'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.