To view the Woodward Stakes, click here.
by Mike Curry
On Saturday at Saratoga Race Course, superstar filly Rachel Alexandra passed her toughest test to date and cemented her credentials as the leading contender for the Eclipse Award as Horse of the Year.
The brilliant Medaglia d’Oro filly became the first female to win the $750,000 Woodward Stakes (G1) in its 56-year history as she battled gamely in the final furlong to turn back Stephen Foster Handicap (G1) winner Macho Again by a head in a thrilling finish.
"I can't say enough about the race she put in today under the circumstances,” said winning trainer Steve Asmussen, who conditions Rachel Alexandra for owners Jess Jackson and his wife, Barbara Banke, and Harold T. McCormick. “It means so much to me and everyone involved with her. For Jess and Barbara to allow us the opportunity to run her in these races, I can't say enough. She came through today like a true champion.”
In an edition of the Woodward that could easily wind up being the race of the year, the BlackBerry Preakness (G1) and Haskell Invitational (G1) Stakes winner was tested early as 2008 Belmont Stakes (G1) winner Da’ Tara and last year’s Woodward runner-up Past the Point pressed her through an opening quarter in a blistering :22.85.
Regular rider Calvin Borel was able to slow down the pace a little in the second quarter as Rachel Alexandra opened a clear lead through a testing half-mile in :46.41 in the 1 1/8-mile race. Macho Again was reserved at the back of the eight-horse field and Whitney Handicap (G1) winner Bullsbay settled in sixth, both poised to make a run at Rachel Alexandra.
After six furlongs in 1:10.54, Rachel Alexandra accelerated when given her cue, but she was quickly challenged as the closers kicked into gear. Bullsbay split horses and surged into contention and fast-closing Macho Again split foes at the quarter pole and turned on the burners when angled to the outside in the stretch.
Macho Again pulled alongside Rachel Alexandra in the final furlong and appeared to have momentum on his side, but the filly was ready for a battle. She dug in to edge away briefly and was fully extended to hold off a final surge from Macho Again and prevail by a head.
"It was a great race. She stepped up and proved to be the best,” Borel said. “If she won it would have been good. If she had lost, it still would have been good. She's a three-year-old that went up against older horses, who knows how good she is?”
Rachel Alexandra completed 1 1/8 miles in 1:48.29 on a track rated as fast to record her ninth straight victory and fifth consecutive Grade 1 win.
“At 22 [seconds] and change, I started worrying,” Asmussen said of the opening quarter-mile. “I worried until they put her number up. I can't say how proud of her I am—her performance, under the pressure that she always is, stepping up and raising her game. What a tremendous victory today. She didn't lope along on the lead or anything today. She's a spectacular athlete."
In her previous five starts, Rachel Alexandra has defeated males three times and demonstrated her dominance in her own division with a pair of victories against three-year-old fillies by a combined margin of 39 1/2 lengths.
"Wow,” Jackson said after the Woodward. “The ride was perfect. She was ready. Those are a lot of big animals that she was running against, but she showed her speed, she showed her class, and she didn't give up. That's my Rachel.”
Jackson said he was not sure when Rachel Alexandra would make her next start. He said earlier in the week that the Woodward could possibly be her final start of this year so that she can receive a nice break before starting her four-year-old campaign.
“[Her next start] depends on how she comes out of the race,” he said. “I hope she's sound, then it would be a question of whether there's something adequate for her."
Rachel Alexandra improved to 11 wins and two seconds in 14 career starts with earnings of $2,948,354.
Macho Again finished 1 1/2 lengths clear of Bullsbay for second.
"I never thought I had her. You never think you have champions. She's a great filly. The only thing I was hoping was that at some point she would tire,” said Robby Albarado, rider of Macho Again.
“Champions show different dimension. She is in a league of her own. She has beaten every top division we have in racing. Older horses, her age, it doesn't matter. No matter what they throw at her, she'll beat them."
For an Equibase chart, click here.
Mike Curry is a Thoroughbred Times TODAY editor