Last weekend, Rachel Alexandra held a match race.
It’s wasn’t an official match race.
Other contenders were in the field.
And, the match race wasn’t against Zenyatta.
But, it was against a horse that was riding a record of six consecutive victories – Life at Ten.
Officially, Persistently won the Personal Ensign at Saratoga. It was a great victory for a horse with final odds of 19-1 as she entered the gates against a top-notch field.
And, Persistently deserves respect for beating the reigning Horse of the Year while clinching her first Grade I career victory.
Yet, in my mind, there was a race inside the race.
It was a match race between Rachel Alexandra and Life at Ten.
It was a race between the reigning Horse of the Year and a rival who had been undefeated in her last six consecutive starts.
Sound familiar? It was similar to the match race that the racing community has pondered since Zenyatta crossed the finish line in the Breeder’s Cup Classic.
Life at Ten slammed her six-race undefeated record on the line to square-off with reigning Horse of the Year, Rachel Alexandra.
And, neither of them won the official race.
But, there was a race inside the race.
The rest of the contenders fought against the field.
Yet, Rachel and Life at Ten fought against each other in a match.
And, in the first two-turns, racing saw something stunning. The two great horses called a match, dug-in, blew past their rivals and shot out on their own.
Stride-for-stride, they fought like warriors against each other in a forgotten field of fellow contenders.
It was if Rachel said, “Fine. If a match race is what you want, I’m delivering it. Right here. Right now. On my terms.”
It was gutsy. It was beautiful. It was stunning.
It displayed the pure glory of Rachel Alexandra that led to her coronation as Horse of the Year in 2009.
Yet, in reality, she lost the Personal Ensign.
And, since the race, the focus shifted toward the defeat of Rachel by Persistently.
But, there was a race inside the race.
It was a match race between two great horses.
It was the moment that Rachel stomped out, picked her own opponent and started a match race on her own terms and timing.
And, Rachel claimed a personal victory when she finished in front of Life at Ten.
She may have not run the match race that racing wanted to witness.
Nor did she pick the opponent that many saw fit.
And, she didn’t win the Personal Ensign.
But, there was a race inside that race.
It was a match race.
And, Rachel Alexandra won the match.
To see footage of the Personal Ensign, click here.
