Rachel Alexandra to skip Breeders’ Cup
To the average horse racing fan, the only time worth watching or betting on the sport is the three Triple Crown races and Breeders’ Cup weekend. Unfortunately, the horse that looks to be the best of the 3-year-olds this year will only be seen in one of those major races this season.
That would be filly Rachel Alexandra, the Preakness winner. Despite that impressive victory over the boys in Baltimore, her handlers decided to skip the longer Belmont for fear of what that distance might do to their horse so soon after the Preakness. Plus, what else did Rachel Alexandra have to prove?
Still, most were hoping she would run in November’s Breeders’ Cup Ladies Classic race at Santa Anita. But Jess Jackson, the horse’s owner, said a bad performance from Curlin (another of his horses) in last year’s Breeders’ Cup on Santa Anita’s Pro-Ride synthetic surface influenced his decision to skip the Breeders’ Cup this year (Curlin finished fourth last year in the Classic).
“I have a very strong dislike for plastic surfaces, and I don’t believe [Rachel Alexandra] should be exposed to that,” Jackson said. “I’m not going to run her on plastic. We don’t need to risk her that way.”
The decision likely prevents a potentially terrific matchup between Rachel Alexandra and 5-year-old Zenyatta, who has won all 10 of her races including the Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic last year. She has raced almost exclusively on a synthetic surface.
Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta are scheduled to race Saturday on different coasts in Grade I stakes. Rachel Alexandra is running in the Mother Goose Stakes at Belmont Park – she is the overwhelming favorite against four other fillies on WagerWeb.com. Zenyatta will race the Vanity Handicap at Hollywood Park.
Saturday will be the first race for Rachel Alexandra since she became the first filly to win the Preakness since 1924. Jackson said the filly’s plans following Saturday remain uncertain and will depend largely on her health and physical condition. But possible races for her, Jackson said, include the Delaware Handicap on July 19, the Coaching Club American Oaks on July 25, the Haskell Invitational on Aug. 2, the Alabama Stakes on Aug. 22 and the Travers Stakes on Aug. 29. The Haskell and Travers are both open to the boys.
Rachel Alexandra, a leading candidate for horse of the year, is unbeaten this year in five stakes.
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