Sunday, March 14, 2010

“Horse Racing: Rachel Alexandra yanked from Zenyatta showdown (AFP via Yahoo! News)” plus 2 more

“Horse Racing: Rachel Alexandra yanked from Zenyatta showdown (AFP via Yahoo! News)” plus 2 more

Horse Racing: Rachel Alexandra yanked from Zenyatta showdown (AFP via Yahoo! News)

Posted: 14 Mar 2010 02:14 PM PDT

Jami J buzzed up: 'Mission: Impossible' star Peter Graves dies in LA (AP)

3 seconds ago 2010-03-14T20:40:23-07:00

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Horse racing roundup: Rachel Alexandra upset; Zenyatta remains unbeaten (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

Posted: 13 Mar 2010 10:22 PM PST

NEW ORLEANS -- Rachel Alexandra was beaten by stablemate Zardana in the $200,000 New Orleans Ladies at the Fair Grounds Race Course yesterday.

Rachel Alexandra, the 2009 horse of the year, was racing for the first time in more than six months in what was expected to be a warm-up for her showdown with Zenyatta at the Apple Blossom at Oaklawn on April 9.

Ridden by Calvin Borel, she was a 1-9 favorite. Instead it was Zardana, going off at 9-1 and ridden by David Flores, that shocked the packed grandstand. Unforgotten was third.

Zenyatta remains unbeaten

ARCADIA, Calif. -- Zenyatta successfully returned to the races, winning the $250,000 Santa Margarita Handicap with an impressive stretch rally and extending her career victory streak to 15-0.

The 6-year-old mare made her season debut at Santa Anita, trailing a field of seven rivals going 11/8 miles on the synthetic surface before unleashing a late run to win under Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith. She was timed in 1:48.20 and paid $2.60 to win as the overwhelming 1-5 wagering favorite.

Elsewhere

•Lookin at Lucky recovered from being jostled by Noble's Promise in the backstretch and closed strong to win the $300,000 Rebel Stakes by a neck in a Kentucky Derby prep race at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark. Trained by Bob Baffert, Lookin at Lucky was four wide in the turn for home and outran Noble's Promise to the finish line in the 1 1-16-mile race. Dublin finished third, three lengths back.

•Odysseus rallied from between horses in the deep stretch to win the $300,000 Tampa Bay Derby by a nose over Schoolyard Dreams. Race favorite Super Saver was third. Trained by Thomas Albertrani and ridden by Rajiv Maragh, Odysseus covered the 1 1-16 miles in 1:44.31 while winning by a head bob at the finish line. It was the closest finish in the Tampa Bay Derby's 30 runnings.

•You and I Forever rallied four-wide entering the stretch before pulling away from 10 others to win the $300,000 Gulfstream Park Handicap by 1½ lengths over stablemate Motovato in Hallandale Beach, Fla. You and I Forever, a 13-1 long shot, covered the mile in 1:36.83. The 5-year-old son of A.P. Indy has won four of 17 starts and $434,652.

•In Arcadia, Calif., Sidney's Candy won the $150,000 San Felipe Stakes, sending 3-year-old rival Caracortado to his first loss on the Kentucky Derby trail. Sidney's Candy covered 1 1-16 miles in 1:42.30 under jockey Joe Talamo at Santa Anita. Interactif was second and Caracortado third, snapping his five-race winning streak.

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Horse racing: Zenyatta delivers, Rachel falters (The Saratogian)

Posted: 14 Mar 2010 01:13 AM PST

By NICOLE RUSSO
The Saratogian

In the highly anticipated 2010 debuts of racing's two leading ladies, unbeaten champion Zenyatta held up her end of the bargain, while reigning Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra suffered an upset.

Zenyatta, two-time Eclipse Award champion older female, improved her record to a perfect 15-for-15 lifetime with an explosive victory in the Grade I, $250,000 Santa Margarita Invitational Handicap at Santa Anita. The 6-year-old mare was making her first start since her historic victory in the Breeders' Cup Classic on Nov. 7.

Zenyatta carried 127 pounds - including regular rider Mike Smith - and was giving between 12 to 16 pounds to her rivals. She broke slowly, as per usual, trailing the field down the backside and into the far turn before Smith finally called on her for more. But rather than making their typical sweeping move to the outside, he instead brought her through traffic near the rail, at one point risking being bottled up.

"I thought I would be able to follow Striking Dancer and wheel out wide when I needed to, but when Alex [Solis] didn't move on I eased back and decided to follow Pretty Unusual," Smith said of his run. "I could've wheeled wide when we turned for home, but I decided to follow Chantal [Sutherland, riding Pretty Unusual] as far as I could. I cut some corners and gambled a bit, but I was confident at all times that if she needed to make room, she could."

When Zenyatta finally found running room inside the final furlong, she blew by the frontrunners without being asked, stopping the clock in 1:48.20 for nine furlongs. Dance To My Tune held on for second, with Floating Heart a nose back in third.

Trainer John Shirreffs was asked if the mare was better than she's been the last two seasons.

"That's hard to say," Shirreffs responded. "How can you be better than perfect?"

Things were anything but perfect about 20 minutes earlier at the Fair Grounds for Rachel Alexandra, as she finished second to Zardana, also trained by Shirreffs, in the $200,000 New Orleans Ladies.

"I'm just disappointed she didn't win today," trainer Steve Asmussen said. "It was a lack in fitness and it's our job to have her there and I didn't do it."

Rachel Alexandra, making her first start since winning the Woodward Sept. 5 at Saratoga, broke alertly under Calvin Borel and settled into a stalking spot behind pacesetter Fighter Wing. She took the lead and dropped down to a ground-saving position on the rail around the far turn, but Zardana, the only other graded winner in the field under David Flores, unleashed a powerful move to collar the reigning champion with all the momentum at the top of the lane.

The two battled down the length of the stretch, with Rachel Alexandra giving way grudgingly late as Zardana won by ¾ of a length in 1:43.55 for the mile and a sixteenth. Unforgotten was third.

"She needed the race, that's all," Borel said. "She needed the race more than anything. … You know how I know she's a real racehorse? She was beat when that other horse went by her - but she didn't quit. 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."

Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta were scheduled to meet for the first time in the Grade I, $5 million Apple Blossom Invitational at Oaklawn Park on April 9. Zenyatta's owners Jerry and Ann Moss say their mare will definitely enter, returning to her home base at Hollywood Park following the Santa Margarita to train. But Asmussen says he'll need to monitor Rachel Alexandra's condition and fitness coming out of her loss before he and owner Jess Jackson can make a final decision on her status.

"Well, if I thought she'd get beat I wouldn't have run her today, so I'm definitely going to be cautious," Asmussen said. "How tired she is off of that will be established in the coming days. … She's not where I thought she was and if I had thought she'd get beat she wouldn't run. You take her back, you evaluate her, you see how her mood is, her diet, how she goes back to the racetrack, how she breezes. No crystal ball could see that far ahead."

If either Rachel Alexandra or Zenyatta fails to start in the Apple Blossom, its purse will revert to its original $500,000.

Click here to read Nicole Russo's blog, Hoofbeats.

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