hopefully, we'll run well in the Belmont. Then, we'll probably spot him

again here somewhere. It's such a long, hard trip from where we are that we'll

keep him out here," Woolley said. "As long as we've got spots we're aiming at,

we'll stay in this vicinity, somewhere within a decent hauling distance."

In the short term, Woolley will concentrate on getting Mine That Bird ready

for the Belmont and a possible rematch with Rachel Alexandra.

"I'm not sure what their plans are, but if she comes, I guess we'll see her,"

said Woolley, perhaps not as much in awe of the filly as the other trainers of

Preakness starters. "It would make for a great horse race."