Rachel is gonna RUN!

Finally! After the sale! After the jockey decision! After all the drama! All the ridiculous "collusion" and "plots" to keep her out of the race! It looks like she really is gonna make it to the Preakness on Saturday! Which means the BOYS had better WATCH OUT!

I honestly cannot imagine a horse on this EARTH - male, female or "other" LOL - beating this filly! Seriously. I have NEVER seen a horse like her in my lifetime! That's saying a lot! Granted I was not around when the ill-fated Ruffian ran, or Secretariat, or Seattle Slew or even Affirmed. But I think Rachel Alexandra might be right up there with that crowd - for sure!

Now I may be over hyping her just a bit because she didn't have a lot of competition in the Oaks on May 1st. Had Stardom Bound or Justwhistledixie made it maybe it wouldn't have been such a HUGE victory (I mean, 20 1/4 lengths is INSANE for ANY race ... let alone a race like the Kentucky Oaks!). We don't know if she could beat a proven mare like Zenyatta even ... boy would I pay good money to see that race! I'd fly across the WORLD to see it in person if I could!

But just as we saw Rags to Riches spin in the almighty Curlin's face on Belmont day two years ago ... I think we are going to see Rachel absolutely RUN AWAY from these boys in a few days. If not, I will gladly eat my words! I think the whole industry will. She is a freak. A tank. She is bigger than most of these colts (and geldings - counting the Derby winner, Mine that Bird). No reason at all to think she can't run with them ... and past them!

I cannot wait for Saturday afternoon! The sport needs this, desperately! A breath of fresh air! It's going to be great!! GO RACHEL!!! I just wish she had run on May 2nd instead of May 1st, because I swear ... not only would we be potentially looking at a superstar filly, we would be looking at our first Triple Crown winner in 29 years and our first Triple Crown winning FILLY in the history of the sport!

Just wait and see! :)

Calvin will be looking over his shoulder again on Saturday ... but it will be his Derby winning mount Mine that Bird, and the rest of the boys, who will be BEHIND him this time!

Speaking of Calvin, he's on Jay Leno tonight! Can't wait to see him ... love it when he gets this kind of recognition. The man is a legend, truly. Too underrated in our sport and I'm thrilled that he's getting the limelight again, just like he did in 2007 with Street Sense. Couldn't happen to a better guy!

My current Derby contender list ...

- This is random, in no particular order and of course VERY flexible ... with 6 weeks to go anything can happen ...

Friesan Fire - His performance in Louisiana last weekend literally blew my socks off! If the track is sloppy on May 2nd, we've definitely seen that he can separate himself from the field!

Old Fashioned - His loss in the Rebel doesn't deter me, just raised some questions. Dominguez had no business moving him as early as he did, and though I hate to say it I really believe his poor timing has cost him the mount.

Dunkirk (right) - If he wins the Florida Derby next week and gets the graded earnings to run in the Derby, I'm not sure there will be any stopping him. We'll see ... and I can't wait to find out if he can overcome that silly "no experience as a two-year-old" curse.

Quality Road - I doubt he can beat Dunkirk in the Florida Derby, but if he can then he will certainly earn a spot near the top of the list!

I Want Revenge - This horse is definitely on the improve, just wondering if we haven't already seen his peak performance. If he's truly great we should get those answers soon enough.

The Pamplemousse - Dominating in the Sham, and he's beaten the likes of Square Eddie. Definitely another gray to watch, the Santa Anita Derby is shaping up to be a big prep! Would like to see what happens if he doesn't go wire-to-wire.

Pioneerof the Nile - Can't wait to see his showdown with The Pamplemousse. April 4th will bring more answers for both horses.

Chocolate Candy - This horse has heart; gotta see what he does on April 4th as well.

Other horses worth mentioning: Theregoesjojo, Win Willy, Papa Clem, Patena, Beethoven, Imperial Council, Warrior's Reward

- Hold Me Back was a shocker today in the Lane's End, and Kent Desormeaux might have a tough choice to make if Theregoesjojo also makes it in - right now he is at #27 on the graded earnings list. A lot of "musical jockeys" going on, as Jerry Bailey and Randy Moss put it today. Should be interesting to see who ends up with which mount come May 2nd!

- Really disappointed in Bittel Road and West Side Bernie, though I admit Bittel Road was my choice and he finished 10th. I'd love for Todd Pletcher to get a Derby win this year, and right now it's looking like Dunkirk is his best shot.

- Larry Jones still has two incredible chances between both Friesan Fire and Old Fashioned. Not hard to imagine either horse running away with it at this point.

- Either way, this seems to be turning into one of the strongest three-year-old crops I think we've seen in a while. That makes it SO much harder to narrow down the choices. Happy we have a lot of high quality horses though, that's never a bad thing!

- Of course I have to bring up the Kentucky Derby Challenge. Mafaaz (left) will be coming over, and apparently might run in the Bluegrass before Derby - which makes me feel a little better about the whole thing. I'm thrilled that they have the desire to open the race up more by allowing an international horse a spot, but in all honesty it is a tough enough battle already. Every year there are well deserving horses who get kicked out of that 20-horse gate. Essentially now it is a 19-horse gate because one horse gets a "free pass." We'll see how that works out. I don't think anyone believes Mafaaz has a chance in hell of winning on May 2nd, myself included, but what a story it would be if he did!

- On a side note, Rags to Riches gave birth to a filly (right) last week and she is absolutely divine! Aside from her leg markings, she looks just like Mom! Thrilled that it's a filly. The bottom line always passes the genes on much better. Maybe next year we'll see a colt from her, but for now this little filly has some big horseshoes to fill!

More girl power?

The more I watch Stardom Bound, the more I wonder whether or not they will point her toward the Derby or the Oaks.

Just look at this flawless workout she had yesterday:



She is maturing beautifully. She has a fantastic closing style, just like Zenyatta. She was brilliant in the BC Juvenile Fillies and just as spectacular in the Oak Leaf. Never out of the money (never worse than 2nd)!

Granted. She'd have to get the perfect trip in order to take the Derby ...

Then again, considering so many of the top three-year-olds seem to be front runners, she might be able to just sit at the back of the pack all by herself and wait for the huge wall to just break down in front of her!

It's been 21 years since a filly has taken the Derby (RIP my beloved Winning Colors). We almost saw it last year, but witnessed tragedy instead with Eight Belles collapsing after her impressive second place finish. Of course we had Rags to Riches winning the Belmont in 2007, not sure anything can ever top that brilliant moment - especially considering she beat the "almighty" Curlin in that thrilling stretch duel! Zenyatta was, and is, a pleasure to watch - but sadly she missed out on the fame of the Triple Crown races.

Who knows. Maybe Stardom Bound can get the job done. What would be really something is if a filly could go ALL the way. Whether she heads to the Oaks or hits the Triple Crown trail, one thing is for sure. The greys are looking mighty strong this year!!

Looking forward to her three-year-old debut this Saturday! Let's see what this girl can do!