Rachel is pulled out of the Apple Blossom

Rachel Alexandra will not face unbeaten mare Zenyatta in the proposed $5 million Apple Blossom at Arkansas' Oaklawn Park on April 9. Yesterday Rachel was upset by little-known Zardana by three-quarters of a length in the $200,000 New Orleans Ladies at the Fair Grounds. Zenyatta, meanwhile, extended her endefeated wins to 15-for-15 when she won the Santa Margarita Invitational less than an hour later.

"Yesterday's race while a disappointment, helped us define Rachel Alexandra's racing condition. While she is healthy, just as I had anticipated, she is not in top form. Therefore, I decided today she will not be going to the Oaklawn Invitational on April 9. Steve and I discussed this fully and we now regret we tried to accelerate her training in order meet the Apple Blossom schedule. We have a whole season before us to help define her greatness. She will tell us when her next race will be."

"She's not where we want physically," trainer Steve Asmsusen said. "That most likely eliminates the Apple Blossom. We're not comfortable with how she responded to the accelerated program, so we're going to continue to train her at Fair Grounds and see what happens. She's clearly not up to her previous level. We're going to regroup and come back again. The disappointment from yesterday continues."

Rachel Alexandra tired late in her first race after six-month layoff.

"She blew after the race, but she wasn't exhausted," Asmussen said, "She drank plenty of water afterwards. It took her a little while to leave the test barn, but she went back to the barn comfortably. She went right to her feed tub last night, and she was in very good health this morning."