Rachel Alexandra & Zenyatta Debut Weekend Race Results
by Patricia Woo | Mar 15 2010
Female heavyweights Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta were in action this weekend in preparation for their historic meeting in the Gr. 1 Apple Blossom Stakes on April 9. Zenyatta had the high weight in the $250,000 Gr. 1 Santa Margarita Handicap at Santa Anita Park while Rachel Alexandra was making her debut as a 4-year-old in the $200,000 New Orleans Ladies Stakes at Fair Grounds Race Course. Get caught up on both horses' 2010 debut race results.
Zenyatta, the 6-year-old reigning champion older female, was coming into the Santa Margarita Handicap at
Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif., riding a career unbeaten streak of 14. She had beaten older males in her last race of 2009 - the $5M Gr. 1
Breeders' Cup Classic in November - and had been retired by owners Jerry and Ann Moss in early 2010. But with interest in Zenyatta's racing potential still so high, Zenyatta was put back into training under the supervision of John Shirreffs with the spring goal of taking on reigning Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra in April.
Ceding up to 19 lbs to her rivals - including Gr. 2 El Encino Stakes winner Pretty Unusual and Floating Heart - Zenyatta was last in a field of eight coming off the turn of the 1 1/8-mile race. But with regular rider Mike Smith aboard and utilizing her crushing turn of foot, Zenyatta blew by all her rivals, including hard-running outsider Dance to my Tune with Martin Garcia in the irons in the final strides to win by 1 ¼ lengths; her winning time over the Pro-Ride surface was 1:48.20. The duo of Floating Heart and Joe Talamo rallied gamely for third.
The win earned this Street Cry mare $150,000, boosting her career earnings to $5,624,580 and her race record to an incredible 15-15-0-0.
Meanwhile, over at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, La., Rachel Alexandra was taking on four others in the New Orleans Ladies Stakes in her 2010 debut. Trained by Steve Asmussen, Rachel Alexandra was coming off a string of victories - nine - that included the Gr. 1 Woodward Stakes against older males at Saratoga on Sept. 5. And her victory in the 1 1/16 mile race seemed all but assured when she and jockey Calvin Borel took the lead at the far turn from pacesetter Fighter Wing. But 6-year-old Zardana, a stablemate of Zenyatta, was gearing up for her own bid for the lead with jockey David Flores. The race then became a two-horse duel in the stretch, with Zardana inching away from her rival. She hit the wire first in a winning time of 1:43.55 with Rachel Alexandra three-quarters of a length behind. Their closest rival, a distant Unforgotten, clinched third, 11 ½ lengths back.
After the race, Asmussen shouldered most of the blame, saying that he had not done his job getting Rachel Alexandra fit in time for the race. The loss also put Rachel Alexandra's Apple Blossom Stakes appearance in jeopardy, with Asmussen saying: “We'll have to be cautious [about her next start]. We want to do what's right for the mare.”
Zardana, a daughter of Crimson Tide, earned $120,000 for the win and increased her career earnings to $428,421.
The Apple Blossom Stakes will be run on April 9. Zenyatta or Rachel Alexandra?
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