The 2008 Golden Rod
 

It was run at Churchill Downs on the same day, over the same distance, as the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club. Rachel Alexandra won it with a final time over 1 full second faster than the males ran. In other words .. she ran six lengths faster.

Yet, the top 3 finishers in the Ky Jockey Club (Beethoven, Giant Oak, and Capt Candyman Can) all were laid at morning line odds between 10-to-1 and 15-to-1 in round #1 of the Derby Futures. A lot of respect for male horses blown off the tv screen by proxy.

In the Golden Rod...

* Rachel Alexander won. She just came back to win the Martha Washington in blowout fashion and will certainly get a higher Beyer than the 96 that Eight Belles got when she won the same race last year by double digit lengths.

* Sara Louise was 2nd beaten almost 5 lengths. Despite getting drowned, she still managed to run faster than the 3 respected males. Sara Louise hasn't run back since ... but, in her prior start to the Golden Rod ... she won the Pocohontes Stakes in final time 3/5ths faster than Capt Candyman Can did in his 3 lengths Iroquois win at the same distance on the same card.

* War Echo was 3rd beaten 12 lengths. She has since run back once ... winning the Silverbulletday Stakes with the same 95 Beyer that Friesen Fire won the Risen Star Stakes at the same distance - on the same card.

* Dream Empress was 4th beaten 14 1/2 lengths. She hasn't run back yet ... but in her prior start ... she was 2nd beaten just 1.5 lengths to Stardom Bound in the Breeders Cup Juv Fillies. The same Stardom Bound that closed at a hysterical 22/1 in the Derby future wager.

* Super Poni was 5th beaten 20 lengths. She came back to win her next start by 6.75 lengths at 7/1 odds.

* Pearl of Valor rounded out the field while 6th beaten 30 lengths. She had run 23 points better in her previous start while beating a next out winner. Hasn't run back since.


In a later two-turn route race on the card .. Au Moon broke his maiden by 6 lengths and improved his Beyer 11 points next out when 3rd to FF and Patena in the Lecomte.


It's pretty amusing that Stardom Bound is 22/1 to win the Derby ... I wouldn't take that price on her now if I could get it for the Oaks. The Oaks is signed, sealed, and delivered for Rachel Alexandra.

i think she's the real deal, and unlike some out west (hint, hint) we know she can handle the churchill surface, and imo the competition. she is one tremendously fast horse, and set a new stakes record in the martha washington-she ran it over two seconds faster than the previous mark.

She'll run a competitive second to War Echo. :p I'm kidding (kind of)

I'm taking whatever War Echo does at FG not very seriously....

after all ... she's a half to Pyro.

But hey, at least I didn't go Andy Beyer and call Pyro's win in the Risen Star last year 'the best performance in a Derby prep in over 20 years.'

I agree, it would be amazing if Stardom Bound would run in the Oaks and give us an amazing opportunity. She would be 4/5 in that race, and RA would be in the 5/1 range I bet. Mouth is watering as I type it

You can't pick your relatives!

Yeah.

Pyro had quite the Jazilian career after he left FG.

Yeah when the Fillies start to run with the boys in late April then I pay attention mor closely. At 2 the girls are faster and know more about the game than the boys. Rachel is fast but let's compare this year when talking about numbers.

crinkle







trash can.




:D

You might get 10-1 on Rachel Alexandra in the lone Oaks futures pool. Eight Belles, with similar credentials but arguably a weaker field to contend with (her stablemate being the chief rival), was 8-1 in pool 2.

I don't know how that'll happen since RA's next start is likely to be during the weekend that the wager is open (FG Oaks 3/14 or Honeybee 3/15).. If she airs again, she'll be a close second choice to SB, IMO.

My uncle bought in for half of RA last year for less than you would of thought....boy is he on cloud nine.

Congratulations to him for sure. Can Dee Tee Stables get in for $49.99?

NT

I might eat these words... but I'll take a second choice dirt horse over a top choice synthetic horse at this point in time.

Will you want mustard or mayo with that? :D

Have any of the colts from Medaglia d'Oro's first crop done much yet? He seems to have sired some good fillies in the crop (Rachel Alexandra, CS Silk, Renda, etc.) but I don't recall seeing anything from his boys yet.

So would I, I'm just saying she's not going to be anywhere near 10-1.

Do you play it at 6/1 though?

The way I think about is that I think IEAH will go to the Derby with Stardom Bound, and if they do, RA is 7/5 on Oaks Day. If they don't go to the Derby, then RA is probably 5/1 on Oaks Day.

I just disagree that she'll be 5-1 or 6-1. These two are obviously head-and-shoulders above the rest of the fillies at this point, so unless another monster shows up on the scene, why wouldn't SB be 6-5 and RA 9-5?

In fact, if Stardom Bound keeps chucking up 84 Beyers, it wouldn't surprise me to see RA favored.

I see what you are saying, 10 horses field, two horses taking all the attention. So maybe the value will be the future pool then, because Stardom Bound will be favored in that, no doubt. I don't think enough people know about Rachel Alexandra yet, kinda sucks that she possibly running that weekend, if it was the weekend after, she would have extreme value.