Past the Point to Woodward
 

Is it crazy to think this horse can beat Rachel Alexandra?

He absolutely loves Saratoga, has been working great, and comes off a sharp win earlier in the meet.

http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/hor...ory?id=4431383

NT

The things about him is that his top two-turn dirt efforts have come when he's on or very near the pace. I guess that could work to his advantage against Rachel, but if she loses I see it being after she loses a pace battle that cooks her and whomever runs with her.

He's got a solid chance of running second but if Rachel runs her race he won't be in the same zip code when she hits the wire.

One of the things I absolutely love about Rachel is that you can pressure her early, but she is of good enough mind that she can be rated.

Unless she isn't herself this day, I don't believe he will be a problem for her. Totally different class of horse.

Edit-This would seem to be a fishing expedition by Sheik Mohammed, maybe he wants to gauge his chances later on. Definitely not the best he can send or will send.

The thing about this race is her 2 biggest rivals will be horses who like to be on or very close to the lead- Cool Coal Man and Pass the Point. Hasnt Zito played upset before? Hmmm. Problem is his horses rarely pair up 2 top perfromances back to back, unless they are given long layoffs like Birdstone was. Check out how badly Coal Play ran last week off that huge top. Cool Coal Man has a history of not being able to duplicate races too.

Great race and weekend shaping up. Hope the weather cooperates this time.

several times now i've seen where people think she'll get 'cooked' up front-but she is far from an unrestrainable front-runner. where is this coming from? she's a tractable horse, not a one-dimensional speedster.

I think shes a much better animal just off the pace. At least from a visual standpoint, her greatest triumphs have come when not allowed the lead.

i think she can run from anywhere-but i think her greatest triumph may be the preakness, where she took heat from beginning to end. but really, has she had a bad run all year?

Not disagreeing however there is a need by some, perhaps the minority for her to prove just how good or great is the word I am searching for in a field worthy enough where there are no questions that she is one of the best horses of our time, she's already proved she is a great filly. That has been superceded by 'Horse' for me. The Mother Goose, the Oaks, The Haskell are all nice races but really didn't require any challenge for a horse of her caliber, I suspect the Woodward will be much of the same. We need to see her in a top notch quality field to see just how great she is, see how she handles adversity...ect..

I'd agree with this - the Haskell gave me chills the way she put them away.

perhaps none seemed a challenge because she's just that good? a good horse will always make the others look like donkeys in comparison.

an emphatic win for sure. she was very impressive.

I think he has a chance. It might be worth taking him for second. Rachel-him exacta might pay 20$. Its a Bird and Cool Coal Man will both be lower prices then PTP. If he's the 4th-5th choice, it might be worth it.

I know she didnt beat much, but for me her Oaks was her best day. That gave me chills.

The Jockey Club Gold Cup would answer alot of questions and if I were NYRA I would darely love to outdo the BC Classic by somehow getting Zenyatti, Summer Bird, The Derby winner, Rachel Alexandra, Quality Road, Well Armed onto one track. We know some of these will not race on pro ride so this could be attractive. Realistic probably no, but it's nice to think of the possibilities of it happening. However I am not holding my breath.

The Travers wouldnt have proven much either. It was a slightly better field than the Haskell but not by a whole lot. Theres no reason to think she wouldnt have galloped yesterday too. I am glad she waited for the Woodward. At the very least its a new kind of win for her (against older males).

PTP can not be considered her biggest rival. Its a Bird was being called the best handicap horse in america before his last. Andy said it a number of times on the NYRA brodcast. He cuts back and Martys horse just freaked today. He will def. be lower odds then PTP IMO.

they should send well aremed in that one too

I dont think we'll see Quality Road run until the Cigar Mile. He seems to do well with time off and the word is that race took everything out of him yesterday. I would have loved to see what he could have done in the Kings Bishop.

Talk about a horrible weekend for Todd Pletcher. His only consolation was a cheap win from the Roundhouse. 3 bad grade 1's in a row. Unbridled Belle was the nuts on the sundae. Man, that was an utter mess.