Ron Correll
Senior columnist
Tracksideview.com

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – In what some viewed as poetic justice, Persistently upstaged both Rachel Alexandra and Life At Ten in the 63^rd running of the Grade 1 Personal Ensign on Sunday at the Spa.

Persistently, who ran down Rachel Alexandra in the final sixteenth of a mile, was bred and owned by Phipps Stable, who also were the owners and breeders of the unbeaten Personal Ensign. Personal Ensign kept her record unblemished by nipping Kentucky Derby winner Winning Colors in the 1988 Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Churchill Downs. She retired a perfect 13 for 13.

As expected Rachel Alexandra and jockey Calvin Borel went for the lead at the start with Life At Ten sitting a half-length from her throat latch. The pair opened nearly six lengths on the rest of the field by the time they went under the wire the first time.

Rachel zipped along in fractions of 23.56, 47.73 and 1:12.02 with Life At Ten keeping her half-length distance. Persistently was as far back as eight lengths during the first six furlongs and only started making up ground as they rounded the second turn.

Rachel put away Life At Ten at the quarter-pole and Persistently still was four lengths back. The long stretch was starting to take its toll on Rachel and Persistently was within two lengths at the eighth-pole. It became a race to see if Persistently, under jockey Alan Garcia, had enough ground to catch Rachel before the wire came up. And she did.

“Early on I was talking to the jockey next to me (Jose Valdivia Jr. aboard Miss Singhsix), and I said, ‘We are good, we are good. Be patient and if those two fillies give it up at the quarter-pole, we both have a good shot.’ My filly was running at the end. I asked her for everything she had, and she gave it to me.

“My filly kept responding when I was asking her. She was the best. I am very happy with the way my filly ran today. She did great today. This was a big victory in my career. I didn’t talk to anyone after the race; I was too excited. I can’t even explain the emotions – to beat the Horse of the Year, at Saratoga – it was amazing,” Garcia said.

Persistently hit the front about 100 feet from the wire and stretched her lead to a length at the finish. The final time for the mile-and-a-quarter race was 2:04.49. Life At Ten was 10½ farther back in third. Miss Singhsix was another five-and-a-quarter length back in fourth. Classofsixtythree was last in the five-horse field.

Life At Ten may have lost all chances to win when she started showing kidney sweat in the paddock and had completely washed out by the time she hit the track.

The winner paid $45, $8.10 and $3.60. The exacta returned $94 and the trifecta was worth $228. The daughter of Smoke Glacken, out of the Deputy Minister mare Just Reward is trained by Shug McGaughey.

“Obviously with a filly like Rachel Alexandra in the race, we knew we were a long shot. But we did think she’d run a mile and a quarter. It was Mr. Phipps’ decision. He said to me, ‘If it’s going to be a short field; I’d like to give it a try.’ The only time she had ever run two turns on the dirt was when she won here earlier in the meet. It’s one of those things that pays off. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn’t. But today it did. I felt like something was going to be going on up front, and I just wanted (Garcia) to let the race unfold as it did and just kind of be there if she had a chance.

“I thought that (Rachel Alexandra) might be a little vulnerable going a mile and a quarter, and I knew we’d run a mile and a quarter. I knew we would run a mile and a quarter. Her female family runs a long way.

“We’re just tickled to death to win the race, particularly with it being the Personal Ensign. My hat’s off to Rachel Alexandra. She runs her heart out every time. She made a beautiful presence in the paddock today. We were just lucky enough to pick up the pieces,” McGaughey said.

Steve Asmussen, trainer of beaten favorite and runner-up Rachel Alexandra, said, “The winner won the race and I don’t want to take anything away from that. In a five-horse field, you can’t complain about where you are. It is what it is. I thought (Rachel) put a very good mare (Life At Ten) away. It obviously took more out of her on the front end than we would have hoped for. When she moved away from (Life At Ten) that’s what you were hoping to see. Then she got run down late.”

“I’m very disappointed that she lost, but I am always very happy with Rachel. It hurts to lose and you’re disappointed for it, but if that’s the case, just think about how happy she’s made you and all the things she has done for us. She’s a tremendous mare. If she isn’t exactly where she was last year, hopefully she can get back there.”

(Next?) “Her (next race) will be up to Mr. Jackson and I will speak with him. We want to evaluate who we are and who she is and where she’s at. We’re just worried about her well-being.”

Jess Jackson (Stonestreet Stables), owner of Rachel Alexandra in partnership with Harold McCormick, said, “We are disappointed in the result, as we are sure her countless fans are, but we are certainly not disappointed in her. She is still a superstar in our hearts and minds. The old sports adage applies … on any given Sunday, anything can happen.”