Rachel Alexandra drills five furlongs

Rachel Alexandra looked every bit the part of one of the nation's top 3-year-old fillies on Thursday morning, when she breezed five furlongs in an effortless 1:00.80 at her Oaklawn Park base. She is scheduled to make her next start in the Grade 2, $400,000 Fair Grounds Oaks in New Orleans on March 14.

Rachel Alexandra worked just after 7 a.m., on a 60-degree morning at Oaklawn. She warmed up under regular rider Calvin Borel before going into her move at the five-furlong pole. Clockers carried Rachel Alexandra, who worked off the rail, through fractions of 12.60 seconds for her opening eighth of a mile, 25 seconds for her first quarter, and 37.60 for three furlongs. She galloped out six furlongs in 1:12.80.

"She worked real good, real easy," trainer Hal Wiggins said. "She was relaxed and looked like she galloped out real strong. It was a very nice move."

The work was Rachel Alexandra's first since her eight-length romp in the $50,000 Martha Washington at Oaklawn on Feb. 15. Last year at 2, she won the Grade 2 Golden Rod at Churchill Downs. Her main objective this spring is the Kentucky Oaks.

Wiggins said Rachel Alexandra would probably have her final breeze for the Fair Grounds Oaks on March 8. She is tentatively scheduled to ship to New Orleans on March 11.