Linny, thanks so much for the update. It is very early in the day here, and your report already makes my day. 
I hope they choose to race her next year, but giving her the rest of this one off is fine by me. She danced a lot of dances.
Thanks so much for the update!
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/photo.php?pid=675496&id=1090198009
For those on FB, here’s a pic from Tuesday
Rachel is pulling up stakes soon and off to Churchill Downs - from Sep 29, 2009:
In another week or so, the super filly will be gone. Scott Blasi, the assistant to trainer Steve Asmussen, said Rachel will likely ship to Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. in a week or so.
Rachel Alexandra has not had a workout since her heart-pounding win over the males in the Woodward Stakes at the Spa on Sept. 5. There is no race on the horizon for Rachel and her owner, Jess Jackson, said after the Woodward that he thought she needed four or five months off.
“She has been doing real good,” Blasi said, standing beside Rachel’s stall at the Oklahoma Training Track Tuesday morning. “Her attitude is very good. That last race was very straining, to say the least.”
Well, there is a little article about her in this month’s Vogue magazine. Neat photograph as well (certainly emphasizes her legginess…as one might expect from Vogue!). She was imo the best looking model in the magazine…
Vogue this month? She was in the August issue and was wearing a better looking coat than any of the other models. She is as skinny as the other models, though.
Oh, could have been August. I was just looking at it in my dentist’s office on Friday and he usually has only the most recent magazines. I go there early just to read his magazines. It is more like a spa than a dental office (and he charges accordingly lol)
Just wondered if I needed to go out and buy another…since I no longer am in a business where I “need” to buy fashion mags. My horse Cloudy bought the mag and sent a copy (with a message from RA:lol:) to 2jakes’ horse Jake in FL.
Did you see the looong back on that filly? I was thinking she’d not place first in conformation in Practical Horseman. But the girl can really run.
I did note the looong back. I also thought she had trailing hocks in the photo but wasn’t sure if she was specifically stood up like that to look looonnng and elegant. Whatever her conformation is…it sure works for her!
[QUOTE=ivy62;4399240]
She has had an active campaign this year as a good race horse hsould so she deserves the down time…Is there a thought to running her again this year or will she be off? I hope they do keep her racing next year…Most really great fillies never produce anything like themselves anyway so taking her to the shed may not be a good idea as long as she is healthy and sound keep on racing…[/QUOTE]
I figured she was still there… I always keep an eye for her when I drive to work in the morning as I live two blocks from the Oklahoma Track. Haven’t seen her out jogging but I know she usually goes before 7 AM which is when I drive by! I’m so glad they aren’t racing her again this year. Bless their souls!!
And she leaves Saratoga Springs this evening (Tuesday Oct 6th) …
Rachel Alexandra, the superstar filly who is through racing for the year, was scheduled to be vanned overnight Tuesday from her summer base in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., to Churchill.
The filly’s connections have said they intend to ease her into a lengthy vacation before gearing her back up for a 4-year-old campaign in 2010.
Picture of Rachel Alexandra Wed afternoon after returning to Churchill Downs
… [she] settled into familiar surroundings in trainer Steve Asmussen’s Barn 38 following a long van ride from Saratoga, where she spent much of the summer and the early days of fall. She arrived at Churchill Downs around 4 a.m. (EDT).
“She walked the shed this morning,” Asmussen said. “It was a little cool here this morning, but it feels great. She’s in her stall resting comfortably.”
Is this the best they could do? :no:
“Perfect gift for Rachel Alexandra fans!”
http://exclusivelyequine.com/ViewProduct.aspx?productID=G10-1018(BHP)
She’s officially done for 2009 and will stay at Churchill.
I think this is the right thing to do. Give her some time to grow up more.
Still. . .why can’t they take her back to the farm, give her a real layoff? She worked hard this year!
Or perhaps she’s one of those horses who is happier living on the backside. I know some do - they like being around the action and routine and find farm life a bit dull.
Either way, I can’t wait to see the 2010 debut!
I wish they would give her some time at the farm to relax…I hope whom ever they breed her to Jesse Jackson starts the trend of breeding to race not sell… He has been really good for racing…Has he bred any other mares of his to Curlin for keeps? Do we know? That would be awesome…
Art Wilson 10-30-09, The Daily Breeze (So Cal) “No one’s eclipsing Rachel Alexandra”
Let’s get one thing straight - Rachel Alexandra is going to win Horse of the Year when the award is given out at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel on Jan. 18.
Nothing short of Zenyatta or Summer Bird lapping the field in the Breeders’ Cup Classic on Nov. 7 is going to change the inevitable, and we all know that’s not going to happen.
Rachel Alexandra just did too much in 2009 by winning all eight starts and beating the boys three times, including older males in the Woodward Stakes at Saratoga on Sept. 5.
… nobody can match or surpass what Rachel Alexandra accomplished in 2009 - Breeders’ Cup or no Breeders’ Cup.
Jess Jackson looking to (re)name a mountain in CA after the superstar Rachel?
Oh no - it would be Alexander Mountain and the locals aren’t happy
Instead, [Jackson Family Enterprises] said the mountain should be renamed to eliminate one of the many duplicate names that occur throughout the country. Downs said there are 49 summits in California named Black Mountain, including four in Sonoma County, and 266 throughout the United States.
He also said the name Alexander Mountain would eliminate confusion and also reflect the link to Alexander Valley, which is named for Cyrus Alexander, the former Rocky Mountain trapper who settled in the area in the 1840s to manage a Mexican land grant.
Black Mountain, known for at least a century, may have been named for its relatively dark appearance from below. But it’s also possible it may have been named after an area family.
The 1898 Sonoma County Atlas shows more than 2,200 acres owned by George H. Black and L.S Black above Alexander Valley, although the parcels appear closer to Geyser Peak than Black Mountain.
The omission of the motivation for the name change — essentially to bolster the identity of Jackson’s estate vineyards — upset some local residents.
Per Steve Asmussen she’ll relocate from Churchill to Fair Grounds (LA) by Dec 1, 2009; likely will make her 1st start in 2010 at that track.
Rachel Alexandra remained at Saratoga after completing a perfect 8-for-8 season with a narrow victory over older males in the Sept. 5 Woodward Stakes. She was shipped to Churchill Downs on Oct. 8, and currently is walking for morning exercise. Once Rachel Alexandra arrives at Fair Grounds, she’ll resume regular training, Asmussen said.
Fair Grounds added two dirt-route stakes for fillies and mares this meet partly to fill a void in the division, but also to try and lure Rachel.
Fair Grounds general manager Eric Halstrom said the track will do everything it can to attract Rachel to a new stakes scheduled for March 13. The stakes, not yet named, is listed as offering a $200,000 purse, but Halstrom said that amount could be flexible if Rachel’s connections consider the spot.
As an aside for those hoping the connections might point her to the Dubai World Cup on 3/27/10 (Meydan Course) think again - starting in 2010 that mega-purse race will be run on the Tapeta synthetic track surface and no longer offer dirt races.
A possible target for Rachel Alexandra’s connections to consider: the Donn Handicap at Gulfstream Park Feb 6, 2009 the day before the Superbowl to be held just a few miles away.
The Donn is a Grade 1 $500,000 race at 9 furlongs.
Gulfstream (still held by MEC) would likely have to offer a mega bonus to lure both Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta to run in the race. Cited was getting Summer Bird to run but I don’t see that happening as he’ll need the time off after running in Japan in December.
Just MHO but if they made it Sunday and linked up with with a non-Superbowl network (say ABC) and ran the race Sunday timed to be during the half-time it could be something to watch and wager on.
