http://www.drf.com/news/article/111628.html 

I think they meant Tues MARCH 30 for the ship date though .. ha ha ...

I do hope she comes back strong because I just adore her! I was just concerned because last year whenever she had timed works, she was ALWAYS timed as the first or second fastest horse even if she was just breezing. Running was effortless last year and this year it is not the same....fingers crossed 

Have no doubt Rachel will come back just fine and needed this NO race off her long layoff.  She needed that layoff after her campaign and they way she was run down by one horse after another in the Woodward really put her out for awhile.  Rachel in this last race gave way grudgingly and lost by less than a length. She wasn't thrashed but she was not relaxed going into it.  She'll back just fine and I hope they point for the Stephen Foster  after another prep race if she's ready.  Have always hoped to see her in the Foster this year.  Go Rachel!

Rachel heads to Churchill Downs at the end of the month.....

>>No specific race plans for Rachel Alexandra have been announced, but she appears to be on a normal schedule for a Steve Asmussen-trained horse in steady preparation for a race. Rachel Alexandra began galloping again late last week, and her work Monday was typical for the Asmussen barn, an easy half-mile nine days after a race.

Asmussen said early Monday afternoon that Rachel Alexandra would have one more timed workout at Fair Grounds, on Monday, before shipping north to Churchill Downs with many other Asmussen horses on Tuesday, April 30. (think this is a typo)

http://www.drf.com/news/article/111628.html

Thanks for posting this info on Rach' as I love to call her.  Since I really don't know very much about a horse's body language during or after a race, I can't make assumptions on her NO race, but she was in a duel stretch with Zardana and was only beaten by a nose/neck.  Not every horse wins every single time on the track unless your name is Zenyatta, and I say that with all due respect and love for both ladies.  My heart has always been with Rach' though, and I really can't explain why.  Maybe it's because Z is so big and so strong and seems completely invincible that, at times she looks like a drag queen in reverse (LOL) and that she could almost give Secretariat a good run for his money ... ALMOST!!  So, maybe because of all this, I am more aligned with Rachel, but they are both great girl champions in their own right.

I had read some things after the race that Calvin did hold her back but I have no knowledge of that or how the trainer told him to race her.  I do think this, however, and please don't beat me up for my opinion because I'm not disparaging anyone intentionally. 

I do think that Rachel wasn't really ready for this race and that pretty much was commented on by Jackson at one point when he stated that the original date of the Apple Blossom Invitation was 'too soon' for Rachel because of her training schedule and results.  I think he kinda knew it was too early but he did agree to the move back by one week to April 9.  But I feel that both he and Asmussen knew she really needed more time and were trying to get a prep race in her with enough time left until the ABI so they entered her in the NO Ladies.  Maybe had they waited a bit longer based on what they saw and knew about Rachel's training, her first prep race would have resulted in a win, so I don't understand why they 'rushed to race' her when JJ said she wasn't ready.  And the result was that she lost to another horse, a stablemate of Zenyatta whose own name began with the letter "Z".  Karma?  Could be.  And just maybe the signal that was given was that if you race Rachel in the current shape she's in vs. Zenyatta on April 9th, she will lose to a horse whose name begins with the letter "Z."  I may be crazy, of course, too!  The fact that they pulled her out of the ABI kinda tells me that they know she's not ready even though she was "this close" to winning the NO Ladies and there was no shame in her strong finish.  But other factors were at stake.

As to her current gallop - I agree that they aren't looking for blazing times right now; they are working her slowly toward peaking for her next race, whenever that will be.  I agree with those who have said that Rags was never the same after her Belmont win - the fact is, she wasn't and she gave off clear signals, in my opinion, that she was done with racing.  Did the Belmont take too much out of her?  Maybe.  Or, just maybe the events that unfolded following that race told the story of a woman who was ready to be a "Mommy" - it's all possible.  I truly believe that if we stay quiet and really listen to the horses, they do speak to us.  So I think that, barring any pre-race strategy that went against Rachel winning, she just wasn't ready, and I also think that both JJ and SA knew that deep down.  Otherwise, I doubt they would have pulled her out of the ABI based on a close duel in which she was 'this close' to winning.

 

 

 

Actually by the charts, it is documented the Raxchel was beaten 3/4 of length--not a neck or a nose ...

The Zenyatta drag queen reference was VERY funny ...

Asmussen doesn't work his horses terribly fast traditionally ... Neither does Pletcher .

I would not worry about that workout .

Breezing indicates a casual , easy work--but it is a work ..

 

Hi!...thank you for your thoughtful post and agree with all of it.  I see you are new to the board and glad you jumped in!  To your comment about Rachel's loss and why they didn't wait to race her later, I think they were trying to do everything they could to accomodate the big expectations for the Apple Blossom until it became obvious it just wasn't the right timing.  Like you, I am happy they have abandoned the aggressive work routine for a more normal routine of every 8-9 days instead of every six days, she is the HOY and a very special champion and deserves no less.  Welcome!!!!

Cindy

Oooops, I posted same article not realizing you had already done so!

Haha ... I've nearly done the same to something you've posted a zillion times. You and I are reading the same things!! LOL ...

Thank you for correcting me on the win fractions ... I don't know the difference between neck/nose/3/4 of length but I defer with great respect to your knowledge. 

I know from having read about Rags work times with TAP that he doesn't work fast and I've also read enough to understand that neither does SA.

I'm really not worried, prudery, and I do appreciate the information I am learning from you and others.  So, Rachel's work was a gallop and not even a breezing?  Is that correct?