Rachel's Connections In Tough Spot?

Rachel Alexandra is now in racing's all-time elite. After her stirring victory in the Woodward on Saturday, it left little doubt as to her stature.

She has a mortal lock on champion 3-year-old filly and a padlock on Horse of the Year unless something crazy happens in the next three months. Now her connections have a tough choice - do they race her again this year and if so, where?

The racing fan in me, as well as scores of others, wants to see her take on unbeaten Zenyatta in the Breeders' Cup Ladies Classic in two months. It's probably the only matchup left this year that would have any significance for her.

Owner Jess Jackson has said on many occasions that running on the "plastic" artificial dirt of Santa Anita is out of the question. But he is in a no-win situation with her next step.

The Woodward was undoubtedly a tough race on Rachel and since she went wire-to-wire and hold to dig deep to hold off Macho Again. It was her toughest race since she held of Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird in the Preakness.

Jackson can easily keep Rachel on the sidelines the rest of the year and you couldn't fault him for doing so. And if you read between the lines of his quotes, that appears to be the most likely scenario. If that happens, you can only hope that we will indeed see her as a four-year-old.

“I can’t honestly say (if she'll run again this year," he said. "Hal (Harold McCormick) and I will have to talk about it and Steve’s going to have to bless her coming out and what her condition is. She’s run more races than Zenyatta’s run, and Zenyatta’s 5 years old. You can’t expect a young youngster – she’s only 3 – running against older horses, running against older mares – you can’t expect them to keep going all the time. You have to give them a break, and we’ll talk that over very seriously.”

Racing so badly needs Rachel to run as often as possible and she's had eight starts this year already. There may not be another horse like her for some time. Jackson knows that, but he will undoubtedly air on the side of caution. As a result, he's in a great but tough spot.

If he were to run her again, the options are:

Beldame - A proposed purse boost to $1 million for the Beldame at Belmont was an attempt to lure Zenyatta east and keep Rachel in New York. That would be a huge shock if that came to fruition, especially since the race is only a month after the Woodward.

Breeders' Cup - This would give Rachel two months to recover from the Woodward and her presence would add a sensational and needed boost to a championship event. She could either run in the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic against the boys or more likely the $2 million Ladies Classic. The excuse of not running her because of the "artificial dirt" is a weak one though. (Jackson needs to forget about Curlin's moderate performance in last year's Classic.) She has a win at Keeneland on the Polytrack and there's no reason to think that a different surface would stunt her abilities. It would be a great way to cap off an undefeated and all-time great year.

Clark Handicap - Churchill Downs put on a great Thanksgiving weekend of racing and the Clark has always attracted good horses over the year. There is also precedent for Rachel to run in this 1 1/8 mile race. Surfside, a regally bred 3-year-old filly, went wire-to-wire to capture the 2000 renweal. Churchill is also Rachel's home base and CD might even throw in a purse boost to help lure her into race. But their connections indicated it would be too late in the year.

Match Race - The only other spot that might make sense is a staged match race with Zenyatta. Belmont and Sam Houston Park have offered inducements to bring the two together and there might be more to offer those incentives now. Jackson didn't appear to close the door on that after the Woodward.

"It depends on both horses coming out and what both camps would be willing to do," he said. "I’ve indicated Rachel’s had a full race year already. It might be that they get together, but I can’t predict that. It takes two to [tango], but it better be a good venue or neither one will come.”

No matter what happens, for those who have seen her this year have witnessed greatness. Let's just hope it's not the last time.