Confident Rachel Blooms Again in Fleur de Lis

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Rachel nation is breathing a little easier on the afternoon of June 12 after last year's Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra scored her first win of 2010, drawing away from four overmatched rivals in the $200,000 Fleur de Lis Handicap (gr. II) (VIDEO).

Making her second start at Churchill Downs since her record-breaking 20 1/4-length romp in the 2009 Kentucky Oaks (gr. I), 4-year-old Rachel Alexandra looked a little more like her old self in the 1 1/8-mile Fleur de Lis.

Sent off at prohibitive odds of 1-10 while carrying 124 pounds, she shook off pace rivals Jessica Is Back and Distinctive Dixie near the three-sixteenths pole and romped home while geared down late by jockey Calvin Borel, who gave a look over his shoulder at the retreating field as he approached the wire. The official margin of victory was 10 1/2 lengths while the final time was a sharp 1:48.78 over a fast track on a muggy, hot day at Churchill.

“She’s just getting back," Borel said afterward. "You have to give her a chance. She’s a filly and she did the impossible when she was a 3-year-old. I think you’ll see a great future now. She did everything right today. I don't think she was ready before."

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