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Commentary: Run Rachel Alexandra in Lady’s Secret

Posted: Tuesday, September 21, 2010 6:15 PM

by Steve Bailey

Dear Mr. Jackson: I’m sure you have no idea who I am, but I have spoken to you on several occasions, including a handful of times in 2008, when we traveled to witness your Curlin power to an electrifying 7 3/4-length victory in the $6-million Emirates Airline Dubai World Cup (UAE-G1) in 2008.

It would have been hard to imagine ever owning another horse that would rival the talent of your two-time Horse of the Year and spark the imagination of racing fans around the globe.

The racing gods, however, deemed fit to bestow upon you another equine superstar in the form of a filly blessed with the speed, power, and athleticism to go down in history as one of the best of any generation.

I’m certain when you purchased Rachel Alexandra following her mind-blowing 20½-length victory in the 2009 Kentucky Oaks (G1) that you had hopes she would become phenomenon. But in your wildest dreams did you even imagine the sheer greatness she would display the rest of the year?

Rachel Alexandra’s unbeaten 2009 season was one for the ages and one the sport may never see duplicated by a filly still growing, maturing, and coming into her own.

I understand why you chose not to run her in the Breeders’ Cup last year at Santa Anita Park, even though I did not agree with the decision. The sport’s greatest stars should be on display for the world to see on championship day, but it did not matter in the end as she still was named Horse of the Year with plenty of buzz surrounding her four-year-old campaign and a possible showdown with unbeaten two-time champion older female Zenyatta.

I voted for Zenyatta for Horse of the Year but had no problem with Rachel Alexandra capturing the honor. To me, as a writer and as a fan, the sniping back and forth between the two camps of fans made for fine copy and even stoked the fire of what we would witness in 2010 as the two met to determine which fantastic female truly was the greatest.

This is where it gets murky and extremely disappointing for me, fans of both horses and, most probably, you and the rest of Rachel Alexandra’s connections, but you have the power to change that and make things right, and I will get to that in a moment.

The year opened with such promise. Talk of a possible three-race series. Then the hype surrounding the so-called $5-million “Race for the Ages” in the Apple Blossom Invitational Stakes (G1) in April at Oaklawn Park.

A loss in Rachel Alexandra’s seasonal debut in the New Orleans Ladies Stakes—to a horse conditioned by the trainer of Zenyatta no less—ended those plans with a thud. Instead, Zenyatta showed up to make only her second career start on dirt and outside of California to steal the momentum—and much of the buzz—your horse had worked so brilliantly to build last season.

We all know what has happened since then. Rachel Alexandra has shown flashes of last year’s dominance, including her impressive 10½-length victory in the Fleur de Lis Handicap (G2), but I have no doubt that you have an emptiness inside that you never imagined you would have at the beginning of the season.

Instead of a “Race for the Ages,” we instead got two of the most exciting and popular horses of this generation running in races a country apart from one another against competition that honestly did nothing for their legacies but make people wonder, “What if?”

You have the power to make this the most exciting fall season our sport has known in decades. Simply reverse course and become the hunter instead of the hunted.

Do yourself and the sport a favor and pass up a Breeders’ Cup prep at Belmont Park and go West to take on Zenyatta on her home turf in the Lady's Secret Stakes (G1) on October 2 at Hollywood Park.

You have nothing to lose. Although Rachel Alexandra’s fans do not want to admit this, it has become a lost season. In football terms, the clock is running down and nothing but a Hail Mary can save it.

Make the announcement that it is time for racing to finally get what its followers have been yearning for all season long. Admit that the year has been somewhat disappointing for you but that those feelings could be changed in less than two minutes—with a victory over her rival—in the showdown that has been promised but has yet to come to fruition.

What’s the worst that could happen if she loses? She already has lost three times this season to horses far inferior to Zenyatta.

And oh the upside should she win.

End Zenyatta’s 18-race winning streak. Prove that Rachel Alexandra remains a horse for the ages and make people forget those three runner-up finishes that have pushed the spotlight from your horse to the one owned by Jerry and Ann Moss.

And think of the spectacle it could set up for the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1), which will be run on dirt at Churchill Downs, where your horse has been her most dominant.

Obviously, you know what is best for your horse. The rewards in this scenario, however, far outweigh the risks, Mr. Jackson, for you, your brilliant filly, and the sport we all love so dearly.

Steve Bailey is deputy news editor of Thoroughbred Times

READER COMMENTS

Posted by: Jeff, Custer, KY on September 25, 2010 at 11:16 AM ibilliejeanking, I totally agree that Jackson has no business shipping Rachel across the country to face the best mare in the country, especially the way her 2010 season has gone so far. Just for the record though Rachel has ran and won over poly 1 time at Keeneland. Report Abuse Posted by: Gone West, Sarasota, FL on September 25, 2010 at 12:13 AM Oh look ladies and gents! It is the number one Zenyatta hater of all times: Afleet Alex Forever. The very same person who touts having a blog where he states he loves Zen but hates her connections and yet he bashes her as if she was a claimer. Please disreagrd his ludicrous comments as he cannot let anyone have an opinion and has to be right at every turn all the while stuffing his head up Rachel's butt and touting her connections as if they are made of sterling silver (gimme a break would ya). I appreciate that he loves Rachel (who doesn't?) but to dismiss Zenyatta just because Jackson, oops, I mean HE, doesn't like synthetics or the West coast or the sunshine or whatever is ridiculous. He quotes what he has seen on paper on every blog and forum he visits yet he still don't get it! Horses don't run on paper Mr. "cannot be wrong". Talk about talking out of BOTH sides of his mouth. All the while with the completely and utterly rude tone with which he speaks to people is simply amazing. I am sure one of Rachel's races is the 'greatest race he has ever seen' which brings me to wonder how many truly "great" race horses has he ever seen. Really? If horsemen who have been around longer than since his daddy was in diapers are saying Zenyatta is one of the best dont you think we should be listening to them instead of the rubbish he spews all the time? Lordy! Give it a rest Afleet and go study some REAL horse over the last century and then come back with something knowledgable and respectful to say instead of spewing your ridiculous hate for an animal. Get a life! Report Abuse Posted by: Ibilliejeanking, Riggs, ID on September 25, 2010 at 12:49 AM Why in the world would he ship his mare across country, to a surface she has never seen, just one week out, risk the BC, and then have to ship back home, before heading to CD? Respectfully, thats about as ridiculous as these "posters" who think the Mosses have "ducked" everyone by not shipping all over the place to run a mare against the boyz. Let this thing go down exactly how these owners have mapped things out. Its absolutely their privledge to do so and afterall, these gals are their property. I can hardly wait to see the longest stride the gods ever put in a female horse, power her down that long CD stretch. And as she passes under those famous spires and becomes a racing legend, I wonder if all you haters will then recognize how lucky you've been to be alive to see it. Report Abuse Posted by: Connie, Belgrade, MT on September 25, 2010 at 12:01 AM Doesn't look like RA can handle several "big" efforts either. Report Abuse Posted by: BG, Pomfredt, MD on September 24, 2010 at 09:09 PM rachel is avoiding Zenyatta like curlin avoided synthetic tracks. jess jackson the exuse master. Report Abuse