Rachel Alexandra beaten again
Perhaps it is the weight of the accolade that is holding her back but being voted Horse of the Year has clearly not agreed with Rachel Alexandra.
Running for the second race since winning that title in January, Rachel Alexandra was beaten again, this time by Unrivalled Belle in a hard-fought finish at Churchill Downs. In March she was beaten in the New Orleans Ladies at Fair Grounds but that did not stop her from being backed down to a 1-5 chance for the Grade Two La Troienne Stakes.
On the same card a year ago Rachel Alexandra had won the Kentucky Oaks by a mighty 20 lengths and the early signs were promising when the field of six - that included her conqueror from the Ladies, Zardana - broke from the gates. Rachel Alexandra (pictured left) took an early lead, although racing a little keenly, with Be Fair claiming the rail position going into the first turn.
Calvin Borel, riding Rachel Alexandra for the 11th time, had the filly on a wide course early on and kept that way down the early part of the back stretch as Rachel Alexandra continued to dispute the lead with Be Fair. The pair were still together at the beginning of the home turn but then Borel made his move on Rachel Alexandra with just about three furlongs to run. She took a lead of about a length but she also took Unrivaled Belle with her.
Borel appeared to be barely asking Rachel Alexandra to lengthen her stride while Kent Desormeaux was already starting to shuffle the reins on Unrivaled Belle as the pair reached the top of the home stretch, but Unrivalled Belle was responding.
Two furlongs out and Borel showed the first signs of unease and hitting the final furlong he showed the whip to Rachel Alexandra. The two fillies were now locked in a desperate struggle that Rachel Alexandra seemed to be winning, then merely holding before Unrivaled Belle found that fraction more in the last 50 yards to win by a head, with Morena another five lengths away in third.
Earlier in the week Rachel Alexandra’s trainer, Steve Asmussen, had said that she was still not in the same form as last year and this second successive defeat simply underlines that. After the race he told the Daily Racing Form: “Obviously I'm discouraged. I don't run a horse to get beat by any means - especially a horse like Rachel. But it would not be very effective to have any knee-jerk reactions to this.
“I thought she was very comfortable, nice and relaxed, she's just not quite as fast as she was last year. She was steady today but not quick. I don't see any reason for her not to ultimately be as explosive as she was last year. She's just not there yet and it's possible this is somewhat of a hangover from her hard campaign last season.”
Any thoughts about a big-race match-up with Zenyatta, the other queen of American racing, have been put back even further now but Rachel Alexandra’s owner, Jess Jackson, was not ready to throw the towel in yet. “She'll need to get another race or two under her belt before she's back,” Jackson said. “Her races last year took a lot out of her, specifically the Woodward, and after six months she's not ready to be back at on hundred per cent. This race didn't define her. I suspect she can improve 10 lengths off what we saw today. Steve and I are satisfied with the fact she came out of the race healthy. She's on her toes, and we're happy with her.”
The old saying is that victory has a hundred fathers but defeat is an orphan. It can also be the point where the jockey gets the blame and Jackson was non-committal about whether Borel would ride Rachel Alexandra next time out. “I gave Calvin no directions before the race,” Jackson said. “Maybe Steve did. I just told him to go out there and let her run. I was a little surprised by the result but the winner was obviously the better horse today.”
Whether we have seen the best of Rachel Alexandra only time will tell.
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