2009 American Horse of the Year
Rachel Alexandra was simply one of the greatest fillies American racing has ever seen, a powerhouse bay whose 2009 campaign is still talked about with awe. She was foaled in 2006, a daughter of the great sire Medaglia d'Oro out of the mare Lotta Kim. She began her career under owner Dolphus Morrison and trainer Hal Wiggins, and after a stunning Kentucky Oaks performance she was sold to Jess Jackson and Harold McCormick of Stonestreet Stable, with Steve Asmussen taking over the training. Her jockey, Calvin Borel, would not climb off her back for any other horse that year.
The 2009 Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs was her coming out party. Rachel Alexandra demolished her field by 20 and a quarter lengths, the largest margin in the history of that race. Her new connections promptly entered her in the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico, where she became the first filly since Nellie Morse back in 1924 to win the second jewel of the Triple Crown. Borel had her in front, and she held off a fierce late charge from Mine That Bird to make history.
She kept tearing up the boys all summer long. Rachel Alexandra won the Mother Goose Stakes at Belmont Park by 19 lengths, then headed to Monmouth Park and became the first filly ever to win the Haskell Invitational. The crowning moment came at Saratoga in the Woodward Stakes, where she became the first three year old filly in history to defeat older males in that historic race. She was simply unstoppable that summer, and racing fans flocked to see her every start.
For her stunning eight for eight 2009 season, Rachel Alexandra was named Horse of the Year, the first three year old filly to win that title since Moccasin in 1965. She returned to the track in 2010 but never quite recaptured the same magic and was retired to broodmare duty at Stonestreet Farm. Rachel Alexandra stands today as a beloved icon of the sport, a filly whose courage and dominance over males made her a household name and lifted American racing during one of its most thrilling years.
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