Is Havre De Grace As Good A Race Horse As Rachel Alexandra Or Zenyatta?

By Author: Lee Lane-Edgar
Total Articles: 365
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A case can be made that Havre de Grace, who will be one of the favorites for the Breeders’ Cup Classic is as good as Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta. It is true that until she does a little more, it is a rather weak case, but she is still close to them in ability at worst, and equal to them at best.
One of the main criteria that must be used that great mares such as Azeri or Sightseek were never able to meet is to beat older males. Both Zenyatta and Rachel Alexandra accomplished this feat. Rachel did it in winning the Grade 1 Woodward, and Zenyatta did it in winning the 2009 Breeders’ Cup Classic in dramatic fashion.
Rachel Alexandra also proved that she was able to beat the best of the three year old males as well. She defeated 2009 Derby winner Mine That Bird in the Preakness, and then went on to defeat Travers winner Summer Bird in the Grade 1 Haskell.
And Zenyatta proved her win in the Breeders’ Cup was no fluke as she rallied boldly in the 2010 Breeders’ Cup Classic falling just a head short of winner Blame.
Now Havre de Grace has taken the Grade 1 Woodward against older males, defeating ...
... Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup and Grade 2 Suburban winner Flat Out, who is a solid older male horse. Her win in that race saw her achieve a career high Beyer Speed Figure of 111, a figure that Zenyatta was able to top only once, when she got a 112 for her Classic win. Havre de Grace seems to run Beyer numbers consistently from 105 to 110, which is better than many of the numbers Zenyatta received for her 19 wins. In fact, Zenyatta registered Beyers of over 105 only three times in her 19 wins.
Havre de Grace in fact has registered Beyer Speed Figures of 105 or better six times. Of course Havre de Grace has picked up three losses to a talented female by the name of Blind Luck, and Havre de Grace would be an undefeated six for six this year if not for a nose loss to Blind Luck in the Grade 2 Delaware Handicap back in July.
She has seven wins from thirteen starts and has beaten older males in a Grade 1 race once. It is worth mentioning her in the same breath as Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta, but most would agree she hasn’t accomplished quite as much yet. If she can pull off a win in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, she will win Horse of the Year and will well deserve mention as one of the great mares of her generation.
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