Six years to the day since her superstar dam defeated older males in a stirring renewal of the GI Woodward S., Rachel's Valentina (Bernardini–Rachel Alexandra) proved best of a promising bunch to cap a 'TDN Rising Star' trifecta in Saturday's GI Spinaway S. at Saratoga. Taking up a perfect pocket spot early behind splits of :22.75 and :45.38, the Stonestreet homebred tipped wide into the lane and set her sites on the taking-over Constellation (Bellamy Road) as Tap to It (Tapit) wound up from the back of the pack. Striking the front in the final sixteenth, Rachel's Valentina kept finding to hold safe Tap to It by a length and earn an automatic bid to the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies.
Saturday, Saratoga
SPINAWAY S.-GI, $350,000, SAR, 9-5, 2yo, f, 7f, 1:23.10, ft.
1–#@&RACHEL'S VALENTINA, 118, f, 2, by Bernardini
1st Dam: Rachel Alexandra (Horse of the Year, Ch. 3yo filly & MGISW, $3,506,730), by Medaglia d'Oro
2nd Dam: Lotta Kim, by Roar
3rd Dam: Kim's Blues, by Cure the Blues
O/B-Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings LLC (KY);
T-Todd A. Pletcher; J-John R. Velazquez. $210,000.
Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0, $259,800. Werk Nick
Rating: A+. Click for the
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
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2–Tap to It, 118, f, 2, Tapit–Leave Me Alone, by Bold
Badgett. ($400,000 Ylg '14 KEESEP). O-Whisper Hill
Farm LLC; B-Summer Wind Farm (KY); T-Ralph E.
Nicks. $70,000.
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3–Constellation, 118, f, 2, Bellamy Road–For Royalty,
by Not For Love. ($155,000 Ylg '14 KEESEP;
$800,000 2yo '15 OBSMAR). O-LNJ Foxwoods;
B-WinStar Farm, LLC (KY); T-Steven M. Asmussen.
$35,000.
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Margins: 1, 3 1/4, 5. Odds: 1.75, 2.10, 5.90.
Also Ran: Anna Rae, Tonasah, Banree.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.
Rachel's Valentina overcame a troubled start and wide trip to earn her diploma over six panels here Aug. 2, and was subsequently flattered when fourth-place finisher Nickname (Scat Daddy) returned to score Wednesday.
“She was a little more aggressive than I anticipated coming out of the gate, and I didn't want to be hooked up with the other horses on the lead, so I had to take a good hold of her and put her behind the horses in front,” explained winning rider John Velazquez. “She relaxed and I left her there for a while, and at the quarter pole I pulled her out. Today, she knew what it was all about. She was on the bridle, and she knew what she was supposed to do. I didn't have to do anything down the lane, just keep her mind on running, and she got it done. She's one of those horses that the farther she goes, the better she gets. Before she ran I thought three-quarters might be a little too short and she still got up there. She's pretty good.”
Trainer Todd Pletcher was celebrating his fifth win in the Spinaway, tying mentor D. Wayne Lukas.
“I thought she ran fantastic,” he offered. “Actually, she put herself into the race a little more than I thought she would, but she seemed to be handling tracking those horses well, and getting a little dirt well. I felt like turning for home, knowing her style and watching her train, that she was going to keep coming. I've always felt like the farther she goes, the better she gets. And I think that's proven to be true. I haven't really thought about [what's next]. I'll talk to the Stonestreet people and see. The options will be pretty straightforward; it would either be the [GI] Frizette [Oct. 3 at Belmont Park] or the [GI] Alcibiades [Oct. 2 at Keeneland]. I think she'll have one more race [before the Breeders' Cup] if she's doing good.”
The late Jess Jackson's Stonestreet Stables purchased Rachel Alexandra from breeder Dolphus Morrison after her 20 1/4-length procession in the 2009 GI Kentucky Oaks, and was rewarded hansomely when she went four-for-four to close out her season for Steve Asmussen, annexing the GI Preakness S. over GI Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird (Birdstone); GI Mother Goose S. by 19 1/4 lengths over two subsequent Grade I winners; GI Haskell Invitational S. over GI Belmont S. winner Summer Bird (Birdstone); and Woodward by a head over Grade I-winning 4-year-old male Macho Again (Macho Uno) after setting a hot pace. Edging out fellow future Hall of Famer Zenyatta (Street Cry {Ire}) to take home Horse of the Year honors, Rachel Alexandra wasn't quite the same at four for the most part, but did take Churchill's GII Fleur de Lis H. that June by 10 1/2 lengths.
Jackson lived to see Rachel Alexandra visit his two-time Horse of the Year Curlin (Smart Strike) in February of 2011, but lost his battle with cancer that April at the age of 81. His widow Barbara Banke kept Stonestreet going and has remained a very active industry participant, and recently saw Rachel Alexandra's first foal–the aptly named Jess's Dream–pull off an improbable run from out of the clouds to earn 'TDN Rising Star'-dom first out going nine panels here for Kiaran McLaughlin Aug. 24 (click here for more).
Rachel Alexandra overcame serious complications after foaling Rachel's Valentina in 2013, and has not been bred since.
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