If you're the kind of sports fan that lists a John McEnroe or a Terrell Owens among your favorites (you like the bad boys in other words) then the winner of the $600,000 Alabama Stakes Saturday at Saratoga may be just the horse for you. Except Careless Jewel is a three-year-old filly which makes her a bad girl. And she has more class than Tonya Harding and less controversary than a Chinese gymnast.
And if there were style points in horse racing, the like deductions Careless Jewel would have received would have eaten away at her actual 11-length victory in the grade 1 Alabama.
First, she acted up in the post parade, dancing around the pony as if she had snakes in her saddle blanket. Then, moments before the race, she appeared to be an early scratch candidate when jockey Robert Landry dismounted a Careless Jewel, who appeared to have no interest in walking to the starting gate, much less running.
As the field was dispatched at the start of the race, Careless Jewel broke from post number five and appeared to be more interested in taking a bite out of Be Fair to her outside, than getting the lead.
Be Fair sprinted to the lead around the first turn and then caused Careless Jewel to stumbled severely when the later clipped the heels of the front-runner with a mile left to run. But Landry composed Careless Jewel rather quickly, then almost casualy raced to the lead around the far turn on their way to a dominating win.
Careless Jewel, a daughter of the hot young sire Tapit, is certainly no immediate threat to Rachel Alexandra in the 3-year-old filly ranks, but she sure is fun to watch. If you like bad girls that is.
No Word On Rachel Alexandra For Travers
While trainer Steve Asmussen nor owner Jess Jackson have indicated whether Rachel Alexandra will run in the $1 million Travers Stakes at Saratoga Saturday, her sire and jockey are still scheduled to be represented and present respectively.
Sunday morning, jockey Calvin Borel worked Jim Dandy Stakes (gr. 2) runner-up Warrior's Reward, a son of Medaglia d'Oro, five furlongs in 1:00.98 over a sloppy Saratoga track.
Following the work, Borel said the colt has become more responsive in the mornings since the Jim Dandy and appears to be an improving horse. Trainer Ian Wilkes has said for months the Travers was his main target for Warrior's Reward and that he is responding right on schedule.
Florida Derby and Amsterdam Stakes winner Quality Road however, had his schedule slightly altered by trainer Todd Pletcher Sunday morning. When the Saratoga track turned muddy, Pletcher dedided to postpone the work until Monday morning. Quality Road was the likely favorite for the Kentucky Derby before a foot injury sidelined him just days before the race. He then returned from a four month lay-off to win the Amerstam in track record time.
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