RACHEL ALEXANDRA SIMPLY GREAT IN NEW YORK

**Please see the attached photo of Rachel Alexandra winning the 2009 Woodward at Saratoga Race Course, credit NYRA, Adam Coglianese**

 

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

 

Contact: Dan Silver

dsilver@nyrainc.com   

 

RACHEL ALEXANDRA SIMPLY GREAT IN NEW YORK

 

ELMONT, N.Y. – Rachel Alexandra won thirteen races during her brilliant career, which included 2009 Horse of the Year honors, and two of those victories came in unforgettable fashion on The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) circuit.

 

Yesterday, Jess Jackson, principal of Stonestreet Stables, the majority owner of Rachel Alexandra, announced that the 4-year-old daughter of Medaglia d’Oro would be retired and bred to two-time Horse of the Year Curlin.

 

The first chance that fans in New York got to see Rachel live was the Grade 1 Mother Goose on June 27, 2009 at Belmont Park. She came into the race off six straight victories by a combined margin of more than 34 lengths, including a 20 ¼-length romp in the Kentucky Oaks and a triumph over the boys in the Preakness.

 

Taking on two fillies in Flashing and Malibu Prayer that would go on to become Grade 1 winners, Rachel settled comfortably in third behind swift fractions of 22.57, 44.66 and 1:08.86. When jockey Calvin Borel asked her for run on the sweeping Belmont turn, she catapulted to the lead and turned for home on top. In what NYRA Track Announcer Tom Durkin referred to as a “dazzling display,” Rachel won by 19 ¼ lengths, completing the 1 1/8-miles in 1:46.33, good for a new stakes record.

 

Following an impressive six-length victory over 2009’s eventual 3-year-old male champion Summer Bird in the Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park, Rachel’s connections had even more ambitious plans in mind. She would attempt to become the first filly or mare to defeat males in the 56-year history of the Grade 1 Woodward at Saratoga Race Course. The only female to have even finished second in the prestigious race was the great Lady’s Secret, during her Horse of the Year campaign in 1986.

 

Stabled all summer in trainer Steve Asmussen’s Saratoga barn, Rachel came into the 1 1/8-mile Woodward riding an impressive eight-race winning streak, including all seven of her races in 2009.

 

An energetic crowd of 31,171 flocked to Saratoga on Saturday, September 5 to see the filly try to make history.

 

When the gates opened, Borel sent Rachel to the lead, dueling on the outside of 2008 Belmont Stakes winner Da’ Tara through a torrid opening quarter of 22.85, prompting Durkin to comment, “There will be no free ride for Rachel Alexandra!”

 

Continuing to lead through subsequent fractions of 46.41 and 1:10.54, Rachel put away the other speed horses on the far turn, but turning for home, a trio of closers, including Grade 1 winners Macho Again and Bullsbay, began to find their best stride.

 

In deep stretch, just when it appeared that Macho Again would surge by his younger rival and score the victory, Rachel, implored by Borel for everything she had and cheered on by the Saratoga crowd, found more and held on to win by a narrow head.

 

Durkin’s call summed it up perfectly: “It’s going to be desperately close – here’s the wire – Rachel won! She is indeed Rachel Alexandra the Great!”

 

The Woodward was the final race in Rachel’s undefeated 3-year-old campaign, comprising eight victories, including five Grade 1 events, and netting her Horse of the Year honors.

 

Given more than seven months off to recover from her grueling, historic season, Rachel returned to the races as a 4-year-old, but was never able to regain the brilliance that she had previously shown. In 2010, the filly made five starts, winning twice and finishing second three times.

 

The final race of her career came at Saratoga in the Grade 1 Personal Ensign, run at 1 ¼ miles on Sunday, August 29. After dueling with Grade 1 winner Life At Ten through a brisk opening half-mile in 47.73, Rachel led at the top of the stretch but was caught late by Persistently, finishing second by a length.

 

“Rachel Alexandra is a superstar in every sense of the word,” said NYRA President and CEO Charles Hayward. “Her sensational victory in the Woodward provided one of the most memorable moments in Saratoga’s recent history and capped off an incredible 3-year-old campaign. We would like to thank Mr. Jackson for racing her in New York on three occasions and providing our racing fans the chance to see one of the best horses of this generation.”

 

Fans of Rachel Alexandra can look back on her amazing career at NYRA’s special website, “Rachel’s Sandbox,” including numerous videos, articles, blogs, and much more.

 

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