Don't expect Rachel to run in the Belmont Stakes
It's shaping up as an eight-horse Belmont Stakes right now, assuming Preakness champ Rachel Alexandra skips the final leg of the Triple Crown and is freshened for a summer campaign at Saratoga. If she does skip the Belmont, I am guessing there will be more than eight horses in the race.
I would be surprised at this point if Rachel goes in the Belmont, at 1 1/2 miles the longest of the three Triple Crown races. Trainer Steve Asmussen admitted to reporters on Sunday that he doesn't feel the urgency to run now that the spectacular daughter of Medaglia d'Oro has beaten the boys. The Preakness, in which she set swift fractions of 23.13 and 46.71 seconds and still held on to win, may have taken too much out of Rachel for her to return in three weeks.
Owner Jess Jackson said another meeting with the boys is in Rachel's future, but that race may be the Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park in New Jersey (Aug. 2) or the Travers Stakes at Saratoga (Aug. 29). No filly has won the Travers in 94 years. Or maybe the Alabama Stakes at Saratoga against fillies and then the Lady's Secret at Santa Anita as a tuneup for a possible showdown against Zenyatta in the Breeders' Cup on Nov. 6.
So this morning, here are the probables for the Belmont Stakes on June 6:
Mine That Bird
Flying Private
Chocolate Candy
Dunkirk
Mr. Hot Stuff
Summer Bird
Charitable Man
Miner's Escape
I like Charitable Man, the ultra-impressive winner of the Peter Pan Stakes at Belmont Park on May 9. He's fresh, he's already proven he likes the track and the son of Lemon Drop Kid is bred to go a mile and a half. His sire won the Belmont in 1999.
If your not going to run her in the Belmont then my choice would be to run her in the Travers. She can do what no other filly has done before. WIN IT! Then run her in the Lady's Secret and again in the Breeder's cup.
When she wins all of those races then retire her to mate with Curlin. Who knows, maybe the offspring will be another Secretariat.
Sincerely,
Charles Brandon
Burbank, Ca
Charles,
Actually, a filly has won the Travers, but it's been 94 years. Overall, seven fillies have won the Travers. Lady Rotha was the last to do it in 1915.
Certainly, on paper, a Curlin-Rachel Alexandra mating has tons of potential. But sometimes dream breeding partners like that don't produce the greatest offspring. As I'm sure you know, there are no guarantees in this sport -- both on the track and in the breeding shed.
If she doesn't run in the Belmont then this was NOTHING but a purely selfish ego motivated deal by Jess Jackson who SAID he ran her in preakness for the good of the sport and the fans wanted it. So he buys her, runs her and then leaves the party?? What if Mine That Bird wins the Belmont? Does that mean that Jess Jackson getting what he wants is better for the sport than a TC winner? It will be low sportsmanship on his part. If she is that good and she is, then run her for the good of the sport and because fans want it NOT to protect your mad scientist experiment trying to breed the 'super horse' no matter what problems breeding her to Curlin can bring!
Daniel,
Jess Jackson was up front, right when he bought Rachel Alexandra, that she would run in the Preakness only if her final workout before the race was up to par and she acted like she wanted to race. I asked Mr. Jackson myself on a conference call three days before the Preakness if the Belmont was an option. He said they would have to see how she came out of the Preakness before they decided what to do. That's their position now. They want to see how she recovers. It's a known fact that sometimes fillies don't rebound as quickly from races as colts do. Yes, running her in the Belmont would be great for the sport, but the filly's connections should not run her if she doesn't seem up to it. You do what's right for the filly, not the public.
Comments and race fans like Daniel make me laugh. First off, how can you say that if Rachel Alexandra hadn't been in the Preakness that Mine That Bird would have won, thus producing a Triple Crown winner if he does indeed win the Belmont. Without Rachel Alexandra being in the Preakness, the pace scenario would have totally been different. She set a very fast pace, was hooked every step of the way by Big Drama, put 'Drama away and had enough left to hold off Mine That Bird. This was also accomplished with her not even handling the track according to Calvin Borel. Without Rachel in the Preakness, the pace may have been slower with Big Drama taking the race going a much leisurely pace with Mine That Bird not having the fast, productive fractions he used to close late. Secondly, you have to do whats right by the horse. She's got nothing further to prove so why run her if she came out of race "knocked out" or simply needs time? Daniel, check your own ego at the door and may I suggest a trip to your local library and check out some basic handicapping books for you to read.