Devil May Care Has Something to Prove In Mother Goose

One may take a quick look at this year's Mother Goose Stakes (gr. 1) and decide this might a good Saturday to go to the beach or lake. The $250,000 Mother Goose has short field of five with Devil May Care (photo) as the heavy favorite and three of the five fillies are trained by Todd Pletcher. This year's edition also falls short of last year when Preakness winning filly Rachel Alexandra came to New York to win the Mother Goose by 19-1/4 lengths.

Devil May Care may not have the star power of Rachel Alexandra, but she will certainly have more to prove.

Having finished finished tenth in her attempt against the colts in the Kentucky Derby presented by Yum! Brands, trainer Todd Pletcher has given Devil Mare Care plenty of time to recover. With a 6-5 morning line it is likely she will have plenty of support from her supporters though the betting windows but the question looms as to how much, if any, did the Kentucky Derby take out of the filly.

After all, Devil May Care was considered for the 1-1/2 Belmont Stakes (gr. 1) and the Acorn Stakes against fillies June 5 but was instead given an additional three weeks for the Mother Goose.

The Mother Goose was until this year, the second leg of the Triple Tierra series for 3-year-old fillies made up of the Acorn Stakes and the Coaching Club American Oaks (gr. 1). The distance of the Mother Goose has also been changed. The race been shortened to 1-1/16 miles from the 1-1/8 distance at which the race has been run since 1959. The Mother Goose was inaugurated in 1957 and run at 1-1/16 miles for the first two runnings.

For the Mother Goose, Pletcher will also saddle Ailalea, an impressive winner of the grade 3 Dogwood Stakes at Churchill Downs May 29. She also has a win over the track having broke her maiden at Belmont Park last year.

Katy Now will be making her stakes debut off of three consecutive wins.

Another filly who should get plenty of support is Biofuel, who invades from Canada where she was won the Star Shoot Stakes and the 1 1/16-mile La Lorgnette Stakes, both over Woodbine's Poly-Track surface.

One may better remember Biofuel from November's Grey Goose Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (gr. 1) at Santa Anita. Coming down the home stretch, Biofuel looked to be a potential winner with a late charge down the middle of the track. But just as she reached the 1/8th pole (220 yds from the finish), she was severely bumped and lost stride.

Another Breeders' Juvenile Fillies graduate in the Mother Goose is Connie and Michael trained by Ken McPeek. A dull eighth in the Breeders' Cup, she has since returned to win an allowance race at Churchill Downs in wire-to-wire fashion.

So it's a short field and 60% of the fillies are trained by Todd Pletcher. So there is no Rachel Alexandra this year. Get used to that for a while folks. There may not be a 3-year-old filly like Rachel Alexandra for a very long time.

But this is an evenly matched group of grade 1 and potential top level winning fillies. Some of whom have a histories of running against each other going back to last year as debutantes.

And it is after all the Mother Goose. The race has been won by some of the greatest fillies in history including Cicada, Shuvee, Chris Everett, Ruffian, Davona Dale, Go For Wand, Life's Magic and Serena's Song to name a few. Winning jockeys include Bill Hartack, Bill Shoemaker, Braulio Baeza, Randy Romero, Jerry Bailey, Gary Stevens, Angel Cordero Jr. and Pat Day. The trainers list of winners is equally impressive going back to "Sunny" Jim Fitzimmons, Lucien Lauraen, Laz Barrera, D. Wayne Lukas, Charlie Whittingham, John Campo and Allen Jerkens.

All three lists are missing names with significant accomplishments in thoroughbred racing.

So if you have to do something else Saturday, it may be understable. Just make sure you set your TIVO.

Let the Rachel Alexandra vs. Zenyatta Debate Continue

The racing gods continue to smile down upon us this year after two exciting wins by two brilliant mares Saturday with Rachel Alexandra winning the Mother Goose (photo at left) in New York and Zenyatta winning the Vanity at Hollywood Park. Add to that comments by Zenyatta owner Jerry Moss that he would consider taking Zenyatta outside of Southern California to face Rachel Alexandra and it was quite a good day for racing fans.

Rachel took the racing stage first Saturday in the $300,000 Mother Goose at Belmont Park, but faced only two rivals. Sent off at odds of 1-9, Rachel easily put away second-place finisher Malibu Prayer and Flashing. Her galloping final strides were no surprise, nor was the 19-3/4 length margin - although it eclipsed Ruffian's 1975 margin. But her final time of 1:46.33 broke the stakes record by nearly 7/10ths of a second and she did it with such ease. At one point just before the finish, jockey Calvin Borel seemed so relaxed it appeared he reached up and gave her a congratulatory pat or maybe just fixed her main for the photo.

Minutes later on the West Coast, Zenyatta remained undefeated winning the grade 1, $300,000 Vanity Handicap. Although she faced only four other rivals, Zenyatta met with considerable more adversity than Rachel, most notably the 129-pound assignment under the terms of the handicap conditions of the Vanity. The late running Zenyatta had less pace to run at than she would like, but stayed a bit closer to the pace and prevailed with confidence by 2-1/4 lengths with another late run.

At the top of the pace, it appeared the extra weight was a challenge for Zenyatta until she ranged alongside the leaders inside the 1/16th pole to the finish. That's when she pricked her ears as if to say a passing hello to eventual runner-up Briecat and third place finisher Dawn After Dawn.

Now the question begs as to where these two magical mares - although Rachel is technically a filly - could possible meet. My guess would be the grade 1, $400,000 Personal Ensign Stakes at Saratoga in late August. Since Rachel Alexandra controlling owner Jess Jackson said Monday that he would not race his filly on a synthetic track, such as they have in Zenyatta home-base of Southern California - it appears Rachel's home of New York would be the next logical place for a possible match-up.

But Rachel Alexandra would again have to leave her comfort zone in the Personal Ensign, or any other race versus Zenyatta, because of the age difference. Rachel Alexandra is a 3-year-old and Zenyatta races against older mares. Both owning teams are trying to map out possible paths for not just divisional championship honors, but perhaps Horse of the Year honors as well.

Rachel Alexandra has already proven she can leave and win outside of her division of course, winning the Blackberry Preakness Stakes in May.

Rachel Alexandra Tries To Join Historical Group in Mother Goose Stakes

Rachel Alexandra will be returning to the races Saturday in the $300,000 Mother Goose Stakes at Belmont Park in her first start since winning the Blackberry Preakness Stakes in mid-May. And while the Mother Goose does not carry the prestige or coverage of the Preakness, the Mother Goose is a significant race in it's own right.

It is a grade 1 race, making it among the most prestigious and historically competitive; and it is the second leg to the Triple Tiara of Thoroughbred racing, otherwise known as the Filly Triple Crown. The series is comprised of the one mile Acorn Stakes on Belmont day, the 1-1/8 mile Mother Goose and the 1-1/4 Coaching Club American Oaks in late July. Only eight fillies have swept the series beginning with Dark Mirage in 1968.

The Mother Goose has a rich history since first being run in 1957 when Outer Space and jockey William Legget won the first running.

One of my favorites is 1969 winner Shuvee, who was also the second filly to win the Triple Tiara. Now in the Hall of Fame, Shuvee is perhaps best remembered with her victory in the 1970 Jockey Club Gold Cup when she became the only filly to defeat the colts in the then two mile race.

The most famous Triple Tiara winner is of course, Ruffian (photo at left) who took the crown in 1975. She was undefeated in ten career races before a fatal injury suffered in an infamous match race against Kentucky Derby winner Foolish Pleasure.

Now burried in the infield at Belmont Park, Ruffian was perhaps one of the most amazing race horses of anytime. Lucien Laurin, Secretariat's trainer, once said of Ruffian, "As God as my witness, she may even be better than Secretariat."

After breaking her maiden in record time by 15 lengths, Ruffian went on to set a new stakes record in each of her eight added-money victories and equalled two track records. She was a massive, black filly that stood 17 hands high and broke on top in every race and was never headed at any point during her career before the fatal race in July of 1975.

But the Mother Goose has produced a long list of recognizable female greats including Chris Evert in 1974, 1984 winner Life's Magic, trained by D.Wayne Lukas; Go For Wand in 1990; Sky Beauty, the last Triple Tiara winner in 1993; and Serena's Song, also trained by Lukas, in 1995.

Rachel Alexandra Decision Will Be Boost To Game

The decision not to run Rachel Alexandra is a dissapointment. It appears obvious though, it is the best decision for the filly in both the long and short run. Based on her work Monday at Churchill Downs and reports from the barn area, she looks as regal as ever in the morning - on the track and to and from her barn.

What most racing fans may not realize, however, is that this should also be the best decision for us as racing fans as well. Sure it would have been thrilling to have a replay of the Preakness with Rachel running on the lead down the stretch in apparent control with Mine That Bird rallying from "no-way" land to "can he catch her?" ville.

One of the effects of owner Jess Jackson' decision not to run Rachel is that he has now placed more national attention on more races. Instead of experiencing any kind of post-Belmont syndrome, we can now all look forward to June 27. That day two major filly and mare races will be run on each end of the coast and where the Rachel Alexandra v. Zenyatta debate will be stoked to the enjoyment of us all.

At Belmont Park, some of the best 3-year-old fillies will convene in the $300,000 Mother Goose Stakes (gr.I) and it may mark the return of Rachel Alexendra to racing and her return to the filly ranks. If she wins that race, then it will only add to the anticipation of possibly watching Zenyatta later that afternoon in the $300,000 Vanity Breeders' Cup Handicap (gr.1) at Hollywood Park. Both races are at 1-1/8 miles on the main track and both races are against the best in each of their respective divisions.

Then there is the $700,000 Hollywood Gold Cup at Hollywood Park on July 11 for older horses (the big boys) at the classic 1-1/4 distance. Not likely either of the female superstars will be in that race, but the winner is sure to face the question of whether he can beat Zenyatta or not. The same questions will likely apply to the winner of the Pacific Classic at Del Mar in August. Great victory in a grade 1 race. But....

After the Belmont, the best of the 3-year-old colts will be heading to the $1 million Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park on Aug 2. Without Rachel Alexandra, all we may have is a race with Mine That Bird, Dunkirk, Quality Road, Pioneerof the Nile, Muskat Man and the likes. The Jim Dandy at Saratoga on the same day will attract some from this group, but it's still going to be fun. I love Rachel Alexandra as much as anybody other than possibly Calvin Borel, but the law of diminishing return applies when evaluating her addition to that quality of race.

I just got my chrystal ball back from Emmitt at the Mayberry Alarm and Lock Company and just plugged it in before I wrote this. But if it's working, can you imagine races like the Travers... not to mention the Breeders' Cup.