Ok to be fair
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Rachel Alexandra, the reigning Horse of the Year, could not find a finishing gear or her characteristic grit and was beaten in a stirring stretch duel with a determined Unrivaled Belle in the $400,000 La Troienne Stakes on Friday at Churchill Downs.
It was her second setback since returning to the races this year as a 4-year-old and stunned a packed Churchill Downs crowd of 116,046, most of whom fully expected that Rachel Alexandra would run away from the field the way she did here last year in a reputation-making record 20¼-length victory in the Kentucky Oaks.
“She’s just not been as fast as last summer,” her trainer, Steve Asmussen, said after Friday’s loss. “She ran a good race, but not a great race.”
In New Orleans last month, Zardana was the giant killer, blowing past Rachel Alexandra in the stretch of the New Orleans Ladies Stakes at the Fair Grounds.
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