Post by iamjumbo on Sept 29, 2010 12:28:39 GMT -5
Rachel Alexandra retired, Kentucky Derby winner Real Quiet passed away
September 29th, 2010 6:50 am ET
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News reached the horse racing world yesterday, Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2010, about the end of two different eras in horse racing history.
Rachel Alexandra, the 2009 Horse of the Year, was a filly that electrified race tracks across the eastern United States last year, scoring dominating wins over other fillies and some very exciting victories over colts. After, what was for her, a sub-par race season so far this year, she was retired from racing on Tuesday, just one day after putting in a solid training run at Saratoga's Oklahoma Training Track.
Then, in the beautiful countryside of south-central Pennsylvania just outside Harrisburg, Real Quiet, winner of the 1998 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, passed away peacefully in his paddock on Monday, Sept. 27, at Michael's Jester's Penn Ridge Farm.
While these were two very different horses, they had one thing in common. Both brought sheer joy and excitement to horse racing fans during their careers on the track.
The racing world was alive last year, with fans from coast-to-coast cheering on two of the greatest fillies of all time. On the west coast was Zenyatta (profile), the undefeated mare owned by Jerry and Ann Moss. On the east coast was Rachel Alexandra (profile), originally trained by Hal Higgins, then purchased by Jess Jackson and his partner, Harold T. McCormick and trained by Steve Asmussen.
While both horses had tremendous seasons, it was Rachel Alexandra that earned the votes for the Horse of the Year Eclipse Award for her brilliant 8-0 campaign.
The daughter of Medaglia d'Oro opened her 2009 season with wins in the Martha Washington at Oaklawn Park on Feb. 15, the Fair Ground Oakes (gr. 2) at the Fairgrounds on March 14 and the Fantasy Stakes (gr. 2) at Oaklawn Park on April 5.
Then, while still under Wiggins' care, she went on to a dominating 20-length victory in the Kentucky Oaks (gr. 1) at Churchill Downs on May 1. Shortly after the Oaks, Jackson and McCormick purchased Rachel Alexandra from Dolphus Morrison and Mike Lauffer, and she was switched to the barn of Asmussen. Wiggins, who considered the filly a once-in-a-lifetime horse, retired from racing soon after.
Jackson and Asmussen then took Rachel Alexandra to Pimlico two weeks later and ran her in the Preakness Stakes (gr. 1). There, the 3-year old filly not only won the race to become the first filly to win that race since 1924, but in the process, she beat the Kentucky Derby winner, Mine That Bird by a length. Interestingly, Calvin Borel, who was Rachel Alexandra's regular jockey throughout her career, but had ridden Mine That Bird to victory in the Derby, chose to switch back to the filly for the Preakness because he felt she was such a great race horse.
From there, Rachel Alexandra went on to win the Mother Goose Stakes (gr.1) at Belmont by 19 lengths on June 27 and the Haskell Invitational Stakes (gr. 1) at Monmouth on Aug. 2.
Then, in what was, arguably, her career-best performance, she won the Woodward Stakes (gr. 1) at Saratoga on Sept. 5. It was a race against colts and the finish was incredible, as she held off dual challenges by Marcho Again and Bullsbay for a dramatic, energy-draining victory.
After that win, Jackson decided to rest Rachel Alexandra for the rest of the year instead of heading to California for the Breeders' Cup at Santa Anita. Jackson, who was no fan of synthetic race surfaces after another of his great horses, Curlin, had lost in the previous season's Breeders' Cup Classic on the same track, believed his filly just needed to rest after her amazing season.
His thinking turned out to be correct. While Zenyatta went on to a thrilling win in the Breeders' Cup Classic in November, Eclipse Award voters gave the Horse of the Year nod to Rachel Alexandra for her 8-0 season.
Coming into the 2009 season, race fans were clamoring for a showdown between the two great fillies, but it was not to be.
While Rachel Alexandra did win two more races – the Fleur de Lis (gr. 2) at Churchill on June 12 and the Lady's Secret at Monmouth on July 24 – she also finished second in her first two races of the season – the New Orleans Ladies Stakes at the Fair Grounds on March 3 and the La Troienne (gr. 2) at Churchill on April 30.
In what turned out to be the final race of her career, Rachel Alexandra finished second to Persistently (profile) in the Personal Ensign Invitational Stakes (gr. 1) at Saratoga on Aug. 29.
Then, after a bullet workout on Monday at Saratoga, in which she went four furlongs in :48.45 – the fastest of 48 horses working that distance on the day – Jackson announced her retirement from racing. (BloodHorse.com Slideshow)
"As you know, despite top training and a patient campaign, Rachel Alexandra did not return to her 2009 form," Jackson said in a BloodHorse.com article. "I believe it's time to retire our champion and reward her with a less stressful life. We are delighted she will retire healthy and happy to our beautiful farm in Kentucky (Stonestreet Farm near Lexington).
"Rachel Alexandra owes us nothing. As a 3-year-old, she set standards and records that no filly before her ever achieved," he continued. "And I suspect it will be quite a while before a 3-year-old filly ever equals or surpasses her achievements. Although her fans were thrilled by a series of spectacular victories, I believe they, as we, were simply awed time and again by her sheer beauty, courage, and athleticism."
Asmussen was equally reflective of Rachel. "I have been blessed to have been part of history," he said in the same article. "We are all very fortunate that Rachel carried the banner following Curlin's amazing success story. The fans adored her, we all did. She had the most fluid and beautiful stride of any horse I have ever seen. It's been quite a ride."
In her career, Rachel Alexandra raced 19 times and had 13 wins, five seconds and collected $3,506,730 in prize money. Jackson plans to breed Rachel Alexandra to Curlin in the near future.
Real Quiet (profile) had electrified the racing world himself in 1998. In three terrific duals against another great 3-year old colt, Victory Gallop (Can.) (profile), Real Quiet had won the Kentucky Derby by one-half length and the Preakness by 2 1/4 lengths with jockey Kent Desormeaux riding.
Then, in their final dual in the Belmont Stakes in which the 3-year old son of Quiet American was bidding to become the 12th Triple Crown winner in history, Victory Gallop was finally able to turn the tables on Real Quiet. While Real Quiet led by four lengths at the eighth pole, Victory Gallop came back strong to win the race by just a nose at the wire.
Originally purchased by Mike Pegram and trained by Bob Baffert, Real Quiet eventually was named Eclipse Award winner at the end of the year as 3-Year Old Champion Male.
In his career, he also won the Hollywood Futurity (gr. 1) as a 2-year old and the Pimlico Special Handicap (gr. 1) and the Hollywood Gold Cup (gr. 1) as a 4-year old.
Shortly after that last race, he fractured a bone in his right front leg and was retired.
Real Quiet began his stud career at Vinery near Lexington. He also had stops in Australia and Uruguay, before ending up on the Pennsylvania farm where he passed away after breaking some vertebrae.
"He broke five cervical vertebrae from C-5 through C-9, which is basically from his withers to his head," said Jester in a BloodHorse.com article. Jester serves as stallion manager at Penn Ridge Farm.
"I asked our stallion manager Chuck (King) what happened when he took Real Quiet to the paddock, and he said the horse walked toward his water, stood out in the middle of the paddock, and looked across the field to some mares on the hill like he always does. He wasn't out there five minutes when it happened. He had to have reared up, slid, and fell on his left shoulder, and his left shoulder blade drove into his cervical spine area and fractured the vertebrae, which is how New Bolton described it.
"We walked around in the paddock after it happened, and there's not a skid mark or anything like that. He wasn't close to the fence. He was right in the middle. He was a smart horse, in great shape, and never did anything stupid.
"Either on the racetrack or as a stallion, Real Quiet always performed at the highest level. He will be greatly missed."
Real Quiet sired 15 stakes winners that, all told, earned $18.1 million. His best progeny was Midnight Lute, who, in a twist-of-fate, was also trained by Baffert and owned by Pegram and some others.
In his racing career, Real Quiet won six times in 20 starts and earned $3,271,803. He also had five seconds and six thirds.
Two great horses, 11 years apart… one with her more life ahead, and one gone for good. They will both be dearly missed.
September 29th, 2010 6:50 am ET
Do you like this story?
News reached the horse racing world yesterday, Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2010, about the end of two different eras in horse racing history.
Rachel Alexandra, the 2009 Horse of the Year, was a filly that electrified race tracks across the eastern United States last year, scoring dominating wins over other fillies and some very exciting victories over colts. After, what was for her, a sub-par race season so far this year, she was retired from racing on Tuesday, just one day after putting in a solid training run at Saratoga's Oklahoma Training Track.
Then, in the beautiful countryside of south-central Pennsylvania just outside Harrisburg, Real Quiet, winner of the 1998 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, passed away peacefully in his paddock on Monday, Sept. 27, at Michael's Jester's Penn Ridge Farm.
While these were two very different horses, they had one thing in common. Both brought sheer joy and excitement to horse racing fans during their careers on the track.
The racing world was alive last year, with fans from coast-to-coast cheering on two of the greatest fillies of all time. On the west coast was Zenyatta (profile), the undefeated mare owned by Jerry and Ann Moss. On the east coast was Rachel Alexandra (profile), originally trained by Hal Higgins, then purchased by Jess Jackson and his partner, Harold T. McCormick and trained by Steve Asmussen.
While both horses had tremendous seasons, it was Rachel Alexandra that earned the votes for the Horse of the Year Eclipse Award for her brilliant 8-0 campaign.
The daughter of Medaglia d'Oro opened her 2009 season with wins in the Martha Washington at Oaklawn Park on Feb. 15, the Fair Ground Oakes (gr. 2) at the Fairgrounds on March 14 and the Fantasy Stakes (gr. 2) at Oaklawn Park on April 5.
Then, while still under Wiggins' care, she went on to a dominating 20-length victory in the Kentucky Oaks (gr. 1) at Churchill Downs on May 1. Shortly after the Oaks, Jackson and McCormick purchased Rachel Alexandra from Dolphus Morrison and Mike Lauffer, and she was switched to the barn of Asmussen. Wiggins, who considered the filly a once-in-a-lifetime horse, retired from racing soon after.
Jackson and Asmussen then took Rachel Alexandra to Pimlico two weeks later and ran her in the Preakness Stakes (gr. 1). There, the 3-year old filly not only won the race to become the first filly to win that race since 1924, but in the process, she beat the Kentucky Derby winner, Mine That Bird by a length. Interestingly, Calvin Borel, who was Rachel Alexandra's regular jockey throughout her career, but had ridden Mine That Bird to victory in the Derby, chose to switch back to the filly for the Preakness because he felt she was such a great race horse.
From there, Rachel Alexandra went on to win the Mother Goose Stakes (gr.1) at Belmont by 19 lengths on June 27 and the Haskell Invitational Stakes (gr. 1) at Monmouth on Aug. 2.
Then, in what was, arguably, her career-best performance, she won the Woodward Stakes (gr. 1) at Saratoga on Sept. 5. It was a race against colts and the finish was incredible, as she held off dual challenges by Marcho Again and Bullsbay for a dramatic, energy-draining victory.
After that win, Jackson decided to rest Rachel Alexandra for the rest of the year instead of heading to California for the Breeders' Cup at Santa Anita. Jackson, who was no fan of synthetic race surfaces after another of his great horses, Curlin, had lost in the previous season's Breeders' Cup Classic on the same track, believed his filly just needed to rest after her amazing season.
His thinking turned out to be correct. While Zenyatta went on to a thrilling win in the Breeders' Cup Classic in November, Eclipse Award voters gave the Horse of the Year nod to Rachel Alexandra for her 8-0 season.
Coming into the 2009 season, race fans were clamoring for a showdown between the two great fillies, but it was not to be.
While Rachel Alexandra did win two more races – the Fleur de Lis (gr. 2) at Churchill on June 12 and the Lady's Secret at Monmouth on July 24 – she also finished second in her first two races of the season – the New Orleans Ladies Stakes at the Fair Grounds on March 3 and the La Troienne (gr. 2) at Churchill on April 30.
In what turned out to be the final race of her career, Rachel Alexandra finished second to Persistently (profile) in the Personal Ensign Invitational Stakes (gr. 1) at Saratoga on Aug. 29.
Then, after a bullet workout on Monday at Saratoga, in which she went four furlongs in :48.45 – the fastest of 48 horses working that distance on the day – Jackson announced her retirement from racing. (BloodHorse.com Slideshow)
"As you know, despite top training and a patient campaign, Rachel Alexandra did not return to her 2009 form," Jackson said in a BloodHorse.com article. "I believe it's time to retire our champion and reward her with a less stressful life. We are delighted she will retire healthy and happy to our beautiful farm in Kentucky (Stonestreet Farm near Lexington).
"Rachel Alexandra owes us nothing. As a 3-year-old, she set standards and records that no filly before her ever achieved," he continued. "And I suspect it will be quite a while before a 3-year-old filly ever equals or surpasses her achievements. Although her fans were thrilled by a series of spectacular victories, I believe they, as we, were simply awed time and again by her sheer beauty, courage, and athleticism."
Asmussen was equally reflective of Rachel. "I have been blessed to have been part of history," he said in the same article. "We are all very fortunate that Rachel carried the banner following Curlin's amazing success story. The fans adored her, we all did. She had the most fluid and beautiful stride of any horse I have ever seen. It's been quite a ride."
In her career, Rachel Alexandra raced 19 times and had 13 wins, five seconds and collected $3,506,730 in prize money. Jackson plans to breed Rachel Alexandra to Curlin in the near future.
Real Quiet (profile) had electrified the racing world himself in 1998. In three terrific duals against another great 3-year old colt, Victory Gallop (Can.) (profile), Real Quiet had won the Kentucky Derby by one-half length and the Preakness by 2 1/4 lengths with jockey Kent Desormeaux riding.
Then, in their final dual in the Belmont Stakes in which the 3-year old son of Quiet American was bidding to become the 12th Triple Crown winner in history, Victory Gallop was finally able to turn the tables on Real Quiet. While Real Quiet led by four lengths at the eighth pole, Victory Gallop came back strong to win the race by just a nose at the wire.
Originally purchased by Mike Pegram and trained by Bob Baffert, Real Quiet eventually was named Eclipse Award winner at the end of the year as 3-Year Old Champion Male.
In his career, he also won the Hollywood Futurity (gr. 1) as a 2-year old and the Pimlico Special Handicap (gr. 1) and the Hollywood Gold Cup (gr. 1) as a 4-year old.
Shortly after that last race, he fractured a bone in his right front leg and was retired.
Real Quiet began his stud career at Vinery near Lexington. He also had stops in Australia and Uruguay, before ending up on the Pennsylvania farm where he passed away after breaking some vertebrae.
"He broke five cervical vertebrae from C-5 through C-9, which is basically from his withers to his head," said Jester in a BloodHorse.com article. Jester serves as stallion manager at Penn Ridge Farm.
"I asked our stallion manager Chuck (King) what happened when he took Real Quiet to the paddock, and he said the horse walked toward his water, stood out in the middle of the paddock, and looked across the field to some mares on the hill like he always does. He wasn't out there five minutes when it happened. He had to have reared up, slid, and fell on his left shoulder, and his left shoulder blade drove into his cervical spine area and fractured the vertebrae, which is how New Bolton described it.
"We walked around in the paddock after it happened, and there's not a skid mark or anything like that. He wasn't close to the fence. He was right in the middle. He was a smart horse, in great shape, and never did anything stupid.
"Either on the racetrack or as a stallion, Real Quiet always performed at the highest level. He will be greatly missed."
Real Quiet sired 15 stakes winners that, all told, earned $18.1 million. His best progeny was Midnight Lute, who, in a twist-of-fate, was also trained by Baffert and owned by Pegram and some others.
In his racing career, Real Quiet won six times in 20 starts and earned $3,271,803. He also had five seconds and six thirds.
Two great horses, 11 years apart… one with her more life ahead, and one gone for good. They will both be dearly missed.