December-January 2015-2016 /
American Turf Magazine
43
a subsequent start saw little improve-
ment. His record remains 2-0-0-0 with
earnings of $625.00.
Her Tapit son, Ziconic who looks
more like his sire and was thought to
be a bit more forward, has yet to start.
Given Tapit’s sterling record, one can
hope he will be more like his dam than
his older brother has been to date and
that Zenyatta’s 2016 foal is a filly.
And Rachel? Well, her daughter and
son owned Saratoga. Rachel’s Valen-
tina made her debut on Aug. 2 in a six
furlong maiden special weight race.
Laying far off the pace she closed with
authority to win by two lengths for Bar-
bara Banke and trainer Todd Pletcher.
Her year older brother Jess’s Dream,
trained by Kiaran McLaughlin, made
his debut on Aug. 25 in a nine furlong
maiden special weight race. As far back
as 18 ½ lengths at one point, and rac-
ing greenly for much of the contest,
he did not appear to have a chance
turning for home. Yet somehow Jess
Jackson must have been looking on
and his namesake heard the battle call
and found it within himself to eek out
a length win.
The big, slow-maturing colt was being
pointed for an allowance race when
some minor soreness was detected in
his right hind leg. Subsequently, he
was turned out for the remainder of
the year and, as trainer McLaughlin
noted, “We’ll have a great four year
old in the barn.”
Rachel’s Valentina seemed more
than willing to pick up where her big
brother left off. Wheeled right back
in the seven furlong G1 Spinaway on
Sept. 3 she again began a bit slowly
but closed willingly to win by a length
in the ‘win and you’re in’ Breeders’
Cup prep.
The year is not yet over and much
can happen quickly in this sport. But
if Rachel is to have only two foals, how
nice it is that in some future stud book,
there will be a son and a daughter avail-
able to inbreed to her. Like the royal
family in Great Britain, she has pro-
vided an heir and a spare.
The early disappointment of Cozmic
One and the loss of Zenyatta’s only
filly do not mean that there will be no
glory for her, either. But if one of them
had to feed the other a bit of humble
pie early it seems only right that it was
the great filly who almost died - the
Preakness winner and her two children
by Preakness winners who is thus far
three-for-three. It’s a mighty nice way
to begin, not to mention reminding
fans that the story of Rachel Alexandra
did not end when her racing career
concluded.
Horse of the Month
Jess’s Dream scoring in his debut
Photo by Horsephotos.com/NTRA
