Calvin Borel made the right choice and history was made May 16 at Pimlico, when for the first time, the Kentucky Oaks (gr. I) winner not only ran in the Preakness Stakes (gr. I) but won the race in...
Calvin Borel made the right choice and history was made May 16 at Pimlico, when for the first time, the Kentucky Oaks (gr. I) winner not only ran in the Preakness Stakes (gr. I) but won the race in convincing fashion. Rachel Alexandra won the middle jewel of the Triple Crown by a length over Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) winner Mine That Bird.
The week following her win in the Oaks, Rachel Alexandra was purchased by Jess Jackson and Harold McCormick and transferred from trainer Hal Wiggins to Steve Asmussen. Borel, who had ridden both Rachel Alexandra in the Oaks and Mine That Bird in the Derby, was asked to continue riding the filly and he agreed.
Mine That Birds trainer, Chip Woolley, picked up Mike Smith on the Derby winner.
It made for one of the most intriguing Preakness Stakes ever, and after drawing post 13, Borel knew he would have to send the filly from the outset, which he did.
Big Drama, under John Velazquez, who had the rail, was an obvious pacesetter and he went with the filly as the field went down the stretch the first time and through the first turn. They went the opening quarter in :23.13 and the half in :46.71.
Borel was able to open up just a bit on the backstretch but he had used the daughter of Medaglia dOro a great deal to get the lead and knew he had to try and slow the pace a bit.
"I was comfortable early, but down the backside they started to pick it up," Borel said.
Big Drama, who had skipped the Derby, was still in second down the backstretch, followed by Friesan Fire, the beaten favorite in the Derby, and Papa Clem, who had run fourth in Louisville. They went six furlongs in 1:11.01.
Meanwhile, Smith had Mine That Bird settled nicely in last of the 13 runners but he was only about a dozen lengths from the lead and waiting to make his run.
As the field made the turn for home, Borel asked Rachel Alexandra to open up and she moved out in front by four lengths.
Smith had Mine That Bird on the move but he had to go wide and then split horses to make his run. Another horse had also made a move to get in contention, and that was Musket Man and Eibar Coa. Mine That Bird was able to move past the gutsy Musket Man but could not catch a laboring Rachel Alexandra.
"She was struggling at the end," Borel said. "She was pricking her ears and I had to get after her."
Despite tiring at the end of the race, Rachel Alexandra coasted home under the wire to cheers from those in attendance under skies that had spit rain starting just 10 minutes to post. She had again confirmed just how special she is, and Mine That Bird had proven he was not a fluke Derby winner, despite his 50-1 odds at Churchill Downs.
Rachel Alexandra was the heavy favorite in the race, going off at 9-5 and paying $5.60, $4.60, and $3.60. Mine That Bird returned $8.60 and $4.80, while Musket Man paid $5.
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According to Sports Illustrated, Horse of the Decade is actually Curlin, with Zenyatta as a close second. But I agree Zenyatta is horse of the decade, it's just this YEAR RA is equal to Zen.
Rachel is undefeated in eight races and on seven different tracks and on sloppy and fast tracks. Let us not forget that she made track records against the boys and girls as a three year old!
duhru4real: I just looked up another horse and you are incorrect about your statement. about how none of these horses won anything after this race. "Take the Points" has since won TWO Grade 1 stakes! He has won the Secretariat Stakes and the Jamaica stakes since then.
PIoneer of the Nile was the winner of the CashCall Futurity, Robert B Lewis Stakes, San Felipe, Santa Anita Derby. Papa Clem was the winner of the Arkansas D. Friesan Fire: winner of Lecomte, Risen Star, Louisiana D, Big Drama: winner of Delta Jackpot.... There were a lot of quality graded stakes winners there ... many suffered injuries after this race. Not Rachel's fault.
The reason why they didn't win anything afterwards was because there were a lot of injuries for many of these horses. The caliber of these horses HAD to be good to qualify for a Grade 1 race. MTB was the Kentucky Derby winner, but then had the entrapped epiglottis thing afterwards. Musket Man was the winner of the Tampa Bay Derby and the Illinois Derby,
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Big Drama: winner of Delta Jackpot.... There were a lot of quality graded stakes winners there ... many suffered injuries after this race. Not Rachel's fault.