2009 ThoroughbredReport.com Horse of the Year

January 3, 2010 by Greg Brandow
Filed under: Horse Racing 

Rachel Alexandra vs. Zenyatta

Zenyatta 2009

Date Race Grade ASR Field Size 2009 GSW Beaten
5/23 Milady II 3up fm 6 1
6/27 Vanity I 3up fm 6 0
8/9 Hirsch I 3up fm 7 1
10/10 Lady's Secret I 3up fm 7 1
11/7 Classic I 3up 12 10


Zenyatta PROS:

  • Undefeated in 2009 (5 for 5)
  • 4 Grade 1 victories
  • Beat males in arguably the best field assembled in 2009, the Breeders’ Cup Classic

Zenyatta CONS:

  • Raced only 5 times in 2009
  • Raced only in California
  • Raced only on synthetic tracks
  • In first 4 races, only beat one 2009 graded stakes winner (Life is Sweet)
  • Although the BC Classic field was very accomplished, very few of the runners had had any success on synthetic tracks

Rachel Alexandra 2009

Date Race Grade ASR Field Size 2009 GSW Beaten
2/15 M Washington NG 3yo f 9 0
3/14 FG Oaks II 3yo f 6 1
4/5 Fantasy II 3yo f 5 1
5/1 Kentucky Oaks I 3yo f 7 2
5/16 Preakness I 3yo 13 7
6/27 Mother Goose I 3yo f 3 2
8/2 Haskell I 3yo 7 3
9/5 Woodward I 3up 8 4

Rachel Alexandra PROS:

  • Undefeated in 2009 (8 for 8 )
  • 5 Grade 1 victories
  • Raced and won on 7 different race tracks in 6 states
  • Won Kentucky Oaks by over 20 lengths and Mother Goose by over 19 lengths
  • Beat males winning the Preakness Stakes (1st filly to win Preakness since 1924)
  • Beat males winning the Haskell Stakes (beating top 3yo male Summer Bird by six lengths)
  • Beat older males winning the Woodward Stakes

Rachel Alexander CONS:

  • Never raced against older fillies and mares
  • Didn’t run in Breeders’ Cup

 

CONCLUSION:

Don’t get me wrong, Zenyatta’s victory in the Breeders’ Cup Classic was dramatic, exciting and very impressive and if you want to nominate it as the Race of the Year or Moment of the Year, you won’t get much of an argument  from me.  (Although Rachel Alexandra’s victory in the Woodward Stakes was pretty damn exciting).  But what else did she do?  Yeah, she won four other graded stakes, including three Grade 1′s, but she never beat more than one 2009 graded stakes winner in any of those races and it was Life is Sweet each time.  (Granted, Life is Sweet would go on to win the Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic).  California Horse of the Year?  Definitely.  Synthetic Horse of the Year?  Absolutely.  But Horse of the Year?  No way.  Four virtual walkovers and one amazing performance are not enough this year.

Rachel Alexandra, on the other hand, travelled far and wide to dominate her own division before aggressively taking on not just the best males her own age in the Preakness and Haskell, but older males in the Woodward Stakes.  In each of her five Grade 1 victories she defeated multiple 2009 graded stakes winners (2 in the Kentucky Oaks and Mother Goose, 3 in the Haskell, 4 in the Woodward, and 7 in the Preakness).  In was an unprecedented campaign for a three-year-old filly.

Rachel Alexandra ran big races all year long and that’s why she’s the 2009 ThoroughbredReport.com Horse of the Year.

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