She’s amazing.
It was a great race, a gutsy run by RA. And I was impressed by Macho Again. It was amazing though to see RA rebreak and hold on to win, a truly great racehorse, she is! 
Just watched the race again on Youtube and even though Rachael is amazing Macho Again was also phenomenal.
I was so into watching RA yesterday I didn’t really take in the rest of the field.
A great day for racing in general.
My family and I went to see the great RA yesterday. Of course that’s what everyone was there for 
Everyone was sporting a Rachel pin - old, young, male, female - they were everywhere!
Just waiting to catch a glimpse of Rachel, people didn’t leave the paddock rail after the horses left the paddock area for race 9 - they were maintaining their places to see great filly. Daughter and I managed to snag a spot at the corner where the horses walk into the paddock and we waited along with the thousands of others.
There was a small commotion as the first horse came into view, but people soon realized that it wasn’t Rachel. As the horses came one by one, people waited. Rachel was last - and you knew when she was close because the excitment grew in the crowd. People cheered and applauded - and Rachel was very cool with all of this.
As soon as horses were saddled, daughter and I made out way out to the rail to try to get a spot. We managed to get near the starting gate and only about 4 deep - not bad because as post time neared they packed in like sardines.
As the horses came onto the track the crowd cheered for Rachel. But it was nothing like the excitement of her fans as she raced down the homestretch. Then the collective gasp as they put up the photo finish and finally the roar of approval when it became official - Rachel Alexandra won the Woodward.
Then the mass exodus…they came, they saw, they left :lol:
I was glad that my daughter got to see her. We got a few good pictures, including a couple of Calvin coming off her on the track and a nice one of her and Macho in the stretch just before the finish. Oh…and NYRA put out a lovely program with a ‘poster’ of Rachel in the center and a nice article entitled “Hail Rachel Alexandra, the Great”.
Today’s Saratoga Special (pdf) has plenty of Rachel coaverage - including the cover photo.
Again the race replay:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsBJVuGAr78
As suggested before, I think Jess isleaning towards this being her last of 2009 although they are game for the Belldame against Zenyatta if she shows up:
Jackson has said that Rachel Alexandra would run next year as a 4-year-old, but he has not committed to any more races this year.
“She’s run more races than Zenyatta’s run, and Zenyatta’s a 5-year-old,” Jackson said. “You can’t expect a youngster — she’s only 3 and she just ran against older horses — to keep going all the time. You have to give them a break, and we’ll talk that over very seriously.”
Not likely HOTY, she has to be HOTY off that performance! No other horse demonstrated more ability against tougher competition this year…what a phenom she is…
Thanks Crazy Gray Horse for posting about your day!
What a race, thanks everyone for posting your observations so enjoy reading them.
Is there a video of CB being tossed? MSG+ didn’t capture the moment only spoke about it.
Glad to read she’s saying in Saratoga for the beautiful fall weather.
Huh?
http://horseracingnation.com/horse/Zenyatta
Zenyatta has not run further than a mile and an eighth. There is lots of info on her on this site.
Zenyatta closes, Rachel runs at the front, setting suicidal fractions. In a longer race, I will always take the closer, and in her longest races RA has had horses coming on hard. If she’s going to win going farther (which she’ll have to do if she’s going to run in the Classic next year) they can’t set early fractions like that. But they have until next November to get her to learn to rate.
At HER distance, I don’t think RA’s beatable right now. I don’t think the finishes of the Woodward and Preakness show potential to win at longer distances UNLESS they change her running style. It’s a shame she’s not going in the Classic this year as who knows what will happen next year.
(And I still wish they weren’t automatically going to breed her to Curlin when they retire her.)
[QUOTE=Blacklabs;4356414]
Is there a video of CB being tossed? MSG+ didn’t capture the moment only spoke about it.[/QUOTE]
TVG aired it a few times. Simon Bray’s opinion was that it was in large part Calvin jumping off. From my view she didn’t try to pitch him but rather was getting a hoppy with the lead pony a bit too close to her. No issues with the crowds and the roar of the crowd which few can recall it ever being as loud before.
The pictures I have show Calvin jumping off - not getting tossed off. At least that’s the way I see it. I’ll see if I can get the pics uploaded if anyone is interested.
“At HER distance, I don’t think RA’s beatable right now. I don’t think the finishes of the Woodward and Preakness show potential to win at longer distances UNLESS they change her running style. It’s a shame she’s not going in the Classic this year as who knows what will happen next year”
The Oaks and the Haskell were also at 1 1/8 and she certainly was not tiring in those. Any horse running those Woodward fractions would have been getting tired. As far as running further, the best 1 1/4 horses are ones with tactical speed and not the ones coming from far back totally at the mercy of the pace scenario. I don’t think Zenyatta would catch her at either distance.
Hmm, there’s an ad in there that says Kendall Jackson is going to make a limited edition Rachel Alexandra wine. Bet it sells well!
Caitlin
[quote=RedMare01;4356499]
Hmm, there’s an ad in there that says Kendall Jackson is going to make a limited edition Rachel Alexandra wine. Bet it sells well!
I hope it is not too expensive. My WB drinks wine and has an “autographed” picture of RA.
She should be SI’s athelete of the year! On the cover and with all the kudos.
The ‘Rachel wine’ was cited earlier in this thread some time ago and they’ve been taking names for the list to buy it for a while. I suspect it must be near sold out.
DRF 9-6-09 “Rachel rests up for whatever’s next” - excerpts
Rachel Alexandra came out of her stirring head victory over Macho Again in Saturday’s Grade 1, $750,000 Woodward Stakes in good order, but a little tired, according to trainer Steve Asmussen.
“She ate good last night, but she was laying down when we came in this morning, but she lays down a lot,” Asmussen said Sunday morning.
Asmussen said Rachel Alexandra would go back to the track on Wednesday, but it was less certain whether she would work nine days after the Woodward as she normally does after her races.
“She’s a very physical animal,” Asmussen said. “She’s going to want to do something.”
Rachel Alexandra earned a preliminary Beyer Speed Figure of 109 for Woodward victory.
Her eyes were bright and she was looking around, perhaps at the blanket of pink carnations that were draped over a post in trainer Steve Asmussen’s shedrow.
“She ate up last night,” Asmussen said. “She was laying down when we came in this morning but she lays down a lot. She looks great, she really does. She is very proud of herself.”
The DRF’s Steve Christ dismisses any foolish “purist” chatter about the BC having the final word:
The handful of commenters who keep saying a horse has to run in the Breeders’ Cup to win a championship are welcome to share that opinion (once a day max, please) but to state this as if it is either a fact or a rule is simply incorrect.
Dozens of horses have won Eclipse Awards without competing in the Breeders’ Cup, including both of last year’s champion 3-year-olds (Big Brown and Proud Spell) and several Horse of the Year titlists including John Henry, Spend a Buck, Holy Bull, Charismatic, Point Given and Mineshaft.
Analogies to other sports with year-end playoffs and championships are specious. In horse racing, like it or not, titles are in fact often earned during the “regular season.”
Christ it would appear would vote for her as Horse of the Year.
[QUOTE=Glimmerglass;4356599]
The DRF’s Steve Christ dismisses any foolish “purist” chatter about the BC having the final word:
Christ it would appear would vote for her as Horse of the Year.[/QUOTE]
I actually have more respect for a horse who gets the year-end title WITHOUT a Cup victory. They have to do a lot more, as a rule, to overshadow all of the BC hype.
Just got to watch the taped broadcast from my surprise free TVG yesterday. GREAT race. Macho Again ran a really good one, and Rachel was superb. I think a horse shows more of what they are really made of in races like this one than in winning the Oaks by 20. I agree, HOTY.
But does anyone else want to get a brush and some white paint and finish out that blaze? :winkgrin:
How long before the book?
This is one I’ll want to read!
I think she runs as fast as she needs to. Each time it looks like she might get caught (in the only two races it looked like that) she turns it on again. I don’t think it has anything to do with ‘her distance’.
And huge kudos to Calvin for keeping ahold of her on the ground, what a guy!
