Rachel Alexandra

General racing discussion.

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Aug27
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Postby Aug27 » Thu May 14, 2009 5:00 am

Tiz wrote: "The quotes are from Silverbulletday's year, 1999."

Exactly. I was trying to show the parallels between Silverbulletday and Rachel Alexandra. (Thought that would have been more apparent, since Mike Pegram is in no way involved in this year's Preakness ...)

Just a few posts earlier/above, someone wrote that the competition RA's faces to-date have not been a strong bunch. That's basically what Lukas said ten years ago. And he was right, then. Whether or not this year's male crop is as strong as what Silverbullet day faced still remains to be seen. I couldn't conclude anything, really, from the Derby.

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Postby bdw0617 » Thu May 14, 2009 5:49 am

you cannot compare 1999 to 2009

1. you had a horse that had a legit shot at a triple crown.

2. the 3rd place finisher int he derby won the breeders cup classic

3. The belmont stakes winner ended up winning the traves and sweeping the New york handicap races as a 4YO



I cannot say this enough. Rachael is very, very good. But she's not like Ghostzapper or anything like that. She is a very good, well above avg filly, who just so happened to run up on a bad group of 3YO colts.

It's not like we are saying Hard Spun, Street Sense, Curlin and Any Given Saturday are all int he race, but this filly would drarf them all. No.

It's more like this is Pyro, Court Vision, Dennis of Cork and recaputretheglory.

While she is very special, her being fav is more of an indication of how bad this group is without I want revenge and Quality road. Not BAD, but very very avg.

Let me put it this way and the numbers back me u on this. Rachael is very equivelant to Big Brown number wise. That about talent wise isw here I put her, on the big brownesque level.

Likewise, the rest of the field now, is about where the level of the rest of the feld was last year. About 10 points lower than what she is capable of doing on her best da.

there isn't a horse in the race that could beat her. Now, she can beat herself, for a number of reasons. but if she loses, it will be becuase 1) a horse jumps up and runs a freak race of his life or 2) she beat her self.


last year, people weren't really saying big brown was the second coming of the bid or antyhing, but moreso he was a very good horse beating up on a very mediacore group of 3YOs.

if she runs anywhere near a 107-110 beyer this isn't going to be a race.
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Postby Lisann » Thu May 14, 2009 6:18 am

I don't expect a big race from RA on Saturday. I think her former connections are right, that 2 weeks is too soon to run her back.

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Postby Aug27 » Thu May 14, 2009 6:19 am

Well, we can compare them ... probably shouldn't, though. I'll say it again: we cannot judge a crop until after they've retired!! (Remember the bad-mouthing Curlin got at this stage of his 3YO year?)

Only after they're done racing can we really assess their accomplishments and talent. It wouldn't surprise me in the least to see someone with superior breeding (A.P. Indy, Smart Strike, Giant's Causeway, etc) - like Friesan Fire - to win the Belmont and Travers and go on to do well as a 4YO.

Average horses beat great horses all the time. (How'd Big Brown do in the Belmont?) Horses with superior speed figures routinely lose. Happens every day and at every race track. They're not machines, they go through form cycles, and they mature at different rates. Plus, there's always human error and chance involved.

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Postby griff » Thu May 14, 2009 7:38 am

lisann

I don't think two weeks is too early after the ease in which she took the Oaks. She seemed to be breezing, not working in thatrace.

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Postby bdw0617 » Thu May 14, 2009 8:23 am

what i don't undersatnd is how is 2 weeks too short for rachael but not two short for pioneerof the nile, musket man, papa clem...etc


potn looked lke he wanted to find a taxi cab in the stretch of the derby. but 2 weeks is fine for him. but becuase rachael is a precious wittle filly, it's too short
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Rachel

Postby jagger » Thu May 14, 2009 8:29 am

With Calvin aboard, there are so many different ways for her to win.

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Postby Aug27 » Thu May 14, 2009 9:11 am

Asmussen won four stakes in eight weeks with the filly Souris (at three different tracks).

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Postby Toccet02 » Thu May 14, 2009 9:39 am

bdw0617 wrote:what i don't undersatnd is how is 2 weeks too short for rachael but not two short for pioneerof the nile, musket man, papa clem...etc


potn looked lke he wanted to find a taxi cab in the stretch of the derby. but 2 weeks is fine for him. but becuase rachael is a precious wittle filly, it's too short



yeah...are fillies supposed to need more time to recover? I never heard that if so. Female humans on average have greater stamina and more pain tolerance than men . .. so . . . .?
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Postby pfrsue » Thu May 14, 2009 9:54 am

She does get one more day of rest than the Derby boys do. The difference between racing on Friday and Saturday.

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Postby Tiz » Thu May 14, 2009 11:23 am

I know, aug27, but by the following comments, it looked like some weren't getting the comparison you were making.

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Postby Tiz » Thu May 14, 2009 11:28 am

Recovery needs aren't gender based. Every horse has individual requirements, and many other factors play a part as well. Race history, soundness, fitness level and so on. It isn't simple, really.

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Postby Aug27 » Thu May 14, 2009 11:29 am

Yes, I know you understood, but thanks for trying to clarify for the others!

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Postby wangkw » Thu May 14, 2009 11:49 am

RA's 2.3 kg advantage over boys should raise its chance..provided not awkwardly drawn....In Oak she started
from barrier 5 in a field of 7.

But in a large Preakness field of 13..and the only girl..the barrier pos will be more critical this time round.

Nevertheless RA at 13 is expected to be favorite at most betting booths ...will her 2 in 1 stride repeat all
over gain ?
Last edited by wangkw on Fri May 15, 2009 4:35 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Postby bdw0617 » Thu May 14, 2009 12:35 pm

Rachael racing as a 4YO!


Jackson figures she’ll enter another five or six races this year and will race as a 4-year-old “as long as she tells us she wants to.”

delaware_N.htm?csp=34


http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid= ... refer=home
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