Rachel gets broken in at Diamond D Ranch

Dolphus Morrison, the original owner of Rachel Alexandra

In August of 2007, Morrison sent Rachel Alexandra to Diamond D Ranch in Lone Oak, Texas, to Jimmy "Scooter" Dodwell who was to break her in. Morrison had intended to try selling Rachel again at the Florida sale.

Rachel Alexandra stood out from the moment she arrived at Diamond D Ranch in Lone Oak, Texas, to be begin her initial training stages in August 2007. And it wasn't just because of the yearling filly's strapping size, her big stride, or the unique blaze that runs down her face.


"Her mother was tough to break, and when Rachel showed up she had that shark eye, that big white eye on her, and I said, 'Oh my goodness, this is going to be fun,' " said Jimmy Dodwell, who manages Diamond D Ranch. A white eye is often associated with meanness, but Jimmy Dodwell said Rachel Alexandra proved to be nothing of the sort. Instead, she was a model student, and would be the first Grade 1 winner to come out of the ranch.

The Diamond D Ranch break about 100 yearlings each season and have given early training to 124 stakes winners. But the best horse to come through Diamond D in close to 30 years of operation was Rachel Alexandra, who was into being a racehorse from the start, Jimmy Dodwell said.

"Rachel was always good, she did everything perfect," he said. "She took to it like a fish to water.

"We broke her in the fall and turned her out 60 days in the pasture. The pasture was close to the track, and while the other horses would be grazing, a lot of times I would see her up at the fence, watching the horses up at the track. She was different."

Dodwell said that when Rachel Alexandra resumed training and progressed to working, her talent became evident.

"It was the way she did it, it was effortless," he said. "That's the way she is now."

In November, Morrison called Dodwell to inquire about her readiness to enter that sale. Dodwell was very hesitant to answer. Rachel was one of the best young horses he had ever seen. She had a lot of speed, a long stride, and seemed like she could run forever. Dodwell stuck his neck out and advised Morrison that he might want to keep this one. Rachel Alexandra finished her early training sessions at Diamond D in May 2008 and was shipped to trainer Hal Wiggins at Churchill Downs.

Ed Dodwell said it was particularly special to have had a horse like Rachel Alexandra

Jimmy "Scooter" Dodwell and Rachel Alexandra (April 2009)