Two-thirds of the way through, the emerging story of horse racing's Triple Crown has been reduced to this: The filly that no one expected against the gelding that no one knew.
Now the question is, will a sport that needs a shot in the arm get that new marquee matchup when the Triple Crown moves to Elmont, N.Y., for the Belmont Stakes in three weeks?
Chip Woolley Jr., who stunned the racing world with Mine That Bird's 50-1 long-shot victory in the Kentucky Derby, endorsed the idea Sunday morning after Rachel Alexandra's history-making run in the Preakness.
"She's welcome to come to Belmont and tie into us again, so we'll see what happens," the cowboy trainer from New Mexico said, a few feet from Mine That Bird at the Preakness barn.
It will be a wait-and-see proposition. Trainer Steve Asmussen, who had Rachel Alexandra dropped into his lap some 10 days ago, was satisfied the filly had proved she could run with - and beat - the boys.
For now, he'll gauge the health of the sport's newest star to see whether she is up to the Belmont's 1 1/2 miles on June 6.
"I personally think she's proven what we set out to prove with her immediately," Asmussen said before taking a morning flight back to Louisville, Ky. "Which doesn't eliminate anything, but it does take a tad of the urgency off. ... [We're in] a lot stronger position after the win."
Asmussen reported that early indications were good Sunday. His filly ate well after the race and was alert in the morning. But he also acknowledged that the Preakness took its toll.
"I thought she ran very hard. I thought she was tired after the race," he said. "I think she looks like a horse the day after they ran. The weight's something we'll monitor very closely and be extremely curious about."
Asmussen said he will take the daughter of Medaglia d'Oro back to the track on Wednesday but wouldn't breeze her before Memorial Day at the earliest.
Jess Jackson, co-owner of the filly with Harold McCormick, purchased the horse after she won the Kentucky Oaks by 20 lengths on May 1. After a quick transition to Asmussen's barn at Churchill Downs, she breezed well enough to convince Jackson she was ready to test the boys in Baltimore. He paid a supplemental fee of $100,000 - and waited out some back-door intrigue - to get into the race.
No filly had won the Preakness in 85 years. No filly had won the race as a favorite in 103 years. And no filly has ever won two jewels of the Triple Crown, which would be the next run at history if Rachel Alexandra is entered in the Belmont.
