Leading Sire Medaglia d’Oro did more than have a Kentucky Oaks winner from his first crop – he has one special filly that is rewriting the record books. On Friday, May 1, Rachel Alexandra parlayed her star status into the most dominant victory in the 135-year history of the $500,000, Grade 1 Oaks, toying with the overmatched field of seven fillies to win by 20 ¼ lengths.

The scary part about the seldom-heard-of final margin is that it could have been more, as regular rider Calvin Borel showed mercy when drawing clear in the stretch and paraded home in a canter to the delight of the crowd of 104,867 at Churchill Downs.

Breaking from post six as the heavy 3-10 favorite, Rachel Alexandra got away in good order and stalked pacesetter & fellow first-crop Medaglia d’Oro filly Gabby’s Golden Gal down the backstretch through a solid half-mile in 47.46 seconds. Approaching the far turn, the pair of Medaglia d’Oro fillies kicked clear from the field. But as Rachel Alexandra inched up on the outside of Gabby’s Golden Gal to be on even terms with Borel confidently looking back for on-coming horses, it was evident the favorite was on her game and something extraordinary could occur in the three-eighths of a mile to come.

It did occur.

With absolutely no encouragement or movement by Borel, Rachel Alexandra put what has become her usual brilliance on display, roaring clear – well clear. She turned in a stretch run that was as memorable and fitting in a race the caliber of the Oaks as one will ever hope to witness, hitting the wire in 1:48.87 for 1 1/8 miles over a track that had been upgraded to fast after drying out from early morning rain. She earned an eye-popping career-high 107 Beyer Speed Figure – all without getting out of a serious gallop. The performance was special in many ways, including shattering the previous final margin of victory record in the Oaks by more than double.

“She's probably the greatest horse I've ever been on in my life,” said a happy Borel. “There are other things down the road for her and she'll prove it, I promise it.”

Trained by Hal Wiggins, Rachel Alexandra earned $336,914 to move her career tally to $958,354 for owner and breeder Dolphus Morrison. She has now won seven of 10 starts including her fifth in a row in stakes company dating back to last November when she burst onto the scene with her Golden Rod (G2) win at Churchill Downs.

“If you watched the race you saw it. It was just unbelievable,” said Wiggins, who won his first career Grade 1 Friday after more than 30 years as a trainer. “I was a little worried about (Gabby’s Golden Gal) on the lead like that, but Calvin said, ‘I had everything under control.’ When he asked her, she just naturally took off and just finished tremendous. It looked like she came out of the race really, really good. That's the main thing.”

The sensational 3-year-old filly is out of the Roar mare Lotta Kim and was bred in Kentucky.