Sunday, March 14 2010
Zardana Upsets Rachel Alexandra in New Orleans Ladies
NEW ORLEANS (Saturday, March 13, 2010) – The festive overflow crowd estimated at more than 12,000—the largest since the track’s reopening following Hurricane Katrina—might have thought it was the worst of times, but even in gallant defeat, it might eventually salvage more of the best of times for Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra, who bowed to Brazilian-bred Zardana by three-quarters of a length in Saturday’s $200,000 New Orleans Ladies at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots.
“She was basically beat when that other horse (Zardana) went by her – but she didn’t quit,” said Rachel Alexandra’s jockey Calvin Borel after the race. “She dug in and fought right back and stayed with the winner the rest of the way. That’s the kind of racehorse she is. My little filly tried her heart out. She just needed the race, that’s all.”
Saturday, March 13 2010
Shameless Outgames Four Bears in Friday Feature
NEW ORLEANS (Friday, March 12, 2010) – After alternating for the lead most of the way in Friday’s $41,000 filly and mare feature, Jay Em Ess Stable’s Shameless outgamed Maynard Farm and JVH Inc.’s Four Bears to be best by a head at the wire and give defending jockey champion Robby Albarado his third of four wins during the afternoon program at Fair Grounds.
The race, originally scheduled for the grass, was run at 1 1/16-miles on the main track following heavy rain earlier in the week.
Rachel Alexandra Gallops, Schools on Ladies Eve, plus FG Horsemen Weigh in on Rachel’s Chances
NEW ORLEANS (Friday, March 12, 2010) – Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra made two appearances on the eve of her 4-year old debut in the $200,000 New Orleans Ladies, turning in a strong six-furlong gallop early in the morning and then wowing a crowd of admirers in the paddock during the afternoon’s fourth race.
The gallop came at 6:15 a.m., when the Medaglia d’Oro filly stepped onto the track at the half-mile gap and took a right-hand turn before getting straight to the task at hand. With regular exercise rider Dominic Terry up, Rachel Alexandra galloped very strongly from the three-eighths pole to the three-quarters pole. Following the exercise the champion filly was met by assistant trainer Scott Blasi and trainer Steve Asmussen, who walked her off the track back where they entered.
Friday, March 12 2010
Rachel Visits Gate, Zardana Settles In
NEW ORLEANS (Thursday, March 11, 2010) – Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra went to the head of her gate-schooling class Thursday during training hours at Fair Grounds when she familiarized herself with the starting gate for a second time this month shortly after 7 a.m.
That’s according to a verbal report offered by Glen Miller and “Shaver” Naylor – two members of Fair Grounds starter Frank Comberrel Jr.’s gate crew.
Wednesday, March 10 2010
Rachel Alexandra Stretches Legs in Wednesday Gallop, plus New Orleans Ladies Facts & Figures
NEW ORLEANS (Wednesday, March 10, 2010) – Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra returned to the track Wednesday morning for an easy gallop three days prior to her 4-year-old debut in Saturday’s $200,000 New Orleans Ladies. On Tuesday, the Medaglia d’Oro filly walked the shed row in trainer Steve Asmussen’s barn, the normal routine on the morning following a workout. Wednesday’s exercise came over a fast track on a breezy morning with temperatures in the low-60s.
Tuesday, March 09 2010
Valentine Fever Wins Monday Feature
NEW ORLEANS (Monday, March 08, 2010) – Lloyd Madison Farms IV’s Valentine Fever, allowed to settle behind the early leaders in Monday’s Fair Grounds $44,500 feature, threaded through those with a well-judged ride by jockey Francisco Torres to win the sprint for accredited Louisiana-bred fillies and mares at about five and a half furlongs over the Stall-Wilson turf course by a head.
Trained by Greg Foley, the 5-year-old mare toured the distance in the course rated firm in 1:04.77, returned mutuels of $22, $9.40 and $5.60 and increased her career earnings to $224,969 with her fifth career victory in 21 lifetime starts.
Rachel Alexandra Projected as 1-5 Choice in New Orleans Ladies
NEW ORLEANS (Monday, March 08, 2010) – Based on her unprecedented success as a 3-year-old filly last year, Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra has been installed as the prohibitive 1-5 morning line choice when she faces four female rivals in Fair Grounds’ inaugural running of the $200,000 New Orleans Ladies this Saturday in the super filly’s first start of the 2010 racing season.
The Ladies will be contested at 1 1/16-miles over the main track at the historic Crescent City oval – the same venue where Rachel Alexandra underlined her initial 2009 success with a facile 1 3/4-length win in the Grade II Fair Grounds Oaks a year ago. It will go at 5:15 p.m. CST as Race 10 on an 11-race program with first post set for 12:40 p.m. CST.
Rachel Alexandra Has Final Work Before Saturday’s New Orleans Ladies
NEW ORLEANS (Monday, March 8, 2010) – Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra, with regular exercise rider Dominic Terry aboard, put in her final timed workout in advance of Saturday’s $200,000 New Orleans Ladies this morning, going four furlongs in :49, breezing, over the fast main track at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots.
Trainer Steve Asmussen: “It was just an easy half. It’s hard to compare her to anybody else so we just gave her an easy half and let him get along with her and it looked like she went beautiful. She’s a beautiful mover. That’s how she runs and that’s what makes her special. She went over the racetrack very well; it was in great shape this morning. That’s all we could hope for. She got the breeze in, did very well, looked good.”
Three Stakes Reduced by $100k Each
NEW ORLEANS (Monday, March 8, 2010) – Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots will reduce the purses of three stakes races still to be run this season—the Grade II Fair Grounds Oaks, the Grade II Mervin H. Muniz Jr. Memorial Handicap and the Grade II New Orleans Handicap—by $100,000 each, to $300,000.
“This move, painful as it is, ensures that we will not have to cut overnight purses for our final month of racing,” said Fair Grounds Vice President and General Manager Eric Halstrom. “Looking at this from a long-term perspective we have to get closer to a balanced purse account if we are to offer the highest possible purses for our horsemen next season.”
Rachel Alexandra Assigned Post Two for Saturday’s New Orleans Ladies
NEW ORLEANS (Monday, March 8, 2010) – Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra drew post position No. 2 in a five-horse field for her 2010 debut in Saturday’s $200,000 New Orleans Ladies. Regular rider Calvin Borel will be aboard, carrying 123 pounds, the maximum weight as the conditions are written.
Rachel Alexandra will break to the outside of Fighter Wing, who set the pace in last month’s Pelleteri Stakes before fading to second and has been on or very near the lead in all of her recent starts.
Monday, March 08 2010
Rachel Alexandra Goes Easy Half-Mile in Last Work for New Orleans Ladies
NEW ORLEANS (Monday, March 8, 2010) – Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra, with regular exercise rider Dominic Terry aboard, put in her final timed workout in advance of Saturday’s $200,000 New Orleans Ladies this morning, going four furlongs in :49, breezing, over the fast main track at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots.
Fair Grounds clockers caught fractional times of :25 1/5 and :37 1/5 en route to the official final time of :49, with a five-furlong gallop-out time of 1:01 4/5.
Eskendereya Emerges as Solid Individual Favorite
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Sunday, March 7, 2010) – Zayat Racing Stable’s Eskendereya emerged as the solid individual choice to win $2 million-guaranteed Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (Grade I) on Saturday, May 1 – but the “All Others” betting interest remained the overall fans’ choice as Pool 2 of Churchill Downs’ 2010 Kentucky Derby Future Wager (“KDFW”) ended its three-run early Sunday evening.
Eskendererya, the dominant winner of the Fountain of Youth (GII) at Gulfstream Park, one of trainer Todd Pletcher’s record six KDFW betting interests, was a strong 5-1 choice among Pool 2’s 23 individual horses.. But the mutuel field – betting interest #24 that included all 3-year-olds other than the pool’s 23 individual horses – was the 3-1 overall choice when the pool closed Sunday evening at 6 p.m. (EST).
