Rachel Alexandra arrives @ Fair Grounds
DiscreetCat
Moderator
from NOLA.com:
Employees of trainer Steve Asmussen stood outside his Fair Grounds barn late Friday afternoon to see her arrive.
Backstretch workers from other barns gathered to get a look at her, too.
Rachel Alexandra, the brilliant 3-year-old filly who was undefeated in eight starts this year in building a strong case for Horse of the Year, was arriving at the Fair Grounds.
Although it was almost dark when Asmussen led her off the van and into the barn, onlookers got a good enough look to be impressed.
"She's beautiful," said Dot Sibille, wife of trainer Ray Sibille, whose barn is next to Asmussen's. "Ray called me and told me Rachel's on her way. I said, 'I'll be there in a minute.' "
Rachel Alexandra and stablemates Hot Dixie Chick, War Echo, Jackpot Joanie and Dashing Debby left Churchill Downs in a van early Friday morning. The ride from Louisville, Ky., took about 12 1/2 hours.
Naturally, Rachel Alexandra rode in the front of the van.
"They said she handled it very well, just found her a spot and stayed there," Asmussen said.
Rachel Alexandra hasn't raced since winning the Woodward in early September at Saratoga. After that race, she was given a break from training.
"She had a very nice break," said Amy Kearns, a security guard who has been with Rachel Alexandra every day since Jess Jackson's Stonestreet Stables and Harold McCormick bought her from breeder Dolph Morrison and Mike Lauffer not long after she won the Kentucky Oaks. "She had a pen at Saratoga where she could roll around a little bit."
Employees of trainer Steve Asmussen stood outside his Fair Grounds barn late Friday afternoon to see her arrive.
Backstretch workers from other barns gathered to get a look at her, too.
Rachel Alexandra, the brilliant 3-year-old filly who was undefeated in eight starts this year in building a strong case for Horse of the Year, was arriving at the Fair Grounds.
Although it was almost dark when Asmussen led her off the van and into the barn, onlookers got a good enough look to be impressed.
"She's beautiful," said Dot Sibille, wife of trainer Ray Sibille, whose barn is next to Asmussen's. "Ray called me and told me Rachel's on her way. I said, 'I'll be there in a minute.' "
Rachel Alexandra and stablemates Hot Dixie Chick, War Echo, Jackpot Joanie and Dashing Debby left Churchill Downs in a van early Friday morning. The ride from Louisville, Ky., took about 12 1/2 hours.
Naturally, Rachel Alexandra rode in the front of the van.
"They said she handled it very well, just found her a spot and stayed there," Asmussen said.
Rachel Alexandra hasn't raced since winning the Woodward in early September at Saratoga. After that race, she was given a break from training.
"She had a very nice break," said Amy Kearns, a security guard who has been with Rachel Alexandra every day since Jess Jackson's Stonestreet Stables and Harold McCormick bought her from breeder Dolph Morrison and Mike Lauffer not long after she won the Kentucky Oaks. "She had a pen at Saratoga where she could roll around a little bit."
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