by Phil Janack
On a picture-perfect Monday morning, Rachel Alexandra put in a final tune-up for her attempt to become the first female of any age to win the Woodward Stakes (G1). The $750,000 race is on Saturday at Saratoga Race Course.
Rachel Alexandra breezed an easy half mile in :49.09 at 6 a.m. EDT on the Oklahoma training track under regular exercise rider Dominic Terry. The three-year-old Medaglia d’Oro filly went in quarters of :25.53 and :23.56 before galloping out a fifth furlong in :13.14.
“It feels great to get that breeze in today under such nice circumstances,” trainer Steve Asmussen said. “Cool morning, the track's in great shape, I can't say enough about the job they've done on the racetrack this summer.
“She looked very happy. She came back very loose, and she moved through the stretch very impressively. If she's happy, we're happy.”
It was the eighth work in Saratoga for Rachel Alexandra and her fourth since beating three-year-old males for the second time this year in the $1.25 million Haskell Invitational Stakes (G1) (video). She will face older males in the Woodward, including Grade 1 winners Bullsbay and Macho Again, the one-two finishers in the Whitney Handicap (G1) on August 1 at Saratoga (video).
Last week, Rachel Alexandra worked over Saratoga's main track because of inclement weather. Her August 17 breeze at Oklahoma was shrouded in fog.
The Haskell extended her winning streak to eight races, including four consecutive Grade 1 triumphs 46 1/2 lengths.
“She's very special,” Asmussen said. “She's extremely exciting. She just has a tremendous amount of presence with her. Somebody asked me this morning if she knew she was a star. I very much believe that she does. I think she accepts the pressure that's put on her, the attention that she gets, and I think she's really thrived under it.”
Rachel Alexandra will walk on Tuesday, return to the track on Wednesday and school in the Saratoga paddock during Thursday's races.
Lifetime, Rachel Alexandra has won 10 of 13 races and has earned $2,498,354. NYRA upped the purse of the Woodward by 50% to attract Rachel Alexandra. The all-time leading female by North American earnings is Azeri with $4,079,820.
Phil Janack is a New York correspondent of Thoroughbred Times