Horse Racing News is the source of thoroughbred racing information with horse racing odds, betting tips, racing picks, race results, and handicapping. Latest news and articles on top horse racing contenders, jockeys, trainers, three-year-olds, race tracks, and major stakes races such as the Triple Crown races: the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes as well as the Breeders' Cup horse races.Preakness Winner Filly Rachel Alexandra Probable For The Belmont Stakes Field 2009
Posted on Sunday, May 17th, 2009
Race horse trainer Steve Asmussen said the Preakness winner filly Rachel Alexandra, owned by Jess Jackson’s Stonestreet Stables and Harold T. McCormick, would go back to the track on Wednesday and would probably have her first post-Preakness work on Monday, May 25.
Since Jackson and McCormick purchased the filly Rachel Alexandra about 10 days before the Preakness Stakes, Asmussen and his staff are still getting to know her. She had one workout between the purchase and the race, where she became the first filly in 85 years to win the Preakness.
“This time, we have something to measure it to, as far as how she feels and how she’s acting,” Asmussen said. “It’s our first comparison, so to speak. We’re not going to tell her how she’s feeling. She’ll tell us how she’s feeling.”
Steve Asmussen did not rule out the filly Rachel Alexandra running in the Belmont Stakes, but he didn’t commit to it either. He said he will relay information about how Rachel Alexandra recovers from the race and performs in the breeze to Jackson and his wife, Barbara Banke.
“I personally think she’s proven what he set out to prove with her immediately, which doesn’t eliminate anything,” Asmussen said. “But I think it does take a tad of the urgency off it.”
Asmussen smiled at a question about the need to win two-thirds of the Triple Crown with a filly. “The reason she ran in the Preakness is because she was doing extremely well,” he said. “If you’re doing extremely well, what are you waiting for? I think if they’re doing well, you ought to run them. We’re just going to pet on her and tell her how great she is for a little while and see where that leads her.”
With her front-running victory, Rachel Alexandra validated the decision to run her against males just over two weeks after she crushed the Kentucky Oaks field. It was Asmussen’s second win the Preakness in 3 years.
Curlin gave Asmussen his first classic in 2007, rallying to regain the lead from Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense. “I’ve spent a lifetime trying to get into this position,” Asmussen said. “The overwhelming feeling is pride.”
Horse racing news edited from www.preakness.com.
Tags: Rachel Alexandra
"Preakness Winner Filly Rachel Alexandra Probable For The Belmont Stakes Field 2009" was posted on Sunday, May 17th, 2009 at 10:36 pm and is filed under Belmont Stakes, Horse Racing Industry, Horses, Race Tracks News, Stakes Races, Triple Crown, USA Horse Racing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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