JC / Railbird

‘Rachel’ Round-Up

Early Wednesday evening, news broke that Jess Jackson and partners had bought Oaks winner Rachel Alexandra, with a plan to race the filly, then breed her to Curlin at the end of her racing career. Terms were not disclosed, but rumor pegged the purchase price at $10 million (news reports at $3 to $4 million) and a source close to the deal said ‘Rachel’ could move to trainer Steve Asmussen’s barn on Thursday. (Asmussen said he had heard nothing about a possible transfer.) The possibility that the filly, pointing to the Acorn in five weeks following her scintillating rout last Friday, could start in the Preakness instead was raised, with confirmation that someone from Stonestreet called the Maryland Jockey Club to inquire about supplementing into the race. Should she run at Pimlico, jockey Calvin Borel would be faced with an unusual, difficult decision, choosing between riding the Derby or the Oaks winner in the second leg of the Triple Crown. But Jackson hinted that the Belmont was more likely:

“It fits her history, and I’ve always appreciated how fans in New York are so appreciative of great racing,” said Jackson.

Trainer Hal Wiggins, who scored his first G1 win in a 40-year career with the Oaks, was disappointed, but gracious at hearing the sale was final:

“We hate it but we all feel blessed to have had her through the Oaks and we will always have those memories with our family and friends,” Wiggins said.

Fan reaction was swift. An open letter was hastily typed: Please, don’t break up the team. And a debate began on Twitter over how best to plot a Horse of the Year campaign for the 3-year-old super filly:

“OK, maybe not the Haskell. How about Travers, JCGC, and a BC race (beating the boys or Zenyatta)? That’s a HOY campaign.”

#Belmont and BC Classic would do it, yes. Just the BC Classic would probably do it. Einstein and Well Armed aren’t pushovers.”

She needs to win a classic for HotY. The Haskell won’t get it done with Zenyatta and Forever Together looming.”

“Acorn or #Belmont works for me; agree JCGC and the rest are on the agenda. Skip the #Preakness.”

“Take the Filly Triple Crown, then the JCGC, then the BC … wouldn’t meet Zenyatta … or would she?”

“I would point toward the tiara with a jcgc / classic double. The Belmont has a history of spending horses.”

All exciting possibilities. Now, I’m starting to feel a little energized …


6 Comments

I also thought MTB’s connections were very gracious over the possibility that Borel would take the mount on RA should she run in the Preakness. Allen said something like “we could never be mad at him, he won the Derby for us”. Classy, I thought.

Posted by dana on May 7, 2009 @ 11:02 am

[…] a look at Railbird v2 for a thorough roundup on Rachel […]

Posted by Rachel Alexandra Now With Asmussen - The Rail Blog - NYTimes.com on May 7, 2009 @ 11:55 am

I’d say Rachel A. sold for at least $7 to $8 million, maybe a tad more. $3 to $4 million would be cheap for her as a dual racing/broodmare prospect.

Posted by Sid Fernando on May 8, 2009 @ 10:05 pm

Dana, agreed. Listening to Woolley talk the other day, I was completely charmed by how great he was talking about Borel possibly taking off Mine That Bird. Not a trace of rancor (not sure I could manage the same if I were ever fortunate to be in the same situation).

Sid, thanks for the estimate. Does her value hinge mostly on her broodmare prospects at this point? Can she add significantly more to her value going forward with wins? This is an area of the game I’m fascinated by, but of which I have very little understanding …

Posted by Jessica on May 8, 2009 @ 11:27 pm

Jessica, as a dual prospect she has the ability to add significantly to her bottom line — so her value is based on earnings potential and broodmare value. Yes, she can add to her value as a broodmare by winning a Triple Crown race.

If she was sold only as a broodmare prospect, her value would have been less.

By the way, a price comparable is Stardom Bound, who was actually predicted to become what Rachel did. Last year at public auction SB sold for $5.7 million as a dual prospect, which would put a market value for Rachel in the $7-8 million range. “Fair” market value during the Triple Crown season also is inflated because owners will pay a premium for a classics prospect.

Posted by Sid Fernando on May 12, 2009 @ 2:11 pm

Very interesting. Thanks for the follow up!

Posted by Jessica on May 12, 2009 @ 9:59 pm