Features - Editor - 15 March 2010
Horse racing enthusiasts around the world have been waiting patiently for the show down between Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta for months. And there was a glimmer of hope that these two racing greats would meet at the Apple Blossom Invitational, which will be hosted on 9 April 2010. Owner, Jess Jackson, and trainer, Steve Asmussen, have been trying to speed up Rachel Alexandra’s training schedule, but on Sunday, at the New Orleans Ladies Stakes, she confirmed what everyone had feared, that she is not in top shape and her fitness levels are not enough to partake in such a big event just yet.
Both Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta made their 2010 debut this weekend, with Rachel Alexandra participating in the New Orleans Ladies Stakes, and Zenyatta being entered into the Santa Margarita Handicap. With bad weather plaguing the Rachel Alexandra team, training schedules were slowed down, and after a six month resting period the 2009 Horse of the Year did not have enough time to get into shape. Even though her loss against Zardana was disappointing to Jackson, he commented that the race had made his decision to withdraw from the Apple Blossom, as it was obvious that she was not ready.
Jackson and Asmussen had been trying to get her ready in time for the Apple Blossom celebrity race against Zenyatta, but would need more time to get Rachel Alexandra ready. Also worried about her fitness and condition, is her trainer Asmussen who commented: “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." Zenyatta on the other hand won her 15th consecutive race, remaining unbeaten. Her Santa Margarita Handicap victory has shown that she is in top form and ready for the coming racing season. If the racing world never sees Zenyatta and Rachel Alexandra meet, it would not be such a great loss, as at least fans have been able to enjoy the journey of both these fillies, sharing in their achievements and racing careers.
For four year old fillies and older, the Grade I Santa Margarita Invitational Handicap is one of the most popular events of the year, and is hosted by the Santa Anita Park Racecourse in California. With the show down between Zenyatta and Rachel Alexandra in the Apple Blossom Handicap looming, which takes place on 9 April 2010, both fillies have started preparations. Rachel Alexandra will be making her 2010 debut at the New Orleans Ladies’ Stakes on the weekend, while Zenyatta will be facing eight competitors in the 2010 Santa Margarita Invitational Handicap.
The Santa Anita Racecourse was opened in the year 1934, and the very next year the Santa Anita Handicap was inaugurated. It has remained a very popular horse racing event for horses that are four years old and older, and is held annually by the Santa Anita Racecourse in the month of March. Run over a distance of ten furlongs, the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap offers a purse amount of$750 000, of which Misremembered took home his fair share for his breathtaking victory.
