Valadorna, Farrell, Shane's Girlfriend meet in Rachel Alexandra

NEW ORLEANS – Two of the last three winners of the Rachel Alexandra Stakes, I’m a Chatterbox and Untapable, won Grade 1 races, and Untapable was a champion. It’s nice when a stakes lives up to the horse for whom it was named.

Then there was last year: Venus Valentine rallied along a golden rail from far behind a taxing pace and posted a shocking upset. She has not won since.

This year’s Grade 2, $200,000 Rachel Alexandra, carded at 1 1/16 miles and as race 9 (post time 4:06 p.m. Central) on Saturday at Fair Grounds, lies somewhere between those poles. An 85-point race on the road to the Kentucky Oaks (the first four finishers get 50, 20, 10, and 5 Oaks qualifying points), the Rachel Alexandra has three major contenders in Valadorna, Farrell, and Shane’s Girlfriend. With just seven entrants – the others are Untapped, Majestic Quality, Wicked Lick, and Gris Gris – there is less chance for 2016-style chaos.

KEY CONTENDERS

Valadorna, by Curlin
Last 3 Beyers: 77-76-75

◗ Though she was second to champion 2-year-old filly Champagne Room in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, Valadorna won only once last year and started this season in a first-level allowance at Fair Grounds. Away slowly, Valadorna was held at the back of a short field behind a modest pace before Julien Leparoux wheeled her out at the top of the stretch. Her performance was better than the half-length margin of victory.

“I think you’re going to see a horse that breaks better,” trainer Mark Casse said. “We’re not going to get too far out of it. Julien’s not going to let that happen.”

◗ With Farrell and Shane’s Girlfriend drawn side by side inside her and probably committed to the lead, Valadorna is in line for a very favorable setup.

Farrell, by Malibu Moon
Last 3 Beyers: 74-80-72

◗ Trainer Wayne Catalano believes Farrell could have won the BC Juvenile Fillies had she come around in time. Instead, she capped her 2-year-old season with a six-length, front-running win in the Grade 2 Golden Rod at Churchill, the site of the Kentucky Oaks.

◗ Farrell originally was intended to make her 2017 debut in the Rachel Alexandra, but Catalano decided not to keep her in the barn too long and instead sent Farrell out to win the Silverbulletday Stakes here five weeks ago. Farrell prevailed despite disliking a muddy, sealed surface.

“The mud hurt her,” Catalano said. “She scrambled leaving the gate bad. She didn’t like it at all.”

◗ Farrell has a license to improve Saturday and has worked well between starts, according to her trainer. Her 59.40-second drill last Sunday was the second-fastest of 42 works at the distance that morning. “That was a really good work, and she did it easily,” Catalano said.

Shane’s Girlfriend, by Adios Charlie
Last 3 Beyers: 71-95-77

◗ Ran as well as anyone in this race when she won the $400,000 Delta Downs Princess over one mile by more than 13 lengths in November. But the filly, compact, quick, and athletic, might have been particularly well suited to Delta’s small racing oval.

◗ She performed well below her Delta form when a distant third last out in the seven-furlong Santa Ynez at Santa Anita but ran into divisional leader Unique Bella that day and was caught between horses for much of her journey.

“I was apprehensive about shortening her back up to one turn,” trainer Doug O’Neill said. “Her mind-set has been two turns. She won first time out on sheer ability. All along, she’s acted like a horse that’d be better longer.”