Rival trainers weigh the pro-and-cons of Rachel running in the Belmont
DiscreetCat
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from the New York Daily News:
If she does, it would be three races in five weeks, something many consider grueling for the dwindling number of horses who try the Triple Crown every year, ending with the marathon mile-and-a-half Belmont Stakes.
"It's a more exciting race if she runs," said trainer Todd Pletcher, who saddled the filly Rags to Riches to victory in the 2007 Belmont. "But the only people who can answer that question is her connections."
Her connections include co-owners Jess Jackson and Harold T. McCormick and trainer Steve Asmussen.
Jackson and McCormick bought the filly on May 6 for an amount rumored to be between $7 million to $10 million and were rewarded almost immediately with a victory in the May 16 Preakness Stakes.
"He bought her to race her," said Derek Ryan, who trained Musket Man to third-place finishes in the Derby and Preakness. "I can't see why he wouldn't race her."
Ryan is passing on the Belmont with Musket Man, opting to rest the colt and point him for the Aug. 2 Haskell Invitational in his own backyard at Monmouth Park.
"If I race him in the Belmont, I can't come back in the Haskell," Ryan said. "Unless you're in it for the Triple Crown it doesn't pay."
Owner Rick Porter took a chance running his filly Eight Belles in the 2008 Kentucky Derby. He took second behind Big Brown, but saw the big gray euthanized on the track after breaking both front ankles after the finish.
"Assuming she came out of the race (the Preakness) in really good shape I think the Belmont suits her," Porter said of Rachel Alexandra. "If she tells them she's ready I wouldn't hesitate, but if she's telling you she isn't, you have all those races later on like the Coaching Club, the Alabama, before taking on the boys again."
Porter also acknowledges the wine magnate Jackson bought Rachel Alexandra not for financial gain, but to showcase her as he did with two-time Horse of the Year Curlin.
"He bought her to enjoy himself," Porter said. "And if she's ready, for the enjoyment of horse racing. "They'll figure it out and do what's for the best interest of the horse."
Trainer Bob Baffert saddled the filly Silverbulletday to a seventh-place finish in the 1999 Belmont.
"You got to leave that up to Steve Asmussen," Baffert said. "But I don't see her running. She beat the boys. She ran a hard race and laid her body down.
"It would be great for the sport, but coming back in three weeks to race a mile-and-a-half is pretty demanding."
Baffert admits he would "put her in the elite" if she won the Belmont, as no filly has ever won two legs of the Triple Crown, but now sees the filly as "vulnerable."
"As a fan I would love to see her run to see what she is made up of," he said. "But as a horseman I know that a mile-and-a-half is demanding."
Silverbulletday rebounded from her Belmont failure to take the Alabama Stakes at Saratoga, while Rags to Riches raced just once more, finishing second in the 2007 Gazelle before being retired with an injury to her pastern (just above the hoof).
"The race (Belmont) had nothing to do with her injury," Pletcher said. "She just stumbled badly out of the gate and that could have happened in any race."
A decision could come on Monday, when the filly is scheduled to work at Churchill Downs. She is expected to return to the track this morning.
If she does, it would be three races in five weeks, something many consider grueling for the dwindling number of horses who try the Triple Crown every year, ending with the marathon mile-and-a-half Belmont Stakes.
"It's a more exciting race if she runs," said trainer Todd Pletcher, who saddled the filly Rags to Riches to victory in the 2007 Belmont. "But the only people who can answer that question is her connections."
Her connections include co-owners Jess Jackson and Harold T. McCormick and trainer Steve Asmussen.
Jackson and McCormick bought the filly on May 6 for an amount rumored to be between $7 million to $10 million and were rewarded almost immediately with a victory in the May 16 Preakness Stakes.
"He bought her to race her," said Derek Ryan, who trained Musket Man to third-place finishes in the Derby and Preakness. "I can't see why he wouldn't race her."
Ryan is passing on the Belmont with Musket Man, opting to rest the colt and point him for the Aug. 2 Haskell Invitational in his own backyard at Monmouth Park.
"If I race him in the Belmont, I can't come back in the Haskell," Ryan said. "Unless you're in it for the Triple Crown it doesn't pay."
Owner Rick Porter took a chance running his filly Eight Belles in the 2008 Kentucky Derby. He took second behind Big Brown, but saw the big gray euthanized on the track after breaking both front ankles after the finish.
"Assuming she came out of the race (the Preakness) in really good shape I think the Belmont suits her," Porter said of Rachel Alexandra. "If she tells them she's ready I wouldn't hesitate, but if she's telling you she isn't, you have all those races later on like the Coaching Club, the Alabama, before taking on the boys again."
Porter also acknowledges the wine magnate Jackson bought Rachel Alexandra not for financial gain, but to showcase her as he did with two-time Horse of the Year Curlin.
"He bought her to enjoy himself," Porter said. "And if she's ready, for the enjoyment of horse racing. "They'll figure it out and do what's for the best interest of the horse."
Trainer Bob Baffert saddled the filly Silverbulletday to a seventh-place finish in the 1999 Belmont.
"You got to leave that up to Steve Asmussen," Baffert said. "But I don't see her running. She beat the boys. She ran a hard race and laid her body down.
"It would be great for the sport, but coming back in three weeks to race a mile-and-a-half is pretty demanding."
Baffert admits he would "put her in the elite" if she won the Belmont, as no filly has ever won two legs of the Triple Crown, but now sees the filly as "vulnerable."
"As a fan I would love to see her run to see what she is made up of," he said. "But as a horseman I know that a mile-and-a-half is demanding."
Silverbulletday rebounded from her Belmont failure to take the Alabama Stakes at Saratoga, while Rags to Riches raced just once more, finishing second in the 2007 Gazelle before being retired with an injury to her pastern (just above the hoof).
"The race (Belmont) had nothing to do with her injury," Pletcher said. "She just stumbled badly out of the gate and that could have happened in any race."
A decision could come on Monday, when the filly is scheduled to work at Churchill Downs. She is expected to return to the track this morning.