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Home / News / Time to Open Your Eyes...This is Rachel

Time to Open Your Eyes...This is Rachel

  • zipseatthetrack.blogspot.com
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  • August 29, 2010 8:21 AM
It’s time boys and girls. It’s time to open your eyes and see what is in front of you. Rachel Alexandra is ready, are you? To those who said she could not get the distance. Today is the day. In today’s Personal Ensign...
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Rachel Alexandra  |  Miss Singhsix  |  Life At Ten  |  Personal Ensign Stakes  |  Personal Ensign Stakes (2010)

What the Nation is saying about Time to Open Your Eyes...This is Rachel...

Another way to look at it. If you compare the fractions of the Travers and Personal Ensign... Rachel ran the same race First Dude did... she would have run third in the Travers as well. I don't think she's slipped that much. I think she would have run third in last year's Travers, too.
Looking back, I think we should all be able to appreciate her for what she is. Rachel is a world-class miler. She has tons of speed and can rate for a bit. She's probably most effective at a one turn 1 1/16 mile race at Belmont. In 2009, she showed she could demolish weaker competition at 9 furlongs. When she was at her peak, she could beat modest stakes horses at 9 furlongs. She could even do it under adverse pace conditions, but always over speed-friendly tracks like Monmouth or Saratoga. Today she was seriously challenged in the first half mile of a 10 furlong race. She did great to hold on the way she did.
Rachel unfortunately is the most 1 dimensional Horse of the Year ever. If she doesnt get the lead early she is not winning. Last years races against the boys were the worst crop of horses in recent history. Rachel should try to run in the ladies classic except Blind Luck will have no problem running her down when the pace is fast up front. It will be a great field of fillies and there a more than a couple of fillies that can beat Rachel. Do yourself a favor...Stay out of the BC Classic. You can not make a good case for being able to beat the horses in that race. Besides Zenyatta will be passing you before the furlong pole. Too bad that Life at Ten was ridden poorly by John Velasquez. Just as he did with Quality Road, Velasquez is the worst rider for rating horses close to the lead. Life at Ten is faster than Rachel so why not let her beat Rachel as far as she could and not look like a slacker that couldnt keep up. Rachel...time to retire.
Rachel Alexandra losing the ten furlong Personal Ensign was not a shocking outcome. It has been clear since the start of the year that she is not the same filly as she was in '09. Her 2010 camapign should take nothing away from her wonderful '09 Horse of the Year season. Horses are not machines and rarely maintain greatness for an extended period of time. The Breeders' Cup Ladies Classic would be a realistic spot for Rachel. She likes Churchill Downs and nine furlongs is by far her best distance.
Come on people. Get hip to the fact that this filly's best racing days are long gone. I frankly think she's been overrated and over-hyped from day one. But at least in 2009, she was able to compete in Graded Stakes company. Her last two performances have been less than stellar. Beating an allowance level turf filly in Queen Martha by 2 lengths at Monmouth. In what would've been much appropriately titled the Lady's Secret Allowance Stakes. Then today, Rachel falls victim to even worse prey. 20-1, optional claimer, Persistence. Who before today had never run in any stakes race. And who's last win was against horses who were none winners of two races. Does anyone really believe that Rachel Alexandra realistically would have a shot at anything other than embarrassment in this year's Breeders Cup Classic? Against the likely probable starters for this year's Classic. Rachel Alexandra would be extremely lucky to finish inside the top 10. Maybe an 8th or 9th place finish. If that? She clearly cannot get 1-1/4 and run any kind of meaningful race against the type of G1 horses that will be entered in the Classic at Churchill Downs. I think if a third loss of five races in the 2010 season. The last loss being to an optional claimer, isn't enough to open Jess Jackson's eyes to the fact that this filly now belongs in the breeding shed and not on the racetrack? Then he's simply racing her still for the benefit of his own ego and vanity. JMO.
I think Zipse owes us an explanation. He went off a cliff proclaiming that Rachel would win easily. But what did he base that on? Rachel is showing she is the most OVERRATED horse of the decade. Put her in the BC Sprint.
The riders were as much at fault as anyone: this was NOT a match race and just like Jim Dandy over Gallant Fox and Whichone, or Aloma's Ruler/Conquistador Cielo or Siphon/Cigar it was not a match race and, as we now know, there were others in the race dummies!
Sad to see her lose, but it's pretty much what everyone thought. Was really stopping and out of gas at the end. Slow fractions, no excuses whatsoever and a decent ride by Calvin. 3 losses to inferior company. Not sure where they go from here. No one is going to be afraid of her at this point.
This is the day Rachel Alexandra would begin unraveling who she really is! Lets just watch in awe!
There are only two here who could push her at all. Hardly a test of greatness here. Greatness is akin to a Forego, sprinting routing at huge weights or a Secretariat with so many track records that they became routine...When greatness is not around, very good gets elevated to pseudo great
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