What A Career, What A Shame

-Racing lost another champion this week.  Although this time, we were fortunate enough to lose our champion to retirement.

In a Tuesday afternoon news release, owner Jess Jackson announced that his champion filly Rachel Alexandra, would be retired to a "less stressful life", and become a broodmare.  Jackson also announced his intention to breed Rachel to his two time Horse Of The Year champion Curlin.

Rachel Alexandra retires winning thirteen of nineteen starts, and over three point five million dollars in earnings.

To me, the crowning achievement in her illustrious career will be the way she dismantled the 2009 Kentucky Oaks field.  Her twenty length win will forever be etched in my mind as one of the most dominating racing performances I've ever had the pleasure of witnessing.  We may have to go back thirty six years, back to "Big Red's" thirty one length Belmont effort, to see anything better.

Her other notable wins included wins against males in the Preakness, Haskell, and Woodward stakes.  The latter considered by most to be the linchpin of her 2009 campaign, and subsequent Horse Of The Year honor.

Rachel's legacy in the racing world will stretch far beyond her prestigious wins on the race track.  She will forever be remembered for her role in the well discussed, and often heated debate between Zenyatta and Rachel supporters.  Racing's version of the "civil war".  This time the demarcation wouldn't be along the Mason Dixon, but east, west somewhere along the Mississippi.

For the latter half of 2009, you couldn't talk about Rachel without mentioning the champion race mare Zenyatta.  Nor could you avoid the question "who's better, Rachel or Zenyatta?"  Being a Zenyatta supporter, I too found myself in the unenviable position of arguing against Rachel.  A top class filly that is deserving of most accolades.  Except Horse Of The Year!

Like others, I was holding out hope that the "great debate" would finally be decided on the race track where it should have been.  At the year end championship of racing, the Breeders' Cup.

The summer and fall racing season could have been fraught with anticipation, as the impending match up of the two heavy hitting distaffers loomed on the horizon.  Unfortunately, in a moment that may have changed racing history, Jess Jackson was able to purchase R.A. after the Kentucky Oaks for an undisclosed amount (reportedly in excess of ten million dollars), and the Breeders' Cup would not be in Rachel's future.

Supposedly being an outspoken opponent of synthetic racing surfaces, Jess Jackson made the decision not to bring Rachel to Santa Anita for the Breeders' Cup.  A decision that was met with much dismay by some, but with much skepticism by me.  The potential of defeat was too great for him to bring her out.  His ego was still aching from  his champion horse Curlin's disappointing fourth place finish in the previous Breeders' Cup Classic.

Unfortunately he was allowed to conspicuously "hide" from racing's championship day, and still garner a HOY trophy for his filly.

Zenyatta went on to make history in the Breeders' Cup Classic.  Winning with her usual, electrifying stretch run, she made history by becoming the first female Classic winner in the twenty six year history. 

Rachel's place among the greatest in racing is yet to be seen.  She most definitely had one of the most memorable campaigns we've seen.  Winning the Kentucky Oaks by twenty lengths, Belmont's Mother Goose by nineteen, and three grade 1 classics against the boys.  What a career! 

What a shame to think that possibly the two best fillies of our generation will forever be linked without ever lining up against each other.  The legacy of Rachel Alexandra as well as racing's history books have forever been influenced by a billionaire's ego.