They are billing this year’s totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup as “the Decider” between Kauto Star and Denman. The score stands at one apiece after the last two Gold Cups but America’s great match-up has no such form lines to work on.
The closest that Zenyatta and Rachel Alexandra have ever got to meeting was across the ballot box for the Eclipse awards in January, when Rachel Alexandra came away with the Horse of the Year title. Fast forward from Zenyatta’s return from the briefest retirement on record, the connections of Rachel Alexandra back-tracking from their initial lukewarm enthusiasm to running in the Apple Blossom Stakes at Oaklawn Park next month and the big races looks to be on.
All that needs to happen now is for the pair to come through their respective seasonal debuts on Saturday. Zenyatta is due to run in the Santa Margarita Invitational Handicap on the familiar Pro-Ride track at Santa Anita while Rachel Alexandra will be doing the same in the New Orleans Ladies at Fair Grounds.
So far, so humdrum but just a little more interest has been injected into the mix by the entries at the Fair Grounds. Just a few hours after Rachel Alexandra had a final workout yesterday, covering four furlongs in 49 seconds, she was drawn in stall two in a field of five for the race. Rachel Alexandra drew just outside the likely pace of the race, Fighter Wing, and just inside Zardana, who is the most interesting rival.
Zardana is trained by John Shirreffs and a stable companion of Zenyatta but what makes her run all the more intriguing is that no-one can remember the last time that Shirreffs shipped a runner from his training base in California to run in Louisiana and, with a prize of $200,000 and the Horse of the Year in opposition, even second place might not allow Shirreffs to recoup the travelling outlay with Zardana. So, just what is the plan behind this?
Now, get two people talking about racehorses and a good rumour can spread quicker than butter on hot toast so this move is being perceived as something of a scouting mission by the Zenyatta camp before the main event in Arkansas for the Apple Blossom – and the $5million that has been put on the table, but only if both horses make the starting gate – on April 9th.
Shirreffs has apparently said that the idea of running in the New Orleans Ladies was in fact suggested by Arnold Zetcher, the owner of Zardana who has nothing to do with Zenyatta’s connections, although Jess Jackson, Rachel Alexandra’s owner, said: “I think they’re trying to size us up.”
In return Shirreffs points out that, having sized up his options with Zardana, the only local alternative was to take on Zenyatta in the Santa Margarita so, rather than take on the irresistible force in her own barn, Zardana will try to shift the immovable object that Steve Assmussen is preparing at the Fair Grounds. After Rachel Alexandra’s gallop the trainer said to the Daily Racing Form: “It was just an easy half, to get along with her. She travelled well. She's a beautiful mover. How she runs is what makes her special.
“She's not one hundred per cent fit for this, and we're aware of that. But she's a very physical horse. She is Rachel.”
This weekend is a big deal for the Fair Grounds because Rachel Alexandra will be the first reigning Horse of the Year to run in New Orleans since Triple Crown winner Whirlaway took the Fair Grounds Handicap in 1942, but the bigger deal on the table is for Oaklawn, who are working feverishly to be the course to host the first clash between the two draw cards of American racing. The track executive is in negotiations in an attempt to get the Apple Blossom broadcast on national television, but would face a blackout if either Zenyatta or Rachel Alexandra drew a blank on Saturday.
Both should breeze through their trials but, when they do, the exhale that will be coming from the folks in Arkansas will sound more like a hurricane.
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