Preakness Champion, and Mother, Toughs It Out
|
Version 0 of 1. LEXINGTON, Ky. — On a sun-drenched May morning on the 460-acre Stonestreet Farm, Rachel Alexandra, a member of racing royalty, emerged from a 16-by-16 oak-paneled stall in a barn named Cabernet. She showed no signs of distress as she did the day after giving birth to a 140-pound filly by Bernardini in February. Rachel Alexandra, who in 2009 became the first filly to win the Preakness Stakes in 85 years, was nearly back to her old self as her hooves clip-clopped on the asphalt on the way to her paddock. At 2:30 a.m. on Feb. 12, Rachel produced a filly with a marking on her head resembling a heart. It seemed an uneventful labor, and the birth was announced with a picture of mother and baby on Twitter. What was unusual was the foal’s size, the biggest at Stonestreet so far in the season and 15 pounds heavier than her first foal. That foal was a colt named Jess’s Dream by the two-time horse of the year Curlin, who also raced for Jess Jackson, the founder of Stonestreet and the Kendall-Jackson winery. By comparison, the first foal from Zenyatta, who concurrently captured the hearts of casual fans, was a 130-pound colt by Bernardini, winner of the 2006 Preakness. The next afternoon, a caretaker noticed something amiss and called Dr. Bonnie Barr, an internal medicine specialist at Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital, who discovered fluid in Rachel’s abdomen, signaling an infection. Dr. Brett Woodie performed more than six hours of surgery, discovering that part of her small colon was damaged, allowing bacteria and fecal material to leak into her abdomen. He put away thoughts of his patient’s celebrity, knowing her survival chances were slim. “I don’t think about that,” Woodie said. “I think about the job at hand and what’s the best way to correct the problem and try to save this horse’s life.” The foal was paired with a nurse mare. And Barbara Banke, Jackson’s widow, realized it was time to deliver the news: Rachel Alexandra was in serious condition. “Everyone understood the importance of reaching out to the fans immediately in that difficult time,” said Amy Kearns, Stonestreet’s communications manager, “and social media was the fastest way to share the information.” Rachel is considered a foundation mare for Stonestreet, one who could potentially pass on her ability to several generations. When she and Zenyatta became broodmares, the race for the creation of a potential superhorse began, and those in the multimillion-dollar breeding business eagerly awaited their offspring. In 2012, Stonestreet was second in North America in yearling sales dollars, offering 45 yearlings and completing sales of 38 with gross sales of close to $5 million. Stonestreet is expected to keep Rachel’s offspring, but losing her ability to produce would be a blow. How her offspring will perform is unknown, but her bloodlines can still be passed on, especially because her filly is expected to join the farm’s broodmare band. Banke was worried only about Rachel. With every update, cards, flowers, treats and calls flooded into the hospital and the farm. The feisty qualities — divaesque, Banke called them — that made Rachel a fierce competitor gave way to a gentler side. “She was amazing,” Barr said. “She just kind of went with it. We were on pins and needles, expecting problems, and they just didn’t happen.” Each day brought renewed hope, even after an abscess developed near Rachel’s reproductive tract, and a new friendship. Brent Comer, a technician, sat outside Stall 13 — considered lucky after Rachel’s Preakness victory from Post 13 — 15 hours a day, sometimes checking her Facebook page or watching videos of her races. He groomed her, hand-walked her, fed her and gave her medication. “She had a bit of a big crush on Brent, that’s for sure,” Barr said. Four years and two foals earlier, the love affair with Rachel Alexandra began when she followed her 20 ¼-length Kentucky Oaks victory with a nail-biter two weeks later in the Preakness. She stumbled at the start, found her footing and took the lead. In last place was the Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird, whom jockey Calvin Borel had stood up to ride Rachel. As Borel guided Rachel into the last quarter-mile, she struggled, the dirt track at Pimlico breaking under her. Mine That Bird was making up ground at a staggering pace, as he had done in the Derby. Borel stuck to his belief that Rachel was the best racehorse in the country — in the world, he said afterward. She crossed the finish line a length ahead of Mine That Bird. Tens of thousands of fans stood, the ovation growing louder as Borel, arms waving, and Rachel, ears pricked, neared the clubhouse. “I have never been on a horse and felt so comfortable and ridden a horse with so much confidence in my entire life,” Borel said. “Believe me, we could have went another round; they wouldn’t have gone by us. I know what she’s made out of.” Rachel’s legend was cemented, and a photo session for Vogue took her beyond the history books. She again beat colts in the Haskell Invitational on Aug. 2, winning by six lengths. On Sept. 5, she turned in another thrilling performance, holding off older males to become the first filly to win the Woodward Stakes. The superfilly, as Rachel was called, earned 2009 horse of the year honors, edging the supermare Zenyatta, who was compiling an impressive unbeaten streak while also showing that she could beat males. As the trailer carrying Rachel Alexandra home from the hospital pulled up to Stonestreet on March 26, she began to cry out as if she knew what a nearly impossible journey it had been. “I was in tears — I’m not going to lie,” Comer said. “And when we arrived, all the people were there to see her; it was just amazing.” This month, Rachel, her abdominal scar hidden, was alone in her paddock, and Banke looked on like a mother monitoring her child. “She was very sweet for me when she was just recovering at first, and now she tries to bite me,” Banke said. “So that’s a good sign.” Not far away, Rachel’s foal was sprawled on the grass near her nurse mare, Ojos. Barr cited the need for the foal to live apart from her mother as she has bonded with the nurse mare. She added: “A lot of times, too, the mare is so sick that she is using all of her energy and all her reserves to heal that she’s not making enough milk for the foal. The more important thing is for the mare to get better.” Banke said Rachel was raised by a nurse mare after her mother, Lotta Kim, rejected her. Describing Rachel’s parenting approach with Jess’s Dream, her feisty but lovable colt, who is nicknamed Taco and is in the yearling barn, Banke said: “Rachel let him do what he wanted to do. She was not real hands-on. I mean, she was a good mom, but she let him have his space.” Rachel’s doctors said it was too soon to tell if she could be bred again; she would have to go through a reproductive examination. “I don’t know whether she can take it,” Banke said. “I’m not sure if I can take it either. It’s too nerve-racking.” Rachel is improving, with Comer, whom the farm hired full time, by her side. Soon she will be allowed to interact with other horses, though she will be kept from active broodmares and their babies. Her nameplate says “Rachel Alexandra, Not Bred,” as if a cruel joke. But she is alive and even running again. “Running is not the word for it,” Comer said. “She is breezing for the Belmont. When we turn around, she’s back to her old self. She is up in the air, she rears, she runs, she bucks, she plays. She is definitely feeling good.” The team at Stonestreet is confident that Rachel’s fighting spirit pulled her through. “It was totally inspiring,” Comer said, “because usually these horses, they get so depressed and they don’t have the will to live. “But she acted like the horse she was on the track.” |