Rachel Alexandra rocks the Haskell
Rachel Alexandra has once again proved to the world that she is one of the greatest fillies ever. Everyone who had witness her spectacular performance in the Preakness Stakes, were hoping that she could pull off another breathtaking victory over her male counterparts, and her fans were not disappointed. The Haskell Invitational is a Group 1 horse racing event that has a purse of $1.25 million and was hosted by the Monmouth Park Racecourse. Hundreds of horse racing enthusiasts braved the unpleasant weather to watch Rachel Alexandra in live racing action.
The rain on Sunday, 2 August 2009 had not helped in creating favorable track conditions. Even though racing officials waited until a little sun crept through the black clouds, to get the Haskell Invitational underway, a sloppy track greeted the line-up of contenders as they entered the starting gates. And with champion horses such as Munnings, Summer Bird and Papa Clem included into the contender list, many were holding their breath as the gates swung open and the race for the finish line began.
The start of the race delivered very fast fractions, while Summer Bird, Rachel Alexandra and Munnings tested each other. The tight knit field went around the last corner almost together, but after completing six furlongs of the nine furlong race, Rachel Alexandra’s jockey, Calvin Borel, gave her a signal so slight it could have been missed, which seemed to open the floodgates of speed. Rachel Alexandra comfortably began to widen the gap between her and the other contenders, winning the Haskell Invitational by six lengths and missing the track record by a fraction of a second. Summer Bird followed her home in second position and Munnings was third. It seems that every time Rachel Alexandra takes to the racecourse, she gets even faster and better. According to Calvin Borel, he has never ridden a better horse, and after winning his eighth consecutive race on this magnificent filly, no-one can blame him for feeling this way.
Even though many are still hoping that Zenyatta and Rachel Alexandra will meet, it is highly unlikely that these racing champions will ever meet, as Zenyatta is based in California, and Rachel Alexandra’s owner, Jess Jackson does not run his horses on synthetic surfaces. But, it is guaranteed that Rachel Alexandra will be thrilling racing spectators for years to come.
