RACHEL ALEXANDRA FINISHES FAST IN SIX-FURLONG BREEZE
NEW ORLEANS (Tuesday, March 2, 2010) – Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra worked
six furlongs in company Tuesday morning, blowing past her stablemate nearing the
eighth-pole and finishing in a final quarter-mile of :22 3/5 to post an official
final time of 1:13 3/5, breezing, over a fast main track. Fair Grounds clockers
caught fractions of :13, :25 3/5, :38 2/5, :51 and 1:02 1/5. The 4-year-old
Medaglia d’Oro filly galloped out seven-eighths in 1:26 2/5 and one mile in 1:41
1/5.
Regular exercise rider Dominic Terry was aboard Rachel Alexandra, while Brian
Hernandez Jr. was aboard workmate Depaul, a 3-year-old colt who most recently
finished fourth in a Feb. 15 first-level allowance.
Rachel Alexandra, preparing for her first start of the year in the March 13
$200,000 New Orleans Ladies, came onto the track at 10:30 a.m., a half-hour
after regular training hours and following a renovation break.
The final time was slower than trainer Steve Asmussen had been hoping for, but
he was nonetheless delighted because of the fast yet effortless final
quarter-mile.
“I was hoping she’d go a little quicker,” Asmussen said at his barn shortly
afterward. “She settled off the other horse really nicely. She stayed with her
left lead trying to stay with the other horse, then she switched to her right
lead and accelerated. We’re happy with where she’s at. The main thing is she’s
healthy and this is a step in the process to getting her back to her previous
level.”
Rachel Alexandra and Terry came onto the track accompanied, as usual, by
assistant trainer Scott Blasi aboard his pony. The workmate, accompanied by a
pony with assistant trainer Jamie Radosevich aboard, stepped onto the track
first and led the quartet as they jogged around the far turn and through the
stretch. The ponies broke off near the finish line as Rachel continued to follow
her stablemate and ranged closer as they galloped around the clubhouse turn and
picked up speed approaching the three-quarters pole. Rachel Alexandra started
her work about one length behind the workmate.
“She was a little keen early,” Asmussen said. “She was very aggressive and
hard-held early. For him (Terry) to still have control with one in front of her
was very impressive. It was a little slower from the five-eighths to the
three-eighths.”
Terry kept Rachel Alexandra behind her stablemate into the stretch but once she
was allowed to roll at the three-sixteenths marker the filly effortlessly moved
to the lead and hit the wire about six lengths in front of Depaul, who was timed
for six furlongs in 1:14 4/5.
Today was the first time Rachel Alexandra has worked in company this year. “The
concern was that her last work was so smooth and easy that she didn’t get enough
out of it,” Asmussen said. “The other horse is a variable that ensures that she
gets more out of it.”
Rachel Alexandra’s final official workout before the New Orleans Ladies will
come Monday, according to Asmussen, and will be a an easy half-mile. “We built
up to this point and from here we need to back off and let her catch her
breath,” he said. “We won’t be looking for speed, just fluid and relaxed.”
Rachel Alexandra normally works around 6:30 a.m. but concerns about the weather
and track condition following last night’s heavy rains prompted Asmussen and
Fair Grounds Vice President and General Manager Eric Halstrom to consider
alternatives in order to provide the best possible surface for the superstar
filly. An agreement had been reached to train Rachel Alexandra in the afternoon
to give the main track more time to dry out, but the surface was in such fine
condition by this morning that there was no need to wait.
“I can’t say enough about what the Fair Grounds has done,” Asmussen said. “A big
thank you to Fair Grounds for allowing us to get this in. We’re still on course
for the New Orleans Ladies and we’ll need to get something out of that to move
forward.”
Rachel Alexandra is preparing not only for the New Orleans Ladies, but also the
Grade I Apple Blossom at Oaklawn Park on April 9, where a date with Champion
Older Female Zenyatta would be worth a $5 million purse.
Rachel Alexandra established herself as one of the all-time great fillies last
year with historic wins in the Grade I Kentucky Oaks and Grade I Preakness, as
well as six other stakes races, including the Grade II Fair Grounds Oaks. Her
three Grade I victories against male horses—in the Preakness, the Haskell
Invitational and the Woodward—helped to establish a new standard for excellence
by a female racehorse in the modern era.
Rachel Alexandra—2010 Workouts
Date, Fair Grounds track condition, distance, final time (fractional times, when
available), breezing or handily
March 2, Fast, Six furlongs, 1:13 3/5 (:13, :25 3/5, :38 2/5, :51, 1:02 1/5),
breezing
Feb. 24, Fast, Six furlongs, 1:14 (:13, :25 1/5, :37 3/5, :49 4/5, 1:02),
breezing
Feb. 18, Fast, Five furlongs, 1:00 1/5 (:12, :23 4/5, :35 3/5, :47 3/5),
breezing
Feb. 12, Sloppy, Five furlongs, 1:03 4/5 (:13 2/5, :26 1/5, :38 3/5, :51 3/5),
breezing
Feb. 6, Fast, Four furlongs, :50 3/5, breezing
Jan. 31, Fast, Four furlongs, :52, breezing
About Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots
Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, the nation’s third-oldest Thoroughbred racing
facility, has been in operation since 1872. Located in New Orleans, Fair Grounds
is owned by Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ Global Select Market: CHDN); it
also operates a slot-machine gaming facility and 10 off-track betting parlors
throughout southeast Louisiana. Fair Grounds’ 138th Thoroughbred season will run
through March 28, 2010, highlighted by the Grade II Louisiana Derby on March 27.
Information about Fair Grounds can be found online at
www.fairgroundsracecourse.com.