Classic aside, I'd still vote Rachel

If the AP's Female Athlete of the Year voting is any indication seems that Zenyatta -- historic winner of the Breeders' Cup Classic -- is gaining the edge over flashy filly Rachel Alexandra in the pre-Eclipse handicapping for Horse of the Year.

Zenyatta finished second to Serena Williams in that balloting. Rachel Alexandra was a distant seventh.

But for my money, I'd still take Rachel. Here's why.

Zenyatta -- while undefeated lifetime over 14 races -- was the winner of exactly one truly challenging race in 2009; said Breeders' Cup Classic.

Yes, that race was a great effort amid a global and talented field. And it was an historic victory; Zenyatta was the first female ever to win in the Classic.

But it was one race. Run over a track on her "home" circuit in Southern California. Which Zenyatta never left during the course of 2009. And while the field was stacked with some very nice horses, frankly a lot of them were turf horses (Gio Ponti finished second), including Euros whom, frankly, nobody had any real idea whether they'd perform well with the long ship, the comparative heat of Southern California, and the synthetic surface.

For such a seemingly talented field, the 2009 Breeders' Cup Classic wasn't exactly a group from which any horse could emerge victorious. In fact, Zenyatta was not only favored at a little less than 3/1, but only Rip Van Winkle (at a little over 3/1) was anywhere close in the odds.

Final order of finish, with odds (rounded) and comments:
1. Zenyatta, 3/1*, an unbeaten synthetic monster racing at home.
2. Gio Ponti, 12/1, turf horse.
3. Twice Over(GB), 9/1, turf horse.
4. Summer Bird, 7/1, 3-year-old with no prior synthetic form.
5. Colonel John, 12/1, a synthetic G1 winner in Southern California.
6. Richard's Kid, 11/1, another synthetic, G1, SoCal male.
7. Awesome Gem, 52/1.
8. Regal Ransom, 39/1.
9. Mine That Bird, 14/1, hadn't won since the Kentucky Derby.
10. Rip Van Winkle(IRE), 3/1, quit early, a turf horse with no prior synthetic form.
11. Einstein(BRZ), 10/1, a horse I liked here due to prior synthetic form, but who did nothing.
12. Girolamo, 25/1, how the hell was he only 25/1?

Now, by my count, from that group of also-rans, there are exactly three Grade 1 synthetic victories: One each for Colonel John (Santa Anita Derby at 3), Richard's Kid (2009 Pacific Classic) and Einstein (2009 Santa Anita Handicap).

Zenyatta had six G1 synthetic wins (granted, among females) going into the race.

I wrote a blog just before race-day that Zenyatta might be a bet-against in the Classic, but based solely on synthetic form -- and why should we have looked anywhere else? -- I don't know what in the world I was thinking. She was sent off as the favorite and probably should've been 3/5 instead of 3/1.

Meanwhile, much was asked in 2009 of Rachel Alexandra.

After she crushed 3-year-old fillies by record lengths in the Kentucky Oaks -- a race from which some handicappers predicted a bounce -- she was sold to Jess Jackson and wheeled back for the Preakness, against colts. There (granted, with a weight break) she was the brave winner, holding off a late charge from the Derby victor in Mine That Bird, despite having done almost all the work on the front end. Winning the Preakness was something no filly had done since Nellie Morse in 1924.

After beating the colts at Pimlico, Rachel returned to the 3-year-old filly ranks to set another record-lengths mark, this time in winning the Mother Goose Stakes. The ease with which she crushed her own age and gender in the Oaks and Mother Goose was simply breathtaking.

So, with seemingly no more challenges facing her in the 3-year-old filly ranks, Jackson and Co. sent her back again to face boys her own age. Her next race was a fleet finish over a sloppy track in the Haskell, splashing home in 1:47.21 for 9 furlongs. In that race, she crushed Summer Bird -- who was later sent off as third-favorite in the Breeders' Cup Classic -- by six lengths.

Some of Rachel's detractors imply that her connections ducked the distance by skipping the Travers Stakes in order to run in the Woodward Stakes at 9 furlongs.

But, frankly, what was a girl to do?

If Rachel had gone to the Travers and had beaten 3-year-old colts again, so fricking what? And if she was sent somewhere, anywhere, to run 10 furlongs and beat older fillies and mares not named Zenyatta, the yawns from race fans and Eclipse voters alike would have been even bigger.

So Jess Jackson and Co. pointed her to the Woodward Stakes, a race -- like the Breeders' Cup Classic and with a much longer history -- that had never been won by a female.

Yes, Rachel got a weight break in the Woodward. Yes, Calvin Borel flogged her down the stretch. Yes, she barely won that race. ... But she won.

And since the world seems so fond of touting the field-strength for the Breeders' Cup Classic -- a race, as noted, with exactly three G1 wins over synthetic among the 11 horses that faced Zenyatta -- let's weigh the strength of Rachel's six opponents in that Woodward.

Post, horse, comments:
1. Da' Tara, surprise winner of the 2008 Belmont Stakes, but that's a Grade 1 win on dirt.
2. Bullsbay, won 2009 Whitney H.-G1.
3. Rachel Alexandra.
4. Cool Coal Man, G2 winner on dirt.
5. Macho Again, won 2009 Stephen Foster H.-G1.
6. It's a Bird, two G3 wins on dirt and DQ'ed from first in the Oaklawn H.-G2.
7. Asiatic Boy, four group-level wins in Dubai, G1-placed on three continents.
8. Past the Point, second in the Woodward S.-G1, a year prior.

So, Zenyatta faced 11 opponents with three lifetime G1 wins on the "surface of the day," synthetic. Rachel in the Woodward faced six opponents with an equal number of prior G1 wins, three, on the surface over which they'd be racing that day, dirt. The Woodward field also had a four-times GSW and three-times G1-placed horse in Asiatic Boy, a G2 winner, a multiple G3 winner, and the defending runner-up in this very race.

Was the Woodward really all that "light" a field? And the Breeders' Cup Classic -- in hindsight particularly, noting how the horses actually performed -- really one of the deepest Cup fields ever, as some have suggested?

I think the answer to both questions is, "no."

Throughout 2009, consistently more was asked of Rachel Alexandra than of Zenyatta. The 3-year-old filly recorded historic wins against males in the Preakness, Haskell and Woodward, and record-shattering victories against her own age and gender in the Kentucky Oaks and the Mother Goose. Zenyatta meanwhile beat up on a talented stablemate in Life is Sweet, and otherwise the same cast of SoCal distaff characters, throughout a conservatively (and brilliantly) managed season -- until owner Jerry Moss and trainer John Shirreffs took their one big shot of the year, and hit the bulls-eye in the Classic.

I'm not being dismissive of Zenyatta's accomplishments; 14-for-14 lifetime is a big deal (although the first nine shouldn't count toward 2009 HOTY voting) and being the first mare to win the Breeders' Cup Classic -- in exhilarating fashion, no less -- certainly is memorable.

But Zenyatta went 5-for-5 in 2009 with one signature win. Rachel Alexandra went 8-for-8 with at least five victories that were noteworthy, either for their ease (Oaks, Mother Goose) or for beating boys in Grade 1 races (Preakness, Haskell, Woodward).

Were I voting -- and I'm not -- Rachel Alexandra would receive my ballot.

That doesn't mean Zenyatta is undeserving. And I think it's more likely that she'll win Horse of the Year.

But I truly don't believe Zenyatta did as much over the course of the year to earn it.

'Rachel Alexandra the Great'

What a fitting race call (quoted above) by Tom Durkin at Saratoga as Rachel Alexandra won the Woodward Stakes today -- a call I had to watch on delay and on the Web because horse racing can't manage to overcome college football for even 10 minutes to appear on a halfway major network.

Huge run by Rachel, doing all the work on the front end (Da' Tara sent from the gate?) and holding off a determined Macho Again by a slim margin at the wire.

Asiatic Boy was there on the turn, and then he wasn't. At this writing, I'm still not sure what happened to him. 

Rachel also won in 1:48.29, faster for the 9 furlongs than any of the last four runnings -- Curlin (1:49.34), the late Lawyer Ron (1:40.60), Premium Tap (1:50.65), and Saint Liam (1:49.07) -- but not as fleet as Ghostzapper (2004) and Mineshaft (2003), who each won in 1:46.20.

Certainly still "racehorse time" for Rachel, who, as a 3-year-old filly, benefited from an eight-pound break in the weights but was no lightweight in heart.

Congratulations to Rachel's connections as she earns another piece of history -- first female to win the Woodward, which has been run since 1954.

P.S. Horse of the year, even without running in a Breeders' Cup race? I'd have to think so.

Hey there, big boy! ... Youthful Rachel Alexandra to strut her stuff against older males in Woodward

The interminable wait for information from the Rachel Alexandra camp  that everyone was squealing about over the weekend has ceased: The brilliant 3-year-old filly will next race on Sept. 5 in the Woodward Stakes against older males.

The G1 Woodward at Saratoga, a 9-furlong event run since 1954, has never been won by a filly or mare.

Connections say the decision was based not only on how well Rachel has been training, but the work of her Stonestreet stablemate, Kensei. The colt who most recently has won the Dwyer and Jim Dandy stakes will run in the Travers against his own age while Rachel steps up for principal owner Jess Jackson to face elders. No reason to run them both in the Travers, where only one can win, and when Rachel could make more history.

"Legacy," said trainer Steve Asmussen when asked about the primary reasoning behind the choice of race. Adding a little shot at Claire Novak, perhaps, Asmussen said, "Jess' sportsmanship ... is quite obvious instead of talking. No filly has won the Woodward. For everything else that she's done, I think it's a showcase or a platform that she's worthy of."

Now, I suppose, let the haters commence -- or, more accurately, continue -- with the talk of how Rachel is ducking Quality Road or even Kensei.

Yeah, what a sissy move. The testicle-dragging donkeys the 3-year-old filly be racing in the Woodward include: 6-year-old Asiatic Boy (UAE Derby-G2, second in the Dubai World Cup to Curlin); This year's Whitney H.-G1 winner Bullsbay, a 5-year-old; 4-year-old past Fountain of Youth-G2 winner Cool Coal Man; 6-year-old millionaire It's a Bird; and last year's surprise Belmont Stakes winner, Da' Tara.

But the field won't include Stephen Foster-G1 winner Macho Again, who is resting up for the Jockey Club Gold Cup-G1 in October.

So, you know, beating the remainder that do start in the Woodward will be almost meaningless.

Messers. Zito and LaPenta: Set Da' Tara free to do what he does best

Da' Tara's still at it -- knocking on the door of clearing the non-winners of three lifetime condition, that is.

I'd wager a number of readers haven't heard, nor much cared, about the 2008 Belmont Stakes champion since that day, when he paid $79 on that June afternoon as the shocking long-shot who collected the big check as Big Brown traded in his Triple Crown for one of the Burger King variety. But the colt is back and trying to fight his way back to the top, or at least out of the middle. Yet with three seconds in three races at age 4 -- including one going a mile Sunday when beaten 7 1/2 at Belmont -- he just can't quite get there.

It's a wonder Da' Tara wasn't a bigger price on Belmont Day 2008. He'd only won a single race in his life, albeit at first asking in maiden special company on Jan. 5, 2008, at Gulfstream Park. He was third in a Gulfstream allowance and then owner Robert V. LaPenta and trainer Nick Zito tossed him in over his head to watch him come home ninth in the Florida Derby-G1 behind what was then a seemingly unbeatable Big Brown.

Sticking with stakes company, Da' Tara was fifth in the Derby Trial at Churchill (won by eventual G1 winner Macho Again) a week prior to the 2008 Kentucky Derby, which also turned into a Big Brown romp. He followed Big Brown to Pimlico two weeks later and notched a game second-place finish in the Barbaro Stakes (formerly the Sir Barton) on the undercard of Big Brown's Preakness freakshow.

So, really, who'd fully have expected Da' Tara to spring the Belmont upset? Certainly he's well-bred, by twice-champion Tiznow out of Torchera, one of four stakes-caliber Pirate's Bounty foals out of multiple stakes winner Kaylem Ho (Salem-Kay Ho, by Quid Pro Quo) -- a blacktype quartet that included Grade 1 winner Private Persuasion (1995 Vanity H.).

But as Ann Ferland reminds me, no tail-male descendant of the great Man O' War had won an American classic since his own son War Admiral took the Triple Crown in 1934. And coming into the Belmont, Da' Tara wasn't even the most accomplished direct descendant of the mare Kaylem Ho in the race -- that was Denis of Cork, the Harlan's Holiday colt who had won the Grade 3 Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park and finished third in the Derby behind Big Brown and the ill-fated filly Eight Belles. Kaylem Ho, second dam to Da' Tara, is third dam to Denis of Cork.

Still, when Big Brown cashed it in early under Kent Desormeaux and the scramble was on to see who picked up the loose change, the Belmont Stakes honors went to Alan Garcia and his long-shot charge, Da' Tara.

So where has Da' Tara gone from there? Lots of places and nowhere, really.

Da' Tara resurfaced later in 2008 at Saratoga for the Jim Dandy S.-G2, finishing seventh behind an old nemesis, Macho Again. About a month later, he ran fifth in a Travers S.-G1 known for its incredible photo finish -- won by fellow Tiznow colt Colonel John by the hairs of his muzzle over Mambo in Seattle.

A sixth-place finish in a sloppy Jerome H.-G2 at Belmont's fall meet prompted a drop in class for Da' Tara (and a jockey change to John Velazquez somewhere along the line) but he was not quite up to the task back at Churchill, finishing third in an optional-claimer.

A couple of months off resulted in an anticipated return to the track in February back where Da' Tara broke maiden, at Gulfstream Park, on the Fountain of Youth Undercard. But to pilfer a NASCAR term, Da' Tara has been the first loser in every race he's run this year, including his closing, but distant, runner-up performance back under Garcia at Belmont on Sunday.

So what next?

Since I'm apparently in the unsolicited advice-dispensing business these days, I have a suggestion for Messers. LaPenta and Zito: Send Da' Tara back to stakes company.

That probably sounds looney, but you haven't read the half of it yet. I want to see him on the grass next month at Saratoga. I believe the John's Call Stakes beckons on a Friday, Aug. 7.

The sixth running of the John's Call, per the condition book a $70,000-added race, is slated for a mile and five-eighths over the Saratoga lawn. It has the added benefit of being restricted to horses that haven't won a graded-stakes race in 2009, so there shouldn't be any real turf monsters in the field. Though NYRA reserves the right to move the race to the main track (apparently regardless whether weather's the issue), Da' Tara shouldn't bat an eyelash at that possibility, and if it stays on the grass, the condition book suggests he stands to benefit from some serious breaks in the weights due to having no prior earnings on turf.

Last year, only eight horses went to post, so Da' Tara likely wouldn't have to fear being closed out because of that lack of turf earnings (which are the tie-breaker in case of over-subscription). In the 2008 renewal, Just As Well, who was third in an optional-claimer in his "prep" for the race, was sent off as the 2-1 favorite in his stakes debut. Though he's gone on to be turf-G1-placed at age 6 in 2009, he didn't win on this day; he didn't even hit the board. Victory went to Summer Patriot, his first and only stakes triumph (though he is also G1-placed on grass). Second went to Venezuelan import Taconeo and third to Codeword, who is G3-placed at a mile but has never won a stakes.

Time for the race -- as it has been for all four prior runnings to take place at 13f on grass (Auguri won the John's Call at 9.5f on dirt in 2004) -- was a fairly pedestrian 2:42.50. Da' Tara's 2:29.65 Belmont victory was far from fleet, but the list of horses that have won the Test of the Champion in 2:29 or slower is lengthy and star-studded (including Seattle Slew's 2:29 3/5) and 2:29 and change is roughly par for finishing 13 furlongs in around 2:42, which as noted could win the John's Call.

I don't know whether Zito has ever tried to work Da' Tara over a turf course, but I know the horse hasn't raced over one. And the one thing we know about the colt is that distance, at least by American standards, is not a limitation. Tiznow is throwing plenty of classic-distance horses, not to mention at least three graded-stakes winners on grass -- Tizaqueena, Tizfiz and Tizdejavu. And considering Da' Tara's dam line produced a 1-2 finish in the Belmont last year at a mile and a half, I'm going to assume the extra 660 feet of the John's Call won't be Da' Tara's undoing.

I think your horse fits in the race, Nick and Bob, and to prove it, I'm willing to pay the early nomination fee on your behalf, provided you'll pay the $1,000 to pass the gate. ... O.K., I know there's no fee for nominations (if they're on time, it's $200 supplemental). But you also get a $750 rebate on the one-grand starter's fee provided the horse does actually run in the race. And isn't $250 an insignificant amount to risk? ... I mean, by your bankroll's standards?

If Da' Tara doesn't like the turf, so be it; he hasn't won his last seven races anyway. If he can merely maintain his runner-up streak for 2009, it's still a good payday and an extra spot of black type on his (potentially foreign-market) stallion resume that sure could use it. ... The Belmont alone isn't much of a selling point for a stud career these days.

But if he does take to the grass -- and I truly believe that isn't out of the question -- Da' Tara just might win that race. And then we have even bigger plans.

Winning the John's Call would set the stage for a potential entry in the Breeders' Cup ... the Marathon, that is. The race has been extended this year to 14 furlongs (provided they don't start canceling races now) which, Messers. Zito and LaPenta, could help play into your boy's hands. And unlike so many eastern-third-based American horses, Da' Tara shouldn't run and hide from the Pro-Ride at Santa Anita, either. Aside from Da' Tara himself and champion juvenile filly Folklore, each of Tiznow's other Grade 1 winners in his still-young stud career have won at least one of their G1s on SoCal synthetics: Well Armed (Goodwood S.); the aforementioned Colonel John (Santa Anita Derby); and Tough Tiz's Sis (Lady's Secret S.).

Millionairess Bear Now has two G3 wins over different synthetic tracks. Slew's Tizzy won the Coolmore Lexington S.-G2 on Keeneland's Polytrack and set a 9-furlong course record over the all-weather surface at Hollywood Park. Ex-claimer Informed added a G2 win over synthetics for Tiznow recently by taking the Californian at Hollywood.

Since extremely talented horses and their connections are donning garlic necklaces and holding out crosses at arm's length at the notion of racing over Pro-Ride during the Breeders' Cup -- complaining that the "plastic" surface favors European invaders and turf horses -- why not find out right now whether Da' Tara is one of those who can handle the grass? ... Even if he can't, or doesn't like it quite as well as the main track, I wouldn't write off the Marathon completely because of the fine synthetic form so many Tiznows have displayed.

The Breeders' Cup Marathon, though over the main track, indeed was a haven for Euros and turf horses at Santa Anita last year. Irish-shipper Muhannak (with no career graded blacktype) won it, second went to ex-claimer and Cal-based G3 turf winner Church Service, and finishing third was Big Booster, previously winner of the San Juan Capistrano-G2 at 14f on turf.

So how about it, Bob and Nick?

You have a Grade 1-winning distance horse on your hands. And he suffers from seconditis at shorter circuits (five of his other 14 starts lifetime, plus the MSW win and two thirds). But if Da' Tara can win the John's Call and be pointed to the Breeders' Cup, there are a half-dozen potential preps to test him again and keep him sharp between the two -- including the all-weather-track Turfway Park Fall Championship, which is a win-and-you're-in for the Marathon.

Allow the guy do what thus far he's done best -- turn Da' Tara out and let him run all day.

You might even decide that this distance racing thing is pretty cool, something I have a hunch your horse already has figured out for himself.