Jenny Kellner
NYRA/Saratoga Race Course

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – With dozens of onlookers lining the rail at the Oklahoma training track, reigning Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra turned in  a solid work this morning as she prepares for the Grade 1 Personal Ensign Stakes on Aug. 29.

Playfully bucking after stepping onto the track shortly before 6 a.m. on a warm, cloudy morning at Saratoga Race Course, Rachel breezed five furlongs in 1:02.45 under jockey Shaun Bridgmohan, leaving trainer Steve Asmussen pleased with what he saw.

“I thought she looked really good,” said Asmussen. “Shaun did a good job with her. She obviously was very strong away from the pole, but she looked beautiful. This morning was a little warmer than it has been the past two days. I think the cooler weather this week has had her energy level very high, and we did a little more with her first work back today than we normally do off a race (because) of how she’d been galloping the past few days.”

The Monday morning breeze was Rachel’s first since her win in the July 25 Lady’s Secret Stakes at Monmouth Park, her second victory of the year from four starts. She is scheduled to work the next three Mondays over the training track in preparation for the Personal Ensign, which will be her first Grade 1 appearance of the year and first start at 1¼ miles.

“She’s always been very impressive; something that everybody has noted on is how she gallops out after a race,” said Asmussen. “She shows that in her training. It is going to be her first time at 1¼ miles running, and it isn’t galloping out.

“I feel very comfortable, with her being here and having had the success she had last year,” added Asmussen, who trains Rachel Alexandra for Jess Jackson’s Stonestreet Stable and Harold McCormick. “Right now, you try to get her work schedule where it is and hope that Mother Nature allows you to do that.”

In the Personal Ensign, Rachel will be returning to the site of one of her most thrilling victories. Last year at Saratoga, she completed a perfect 8-for-8 season with a historic win over older males and became the first filly to win the Grade 1 Woodward.

Fans of Rachel Alexandra can follow the 4-year-old filly as she readies for the Personal Ensign on her own website, “Rachel’s Sandbox,” a multimedia site which gives fans an interactive experience and allows them to keep up with the latest news and information.