Farrell Singing Fine Tune in Rachel Alexandra Stakes

The days of being overlooked are coming to end for Farrell, a homebred for Coffeepot Stables. The dark bay filly was the picture of ease as she soared to victory Saturday, February 25 to win the $200,000 Gr.2 Rachel Alexandra Stakes at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots by 3 ½ lengths.

Under regular jockey Channing Hill, who was aboard for father-in-law Wayne Catalano, Farrell left the gates at surprising odds of 7-2 and opened up on the field of seven from the start, taking them through fractions of :23.92 and :47.32 through the half-mile. Valadorna made a solid move on the outside as they went through the three-quarters mark in 1:12.22 but flattened out as the leader went on easily to hit the wire in 1:44.09 for the 1 1/16th miles. Majestic Quality edged Valadorna by a neck to finish second.

“Wayne has been telling me since the first day he got her that this filly’s the real deal, and now I finally believe him,” Hill said after the race. “She’s pretty versatile, so I was really just playing it by the break. She settled so nice, she does everything so well.”

The Rachel Alexandra was the third consecutive stakes win for Farrell and her second score on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks. With her 50 points from Saturday, she shot to first place on the leaderboard with a total of 70 points.

Catalano was not sure what the next step for the filly will be, but the trainer was pleased with his charge. “Very happy with the performance she gave me today,” he said on Saturday. “She was pretty good. I was happy when (Hill) said she settled for him down the backside. Today was our race.”

A Kentucky-bred daughter of Malibu Moon, Farrell is out of the Unbridled’s Song daughter Rebridled Dreams. From six career starts, she boasts four wins and a third for earnings of $361,357.