BOO! Rachel Alexandra to Skip the Breeders Cup

trytrytry · Jun 24, 2009

what a joke this horses connetions are hurting the wport this year..wish they would have never purchased this horse...first running in the Preakness and screwing up a possible Triple Crown for MINE that BIRD, then not showing up in the Belmont and now not running in the Breeders Cup...YUK ^^

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width=15 rowSpan=3></TD><TD height=15></TD><TD width=15 rowSpan=3> </TD></TR><TR><TD><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=150 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width=10> </TD><TD align=middle colSpan=2>[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Sponsored by:

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[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Stonestreet Stables' Jess Jackson, majority owner of Kentucky Oaks (gr. I) and Preakness (gr. I) winner Rachel Alexandra, said in a wide-ranging media teleconference June 24 that the superb filly would not race in this year's Breeders' Cup at Santa Anita but that there is a good possibility that she would return in 2010 for a 4-year-old campaign[/FONT]
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steaktartar · Jun 24, 2009

she didnt want to get her head torn off by zenyatta on a poly track.....she had zero shot to beat zenyatta

oldmanTED · Jun 24, 2009

I said it before and I'll say it again. The owners are not going to risk this filly before she goes to the breeding shed. She's scheduled for what amounts to a walkover in the Mother Goose this weekend and they won't put her in any race that she will be challenged period.

davidcng · Jun 24, 2009

i think all depends on how she will do at belmont, is Rachel wins easy, very easy, they will reconsider... there are more less 4 months for breeders cup..

GREENHEAD · Jun 24, 2009

steak tartar said:
she didnt want to get her head torn off by zenyatta on a poly track.....she had zero shot to beat zenyatta

I wouldnt go that far.
I'd say Zen -290
Rach +270

EveryGamblersDream · Jun 25, 2009

Are you people kidding? Zenyatta is a fraud & would get destroyed by Rachel. They don't have the guts to ship Zenyatta to a non-poly track to face Rachel. Rachel's connections have made it clear from the get go, they were not interested in running over the poly.

Those two would need to meet on a fast dirt track to prove something. Poly is too suspect as either you love it or hate it as a horse.

As far as the TC is concerned, MTB was not winning the Belmont from the outset so Rachel did not do a thing.

SunDodger · Jun 25, 2009

I'm disappointed they won't match up, but I can't stand what synthetic surfaces have done to racing. Way too many paceless races. Jess Jackson is not the only trainer who doesn't like the surface. I like how he calls it plastic. Hilarious. The state of California was stupid to mandate that all major tracks go to synthetic.

If Rachel does run against the boys, it should be in the 1 1/8m Haskell. The 1 1/4m Travers may be too long for her as Mine That Bird was gaining fast at the end of the Preakness.

The Mother Goose will be Rachel Alexandra's first race since she defeated Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird and 11 other males in the Preakness, becoming the first filly to win that race since Nellie Morse in 1924. She was held out of the Belmont Stakes because her connections felt she needed more time, but Jackson said Wednesday he had no reservations about trying Rachel Alexandra against the boys in races such as the Haskell and/or Travers.

"If she stays healthy, we'll try to pick out a spot where she could compete with the boys," Jackson said. "We're even considering a 4-year-old campaign."

What Jackson isn't considering is a start in the Breeders' Cup, regardless of whether it's against the boys or the girls. His main reason is that the Breeders' Cup will be run on the synthetic Pro-Ride surface at Santa Anita, the same surface that the Jackson-owned Curlin finished fourth over in last year's Classic.

"That's absolutely certain," Jackson said about skipping the Breeders' Cup. "If I'm going to run [next year], the Breeders' Cup is not that essential for her. I just don't want to risk her. You may not think it's a risk, but I saw what Curlin did and how he struggled and I saw four or five other horses that raced on plastic and they struggled. If it's a dirt horse, it's a dirt horse."

Jackson said one reason he is contemplating keeping Rachel Alexandra in training next year is because the Breeders' Cup is scheduled to be run at Churchill Downs, which has a traditional dirt surface.

Jackson was noncommittal about Rachel Alexandra's summer campaign beyond the Mother Goose. He mentioned the $1 million Delaware Handicap (July 19), the $300,000 Coaching Club American Oaks here (July 25), the Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park (Aug. 2), the Alabama (Aug. 22), and the Travers (Aug. 29) - both at Saratoga - as races that would be considered for Rachel Alexandra.

http://www.drf.com/news/article/104920.html