Rachel Alexandra, Mine That Bird breeze; filly's Belmont status pending

Rachel Alexandra, Mine That Bird breeze; filly's Belmont

status pending

Showing no signs of fatigue, Rachel Alexandra was eager to turn it loose over the sloppy track at Churchill Downs (Reed Palmer Photography/Churchill Downs) Preakness S. (G1) victress RACHEL ALEXANDRA (Medaglia d'Oro) and Kentucky Derby (G1) hero MINE THAT BIRD (Birdstone) worked under rainy conditions at Churchill Downs on Monday morning, both horses breezing four furlongs over the sloppy track. Rachel Alexandra cruised a half-mile in :50 1/5 under exercise rider Dominic Terry, with a steady rain pelting the filly during much of her first work since her historic triumph in the second jewel of the Triple Crown on May 16 at Pimlico. Mine That Bird had jockey Calvin Borel, who piloted him to a 6 3/4-length Derby romp, in the saddle as he breezed four furlongs in :51 in his first serious training move since his runner-up finish in the Preakness. Two major questions remained without answers following the Memorial Day works: Will Rachel Alexandra run in the June 6 Belmont S. (G1) and attempt to become the first filly to win two legs of the Triple Crown? And, if she does not run in the 1 1/2-mile "Test of the Champion," would Borel have an opportunity to ride Mine That Bird in the Triple Crown's final jewel?

Majority owner Jess Jackson of Stonestreet Stables said a decision of the

Belmont S. status of Rachel Alexandra would not be made until next week at the

earliest. Rachel Alexandra is scheduled to work then, and her camp would know

more after that effort.

"As I have said before, it is up to her," Jackson said. "She will blow out

next Monday, and that will tell us more.

"She's recovering nicely and I think, for the time that's elapsed, only nine

days, she's right on -- but we can't make a decision until we know," he

continued. "My concern is her attitude. She thinks she can run through a brick wall,

so her attitude has to be monitored. If anything, we have to hold her back a

little bit because she's so eager to run.

"We have to monitor her and make sure that we preserve her because she's so

special; the principal concern is the horse herself keeping her sound and

letting the public enjoy her," Jackson added. "She is special. I don't

want to push her past her limits.

"It's not necessary that she go in

the Belmont. She's got a whole season ahead. She's been running the whole year

so we have to monitor that very carefully. It might not be as soon as you'd

want, but we're still considering the Belmont."

Jackson said that if Rachel Alexandra does not run in the Belmont, he would

consider running her in the $300,000 Mother Goose S. (G1) for three-year-old

fillies going nine furlongs at Belmont Park on June 27.

"The Mother Goose would give her a little extra time if she needs it," he

noted. "The Belmont would be a full (effort) for her right now."

Jackson also spoke of a possible clash with the undefeated champion older

mare ZENYATTA (Street Cry [Ire]), who advanced her record to 10-for-10 in

Saturday's Milady H. (G2) at Hollywood Park.

"I look forward to facing Zenyatta," Jackson said. "But I want to keep her

(Rachel Alexandra) on the East Coast. If Zenyatta wants to come east, come on. I

don't want to run a horse on synthetic (surfaces)."

So, does this mean Rachel Alexandra would not go to the Breeders' Cup World

Championships that will be held November 6 and 7 on the Pro-Ride surface at

Santa Anita?

"Unless there is no other frontier to conquer. If she runs on the plastic,

she can beat the boys in the Classic (G1) -- not the Ladies' Classic (G1),"

Jackson averred.

Rachel Alexandra came on the track shortly before 6:30 (EDT) Monday,

accompanied by a pony with assistant trainer Scott Blasi aboard, and walked

around to the paddock runway. At 6:35, Rachel Alexandra eased her way down the

half-mile pole and began her move.

A brief, but heavy, rain shower started to

pelt the track as she entered the far turn, just about the time she clocked :12

3/5 for her opening furlong. With the rain pouring down, she continued through

splits of :25 and :37 1/5 and galloped out five furlongs in 1:04 1/5.

The move was uncharacteristically slow for Rachel Alexandra, who typically

worked fast for former trainer Hal Wiggins. It is fairly routine, however, for

the Steve Asmussen stable, which rarely sends its horses out for fast works. Asmussen said he was pleased with

the work.

"She looked beautiful, like Rachel does," the reigning Eclipse Award-winning

conditioner commented. "The weather was not exactly cooperating this morning. We

had a pretty good shower right in the middle of her breeze, but she handled it

well, like she does everything else. She looked beautiful moving, went under the

wire well and came back very happy. She came back very relaxed and looked good."

Following her work, Jackson huddled with Borel, who has ridden Rachel

Alexandra throughout her winning streak of six consecutive stakes races, and

Jerry Hissam, Borel's agent. Jackson said that Robby Albarado, the rider of his

two-time Horse of the Year Curlin, could be called on to ride Rachel Alexandra

if the decision was made to run the filly in the Belmont and Borel already had another

Belmont riding commitment.

"Calvin is a great jockey and I hope he'd be willing to go with her," Jackson

said. "He has to make his decision for himself, and if we're in there together

and he's not on our horse, it'll probably be Robby Albarado, who was with us

with Curlin."

Meanwhile, as Rachel Alexandra's team continues to mull the Belmont, Mine

That Bird's trainer, Bennie "Chip" Woolley Jr., said he was extending

the deadline for Borel to decide which horse he'll ride in the Belmont. Woolley

and co-owners Mark Allen and Dr. Leonard Blach will now wait a few more days

before making a decision.

"He won me a Derby -- he deserves the time it takes for him to make the

conscious, right decision," said Woolley, who originally had set a Memorial Day

deadline for Borel. "And nobody knows really if that filly's going to be running

in the Belmont, so it could work out where that's not even a decision

for him. I think a little bit of time's not too much to ask.

"I am going to hold off a few more days out of respect for Calvin. I

am going to talk with Mark Allen and Doc and give it a little more time

and see how things develop. It is possible I could wait until next

Monday.

"I'd like to have closure on this, but it is the nature of the

business," Woolley observed. "You've got two good horses vying for the

same rider. Nobody likes to be in this situation. Both horses are at the

top of their game, and it is a tough choice for the rider, and it is

tough for the trainers."

Woolley also noted that he was happy with Mine That Bird's Monday move, which came shortly

after the mid-session break for track maintenance.

Walking to the track without a pony and equipped with four new shoes

that were put on Sunday afternoon, Mine That Bird backtracked to the

paddock runway and then went about his business, posting fractions of

:13 3/5, :26 2/5, :38 2/5 and galloping out five-eighths in 1:04 1/5 and

six furlongs in 1:18 2/5.

"It was perfect," Woolley said. "I didn't want anything like the :49 of

before the Preakness. The work was super and Calvin was really happy with it. He

had a little more wrap on him this time.

"I just wanted him to stretch his legs a bit. He will step it up next Monday

and then fly to New York on Wednesday. He will walk tomorrow and then go back to

the track the next day."

The day's other Belmont work came at Belmont Park, where Santa Anita Derby

(G1) runner-up CHOCOLATE CANDY (Candy Ride [Arg]) breezed seven furlongs in

1:27.34 on the fast main track.

Going out right before 6 a.m. with exercise rider Lindsey Molina

aboard, the Jerry Hollendorfer trainee was caught in splits of :24.63, :48.87

and 1:14.02.

"We wanted the workout to be nice and steady, which is what he got," said

Hollendorfer, who flew in from the left coast to supervise the move and then

immediately left to saddle a horse Monday afternoon at Hollywood Park. "It was

his second-to-last work. I'm going to blow him out a half-mile or five-eighths

either Monday or Tuesday, and maybe Garrett (Gomez) will go up on him."

Chocolate Candy, who is coming off a fifth-place finish in the Kentucky

Derby, will pick up the services of Gomez in the Belmont.

Hollendorfer said he was happy with his decision to ship Chocolate Candy in

early to prepare for the Belmont. Monday's move was his third over the main

track, having gone a half-mile in :47.84 on May 11 and six furlongs in 1:13.44

on May 18, with Gomez up for the second work.

"It was suggested to us to train over at Belmont for a while before you run,"

Hollendorfer said. "I didn't want to leave him on the road that long, but it's

worked out OK so far. He's been very happy here."