Jockey Calvin Borel has chosen to ride Rachel Alexandra in the Preakness Stakes in preference to Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird.Borel guided Rachel Alexandra to a 20-1/4 length victory in the Kentucky Oaks then pulled a stunning upset aboard 50-1 long shot Mine That Bird in the Derby.Yet he didn't hesitate when asked by Stonestreet Stables owner Jess Jackson to switch mounts for next Saturday's race at Pimlico."She's a once-in-a-lifetime horse," Borel said."I had no choice, she's something
Jockey Calvin Borel has chosen to ride Rachel Alexandra in the Preakness Stakes in preference to Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird.
Borel guided Rachel Alexandra to a 20-1/4 length victory in the Kentucky Oaks then pulled a stunning upset aboard 50-1 long shot Mine That Bird in the Derby.
Yet he didn't hesitate when asked by Stonestreet Stables owner Jess Jackson to switch mounts for next Saturday's race at Pimlico.
"She's a once-in-a-lifetime horse," Borel said.
"I had no choice, she's something else."
Rachel Alexandra is undefeated in five starts since Borel took over as her jockey.
She dazzled during the Oaks, roaring down the stretch with little urging to post one of the more remarkable racing performances in recent memory.
"It came down to the facts that he knows and loves this horse, that he knows how to get the most from her and he knows how to win," Jackson said.
"They were an amazing team at the Kentucky Oaks."
Borel was pretty good in the Derby too, leading Mine That Bird on a last-to-first dash in the final half-mile (800m) to pull off the second-biggest upset in the race's 135-year history.
Yet he couldn't pass up the chance to ride Rachel Alexandra in the Preakness, a decision Mine That Bird's trainer Bennie Woolley Jr understood.
"We hate losing Calvin, he's the reason we're here," Woolley said. "But these things happen and we'll move on."
Woolley has already spoken to several jockeys about replacing Borel, but still plans to name the 42-year-old Cajun as his rider at next Wednesday's Preakness draw.
Woolley will go to Plan B only if Jackson pays the $US100,000 ($A132,494) late fee to enter his filly in the race.
The field is capped at 14 with preference given to horses already nominated to the Triple Crown.
Jackson and partner Harold McCormick purchased Rachel Alexandra on Wednesday and promptly moved her into the barn of trainer Steve Asmussen, who guided Curlin to victory in the 2007 Preakness as part of a career that made the horse racing's all-time money winner.
Nellie Morse is the last filly to win the Preakness, capturing the race in 1924.
Only three fillies have made the field in the last 70 years, the last being Excellent Meeting in 1999.