Rachel Alexandra – Reliving the heroics of the reigning Horse of the Year
Foaled on 29 January, 2006 in Kentucky, Rachel Alexandra, the 2009 Horse of the Year was an amazing filly who competed toe to toe with the all time favourite of her generation Zenyatta and still managed to do well around her.
The daughter of Medaglia d’Oro, out of Lotta Kim by Roar, Rachel Alexandra was renowned for her heroic run in the 2009 Preakness Stakes, held on 16 May at the Pimlico, where she went on to the win the second jewel of the Triple Crown.
She owned and got renowned for it, because she was the first filly land the Preakness Stakes in 85 long years, she was the first to do it after Nellie Morse way back in 1924.
Trained by Steve Asmussen, Rachel Alexandra, went onto win stakes races all over, especially with in the country where she left her mark in six different states and on eight different tracks.
She has done it against every one, Rachel Alexandra went on to win against fillies of all shape and sizes, she even downed the Grade 1 winning colts and geldings. Her career stood firm of her numerous long winning streaks, with a long string of Grade 1 stakes
races wins.
Her best was 5 in a row, starting from Churchill Downs winning the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks on 1 May, 2009 and prolonging it to Grade 1 Woodward Stakes on 5 September, 2009.
The streak included massive races like the $1million Haskell Invitational, the Grade 1 Preakness Stakes and Grade 1 Mother Goose Stakes.
Rachel Alexandra throughout her career was considered along Ruffian, as the greatest filly to have run the tracks, the greatest 3-year-old thoroughbred filly.
Brian Hernandez Jr. had the honours of rousing the reigning Horse of the Year and be her original jockey, who guided the filly to two wins out of her five starts. Calvin Borel then came to the picture as he rode Rachel Alexandra in the Grade 2 Golden Rod
Stakes, and in his first attempt won the race.
It was 4 ½ lengths victory for Wiggins and the pair set a stakes record time while winning the race.
Rachel Alexandra couldn’t live up to her reputation in the 2010 season and she had a disappointing campaign and it was decided that she should be retired and to be bred the next year.
She was decided to bred with another former Horse of the Year, Curlin, and the possibilities would be endless with what those two superstar horses might produce.
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