Rachel Upset Again!

The venue changed from Fair Grounds to Churchill Downs, and the rival changed from Zardana to Unrivaled Belle, but in the end Rachel Alexandra fell a head short for the second consecutive time.

Rachel Alexandra, once again, was made a heavy favorite as bettors expected the daughter of Medaglia d'Oro to regain her 2009 Horse of the Year form in today's La Troienne at Churchill Downs, but it was not meant to be. This time around it was Unrivaled Belle who outdueled Rachel Alexandra.

Rachel Alexandra went to the lead early along with D. Wayne Lukas' Be Fair to establish a fairly leisurely early pace getting the first quarter mile in 24 3/5 and the opening half mile in 48 4/5. Jockey Calvin Borel had a hold on Rachel Alexandra who was loping along through those soft early fractions. Unsurprisingly the slow pace caused the field to be fairly bunched early with Zardana Unrivaled Belle, and Distinctive Dixie stalking the leaders, and Morena just a few lengths back at the tail end of the small pack.

As they rounded the turn for home Rachel Alexandra and Unrivaled Belled began to seperate from the pack, as Zardana and Be Mine threw in the towel. Morena was picking up the pieces for third while Unrivaled Belle battled Rachel Alexandra for the win. At the sixteenth pole the pair was even, with both contenders under heavy drives. At the line it was clear that, for the second straight time, Rachel Alexandra would come home second best at extremely short odds.

Unrivaled Belle notched her second straight graded stakes win in the La Troienne after taking the Grade III Rampart at Gulfstream Park in March. The grey or roan filly is by superstar stallion Unbridled's Song and is out of the Bertrando mare Queenie Belle. Kent Desormeaux was the winning jockey, and Bill Mott the winning trainer. Unrivaled Belle covered the 1 1/16 mile distance of the La Troienne in 1:42.97.