I tweeted and Jessica blogged about the the range of impressions Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra provoked with her Lady's Secret Stakes win on Saturday at Monmouth Park.
I was neither at Monmouth nor in the Thoroughbred Times office on Saturday, so I had no input in how our staff on that day decided to report her race other than to send an e-mail well after the fact to say that I think our recap of the race is more accurate.
It's a shame that I feel as if I can't offer a positive review of the victory without being accused of some ridiculous bias that doesn't exist, but I thought the Lady's Secret was by far Rachel Alexandra's best race of the year.
Even as the Fleur de Lis turned into a 10-length romp, there was a fleeting moment or two when it appeared that Rachel Alexandra would have to fight much harder than she ultimately did to secure her first victory as a four-year-old. In the Lady's Secret, Calvin asked her once, and she responded easily. The acceleration she showed turning for home had me excited for what could come next.
There was some initial concern immediately after the race that Rachel Alexandra was unprofessional in the stretch—not maintaining a clear path, but the head-on replay puts that concern to rest, and Dave Grening of Daily Racing Form agrees.
Certainly the Lady's Secret competition does not inspire, and I can really only see runner-up Queen Martha as making any noise in the division on a graded stakes level, but from the perspective of using a race to prep for the Personal Ensign Stakes, which would be the Horse of the Year's first race at 1 1/4 miles, the race was fine and likely left plenty in the tank even with the oppressive heat.
If Life At Ten and Rachel Alexandra commit to the Personal Ensign sooner rather than later, then the pressure for Zenyatta to ship East will grow. Saratoga may catch a break (pun intended) in the form of the Del Mar Polytack surface, which had issues on Thursday and trainer John Shirreffs says Zenyatta doesn't really like anyway.
Personally, I would rather see the older female championship decided in a race restricted to females than have Rachel Alexandra's and Zenyatta's first race against each other also be against Quality Road, Blame, and the top three-year-olds.
Having said that, though, Zenyatta is the reigning champion of that division, and I won't begrudge her connections for going where they want until the Breeders' Cup. If you want her, go and get her.
The Personal Ensign is interesting to me as a first meeting between Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta because they could go separate ways in their final start before the Breeders' Cup (Zenyatta to the Overbrook Spinster at Keeneland and Rachel Alexandra to Beldame at Belmont assuming NYRA renews that race). If the Personal Ensign is a battle royale between the two, then everyone would love a rematch in the Breeders' Cup Classic. If one easily handles the other, then the loser can run in Ladies' Classic and winner can go for Horse of the Year the next day.
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I think that the Daily Racing Form's headline was most in line with my view of Rachel's effort.
ReplyDeleteI think that I feel that Rachel worked harder to "get the job done" yesterday than you do, but agree that it turned out to be a good prep for bigger things to come.
I would be curious to know how you would have written the headline, if it had been your assignment. Please . . . ?
Do you really think that Zenyatta (or Rachel) would stop at Keeneland on their way to the Breeder's Cup? That would require a dirt-artificial-dirt schedule.
Rachel did not look good in her stretch run yesterday. She hung and then she lugged in. That was basically an allowance race and she didn't dominate there. I would think the PE is a huge task even with Zenyatta showing up.
ReplyDeleteGib,
ReplyDeleteI'd have gone with something very simple like, "Rachel Alexandra triumphant in return to Monmouth."
Given the high heat and low competition, it's difficult to know what we really saw yesterday, but I definitely shade much more toward impressive than not.
Zenyatta is more likely to run at Keeneland than Rachel because of plastics.
Ed,
ReplyDeleteIt was a race to keep her on the track, a stepping stone on the way to her bigger races.
I think if they meet it will be in the PE. That would give Shirreffs a chance to settle her back in for nearly eight weeks, including a prep in the Lady's Secret/Zenyatta at Oak Tree/Santa Anita, before shipping to CD for her career finale in the BC Classic.
@ gib,
My headline: "RACHEL'S CLASS READIES HER FOR NEXT 'PERSONAL' TEST".
Anyone who's read my stuff knows I despise her narcissistic owner. It's tainted my enthusiasm for RACHEL, but I believe this was a step in the process, like the NO Ladies Classic was supposed to be and I believe it was. It's late in the year and no more mulligans. On to the PE no matter who shows or not.
The BSF came back 110, her best yet this year, and she looked totally comfortable in the stretch. Impressive ... I'm not so sure, but only because I believe she's capable of so much more. The DRF's "solid" summed up what I saw, a description I don't consider negative at all.
ReplyDeleteI'm rather liking what she showed in her last two races. She's not as fast or explosive as last year, and with the added weight I don't think she'll fully regain her speed. This year she's getting stronger as the race progresses, she's more relaxed, and rates better. Her wins are less visually impressive compared to last year, but she looks far more capable of 1 1/4 this year compared to last.
ReplyDelete