RACHEL ATTEMPTS TO MAKE HISTORY AGAIN

By Jenny Kellner

Monday morning, after Rachel Alexandra worked an effortless six furlongs in 1:11.84, trainer Steve Asmussen and Jess Jackson’s wife, Barbara Banke, made the expected announcement: Rachel is going to try and become the first female ever to win the Grade 1 Woodward here on September 5.

There were pros and cons for each of the races at Saratoga under consideration for Rachel, from last Saturday’s Grade 1 Alabama against 3-year-old fillies to the Shadwell Travers here Saturday against colts and the Personal Ensign vs. older fillies the following day.

The Alabama is a hugely prestigious race, but Rachel had already gone through her divisional rivals with ridiculous ease.

The Travers has not been won by a filly since 1915, but she had already beaten 3-year-old colts twice, in the Preakness (Mine That Bird) and the Haskell Invitational (Summer Bird), and as Asmussen said, there’s no way she is going to be the champion 3-year-old colt.

The Personal Ensign represented a new challenge -- older fillies and mares – but the real deal is not meeting the older females here, but possibly facing Zenyatta at Belmont Park in the $1 million Beldame.

Moreover, those three races are all at 1¼ miles, and considering how Mine That Bird was running at Rachel Alexandra at the end of 1 3/16^th miles in the Preakness, perhaps nine furlongs is her optimal distance.

But the best thing is the next two Saturdays at Saratoga are going to be spectacular!