Tuesday, May 26, 2009
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — It’s still a waiting game for Rachel Alexandra and jockey Calvin Borel to see if one or both will be in the Belmont Stakes.
Preakness winner Rachel Alexandra worked a half-mile at Churchill Downs on Monday, but the filly’s owner says it may be another week before he decides whether to enter her in the final leg of the Triple Crown on June 6.
Jess Jackson said Rachel Alexandra is “progressing well” and will work again next week before a decision is made on the Belmont.
Jackson and Harold McCormick bought Rachel Alexandra after she won the Kentucky Oaks by 201‚Ñ4 lengths May 1. On May 16, she became the first filly in 85 years to win the Preakness, with Borel guiding her to a one-length victory over Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird. Mike Smith replaced Borel aboard Mine That Bird in the Preakness.
“She’s recovering nicely and I think, for the time that’s elapsed, only nine days, she’s right on — but we can’t make a decision until we know,” said Jackson, who owns Stonestreet Stable. “My concern is her attitude. She thinks she can run through a brick wall, so her attitude has to be monitored. If anything, we have to hold her back a little bit because she’s so eager to run.”
Borel is waiting on a decision about the filly’s status before he decides who he’s going to ride in the 11‚Ñ2-mile Belmont.
Rachel Alexandra worked the half-mile in 50.20 seconds over a sloppy track under exercise rider Dominic Terry. Mine That Bird worked the same distance in 51 seconds under Borel.
If Rachel Alexandra does not run in the Belmont, which would give her a shot at becoming the first filly to win two-thirds of the Triple Crown, Jackson said the Mother Goose Stakes for fillies at Belmont Park on June 27 is an option.
“It might not be as soon as you’d want but we’re still considering the Belmont,” Jackson said. “The Mother Goose would give her a little extra time if she needs it. The Belmont would be a full [effort] for her right now.”
With the no-decision, Mine That Bird trainer Chip Woolley gave Borel more time to decide which horse he’ll ride in the Belmont. Woolley had set a Monday deadline for the jockey.
“He won me a Derby, he deserves the time it takes for him to make the conscious, right decision,” Woolley said.
“And nobody knows really if that filly’s going to be running in the Belmont, so it could work out where that’s not even a decision for him.”