Rachel gallops; New Orleans Ladies field starts to take shape

Rachel gallops; New Orleans Ladies field starts to take

shape

As of Monday evening, plans still called for the main track to be open for

regular training hours (6-10 a.m) on Tuesday.

According to weather.com, heavy rain is expected to subside at about 11 p.m

Monday, although additional light rain could continue overnight. The forecast

for Tuesday at 3 p.m. calls for 53 degrees under partly cloudy skies.

Rachel Alexandra, who has amassed $2,948,354 in career earnings, has not

raced since her plucky victory over older males in the September 5 Woodward S.

(G1) at Saratoga. The inaugural running of the 1 1/16-mile New Orleans Ladies

will serve as a prep for the April 9 Apple Blossom (G1) at Oaklawn Park, where

she will clash with unbeaten champion mare Zenyatta (Street Cry [Ire]) in a

battle of the heavyweights.

Nominations for the New Orleans Ladies closed Saturday, with 16 fillies and

mares on the list. Of those, seven are considered probable with a few others

still mulling it over.

The streaking CLEAR SAILING (Empire Maker), three-for-three this season at

Fair Grounds, is among the probables. Third in her career debut at Churchill

Downs in June 2008, the Glenn Delahoussaye trainee did not resurface until late

December 2009, when she broke her maiden by 4 1/4 lengths. Clear Sailing has

gone on to win her next two, romping to an 8 3/4-length allowance score and

getting up by a neck in the February 13 Pelleteri S. in her stakes debut.

"She's doing great," Delahoussaye said Monday morning from his headquarters

at the Evangeline Training Center. "She's going to work Wednesday, and we'll see

how she works and how she comes out of it and take things from there. We're

working her Wednesday with the intention of running her in the New Orleans

Ladies.

"The way I see it, right now we've got two options," Delahoussaye added.

"She's already nominated to the Azeri (G3) at Oaklawn (on Saturday) and also the New

Orleans Ladies, but the New Orleans Ladies fits our schedule a little better.

Right now we're trying to keep our filly's races at least a month apart, because

my owners have this dream of winning a stakes races at Churchill Downs during

Kentucky Derby week. The New Orleans Ladies would keep us on a schedule for

Churchill's La Troienne S. (G2) on Kentucky Oaks Day (April 30). That's our long

term goal.

"Now, I don't think there's any trainer in the world who's insane enough to

say he's looking forward to running his horse against Rachel Alexandra, but for

me this race is not about whether it's 'Rachel' or 'not Rachel' in there against

our horse. The New Orleans Ladies fits the progression about where I wanted to

be at this point in time, when I set up the whole progression plan for our filly

a long time ago when I was keeping that Kentucky Derby week goal in mind."

Interestingly, Zenyatta's stablemate, Bayakoa H. (G2) heroine ZARDANA (Brz)

(Crimson Tide), is expected to ship in from her Hollywood Park base for the New

Orleans Ladies. The John Shirreffs mare is coming off a fourth in the February

13 Santa Maria H. (G2) at Santa Anita. The top two finishers from the Santa

Maria are bound to take on males next. Santa Maria winner St Trinians (GB)

(Piccolo) is headed to Saturday's Santa Anita H. (G1), while runner-up Life is

Sweet (Storm Cat) is aiming for the March 27 Dubai World Cup (UAE-G1).

Rachel Alexandra could be joined in the New Orleans Ladies by a stablemate of

her own, stakes winner PLEASANTLY BLESSED (Pleasant Tap), who is exiting a

fourth-place finish in a February 12 Oaklawn allowance for owner/trainer

Asmussen.

The other probables, according to stakes coordinator Scott Jones among other

sources, include FIGHTER WING (Empire Maker), who was just beaten by Clear

Sailing in the Pelleteri; DOUBLE ESPRESSO (Medaglia d'Oro), winner of the

six-furlong Pan Zareta S. at Fair Grounds on February 20; and multiple stakes

queen UNFORGOTTEN (Northern Afleet), runner-up in the Daily Racing Form Distaff

S. two back and most recently seventh in the January 30 Sunshine Millions

Distaff S. at Gulfstream Park.