Borel to remain as Rachel Alexandra's jockey
Here's a press release that was just e-mailed to the media. Good move by Jackson by keeping Calvin Borel on the filly, and it's good to see she'll go in the Preakness if all is well. If she's not ready, she won't go:
LEXINGTON, KY (May 8, 2009) -- Stonestreet Stables, majority owner of two-time Horse of the Year Curlin, and partner Harold T. McCormick announced today that Calvin Borel has agreed to ride Kentucky Oaks winner Rachel Alexandra for the current racing season.
"It came down to the facts that he knows and loves this horse, that he knows how to get the most from her and he knows how to win,'' said Jess Jackson of Stonestreet Stables and proprietor of Kendall-Jackson Wine Estates. "They were an amazing team at the Kentucky Oaks--winning by over 20 lengths. We think this is a perfect match of rider and horse.''
Jackson said Rachel Alexandra will continue her workout schedule under trainer Steve Asmussen.
"If she continues to be in perfect condition, our intention will be to run her in the Preakness," Jackson said, adding that the final decision would be made next week.
Borel, a Louisiana native, rode the victorious mounts in both the 2007 and 2009 Kentucky Derbys. His Derby win last week aboard Mine That Bird was the second biggest upset in Derby history. The day before, Borel won the Kentucky Oaks aboard Rachel Alexandra, only the second time since 1993 that a jockey has won the Oaks-Derby combo. He was just the seventh jockey ever to do it in the same year.
Like Randy Romero, Kent Desormeaux and Shane Sellers, Borel began racing horses on the bush tracks near his hometown of Catahoula. Calvin is known for his Cajun accent and bubbly personality, both of which were on display during his post-victory interview after both Kentucky Derby wins.
Over a 25-year career, Borel has become known for his tireless work ethic as well as an ability to slip up the rail to gain ground.
This is a awful move for the connections of Rachel Alexandra.
Have they not learned from history. Genuine Risk, Bayakoa, Serena's Song, Winning Colors, Rags to Riches and countless others have run against the boys and have not come back right. Before you come back with Winning Colors, it took her a very long time to come back to her form.
I know Jackson is one of the best owners and wants to find do the best for the sport. But this is not the right thing to do. Think of the filly!
Racing fan,
You make a valid point, and I know there are a lot of people who believe the way you do -- that fillies should only run against fillies. I'm kind of on the fence. I believe there are certain instances where it makes sense to try a filly against the boys, and this might be it. You have a filly, Rachel Alexandra, who just beat other fillies by an astounding 20 1/4 lengths. As long as she seems strong and ready to go, why not try the Preakness? It would certainly draw a lot of attention to the sport, and as I've written before, this is a sport that needs its top stars running on high-profile days. Of course, all that being said, I would not send her out there to race the boys unless I felt she was 100 percent and ready to go. The filly's new connections are waiting to see how her next work goes, and then they'll make a decision. It's going to be very interesting.
Art,
If you are on the fence, let me show you a lot of examples where facing the boys did no harm. Rachel Alexanda is healthy, should face the males and will probably win.
Racing Fan brought up a couple of names but if you look back at their lifetime past performances, facing males didnt hurt them. Lets start with Winning Colors. Won the Santa Anita Derby by 8 lengths in just her 5th start. Won the Kentucky Derby and dueled to a 3rd place finish in the Preakness. Shouldve stopped there but they went on the Triple Crown trail and she couldnt get the lead in the Belmont and was handled. She took 3 months off and ran 2nd to PERSONAL ENSIGN!!! She again ran 2nd to PERSONAL ENSIGN in the Breeders Cup Distaff. In all, she ran 10 races after the Triple Crown races and amassed a record of 10-2-2-0.
Serena's Song ran against the boys once as a 2 year old finishing 2nd by 1/2 length in the Hollywood Juenile Championship to MR PURPLE. She won the Jim Beam at 3 and was dueled into submission in the Kentucky Derby. Post Derby she reeled off 10 wins including the Grade 1 Haskell vs males, finished 2nd by a neck in the Grade 1 Whitney vs males, and finished 3rd in the Grade 1 Iselin vs males. She concluded her career 4 races after the Iselin with 4 straight 2nd place finishes to Champions Yank's Music and Jewel Princess. In her 23 races after the Derby flop, she had a record of 23-10-9-2. She was first or second in 19 of 23 races after she ran in the Jim Beam and Kentucky Derby vs males.
The list is very big for fillies and mares who have challenged the boys and succeeded and flourished in many races after facing males. Here are some:
Miesque 11 races vs males with 8 wins, 7 of them Grade or Group 1's.
Genuine Risk 3rd in the Wood, Won the Kentucky Derby, 2nd in both the Preakness and Belmont. Ran 5 more races after the Belmont with a record of 5-3-1-1.
Safely Kept faced males 3 times winning the Bud Breeders Cup, the 1990 Breeders Cup Sprint, and finished 2nd by a neck in the 1989 Breeders Cup Sprint.
All Along had 14 races vs males with 5 wins including the Arc De Triomphe, DC International, Turf Classic, and Rothmans Intl.
April Run won both ethe Grade 1 DC International and Turf Classic over males by 6 1/2 lengths. She was 3rd and 4th in the Arc, both times beaten just 3/4 of a length. She also went to Japan and ran 3rd by 1/2 length in the Japan Cup!
The list goes on and on and I wont bore you with details but here are names of fillies and mares who ran against the boys, beat the boys, and raced more races: Royal Heroine, Wandesta, Relaxing, Miss Alleged, Personal Ensign, De La Rose, Dance Smartly, Estrapade, Eliza, Chilukki, Pebbles, Hatoof, and these just cover the 80's to today. The ladies I write about posted over 60 wins against males and all of them were named CHAMPIONS.
Why not run Rachel Alexandra against the boys? You can only run in the Preakness ONCE. She is better than the boys. She posted a 108 Beyer Speed Figure in the Oaks and Mine That Bird posted a 105. That was the first time EVER that an Oaks winner put up a better number than the Derby winner. Let that sink in.
Rachel Alexandra now has 7 wins in 10 lifetime races with 2 seconds. She beat her own kind by 20+ lengths in the Oaks. Mine That Bird beat a less than stellar group at 50-1 and prior to the Derby, his lifetime best Beyer was an 81. If he runs in the Preakness he will bounce to the moon. Lets look at the horses coming out of the Derby who are possibles for the Preakness. Musket Man a Grade 2 winner with a lifetime best 98 Beyer that finished 3rd in the Derby. Friesen Fire who supposedly ripped his hoof off and now returns in 2 weeks? Papa Clem, I loved his Mama and he's a gamer but not sure whats left in the tank after the LA Derby, Ark Derby, and Ky Derby. General Quarters a no threat 10th in the Derby could rebound. Pioneer of the Nile Preakness will be his 5th race in 98 days. Gutty Derby run, how much is in his tank? Flying Private is a N1X runner.
Its hers for the taking.
Jerry,
You don't have to convince me that Rachel should go in the Preakness. As I stated in my reply to Racing Fan, I'd give it a go too. What I am on the fence about is how many times fillies should try the boys. I think many times it's a foolhardy effort that takes too much out of the distaffer. All your examples are good ones, but let me offer this -- while I agreed with the decision to run Winning Colors in the Derby (and Lukas was proven to be correct when she won), it can be argued that as great a filly as she was, she should have won more than twice in 10 starts after her Triple Crown efforts. Did the rigors of the Triple Crown take too much out of her? It's all conjecture, but you're right -- I see nothing wrong with Rachel taking on the boys in the Preakness as long as her next work shows she should. Also, Rachel's top Beyer was a 103 heading into the Oaks, as good as most of the Derby entrants but by no means a figure that suggests she's a sure thing in the Preakness if she goes. Can she win? Certainly. Is she a sure thing? No, and I think if she goes in the second leg of the Triple Crown, the hype is going to lower her price to the point where she is an extreme underlay. I hope she does run in the Preakness and I hope she runs well because it would be great for racing. I also agree with your thoughts on Mine That Bird. If it's a dry track, I believe the impossible Derby winner will have a hard time hitting the board.