Rachel Alexandra was yanked from a five million-dollar showdown next month with unbeaten Zenyatta by owner Jess Jackson on Sunday, a day after his horse suffered her first career defeat.
Rachel Alexandra finished second at Saturday's 200,000-dollar New Orleans Ladies race to Zenyatta stablemate Zardana, losing by 3/4 of a length to prompt Jackson's decision after consulting with trainer Steve Asmussen.
Zenyatta and Rachel Alexandra were set for an April 9 showdown at the Apple Blossom Invitational at Oaklawn in Hot Springs, Arkansas. The purse would have jumped from 500,000 dollars to five million dollars had both fillies raced.
"Yesterday's race, while a disappointment, helped us define Rachel Alexandra's racing condition," Jackson said in a statement.
"While she is healthy, just as I had anticipated, she is not in top form. Therefore, I decided today she will not be going."
Rachel Alexandra was the 2009 Horse of the Year but the four-year-old star filly that won last year's Preakness was off form in her tuneup on the same day Zenyatta won her own tuneup race, the Santa Margarita Handicap at Santa Anita.
"We now regret we tried to accelerate her training in order to meet the Apple Blossom schedule," Jackson said. "We have a whole season before us to help define her greatness. She will tell us when her next race will be."
Copyright 2010Â AFP American Edition
