by Jeff Lowe
Trainer Bennie “Chip” Woolley Jr. chalked up Mine That Bird’s sixth-place finish in the Goodwood Stakes (G1) to a flat horse and a slow pace.
After the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) winner breezed five furlongs in 1:01.20 on Monday at Santa Anita Park, Woolley is expecting a reversal on both fronts in the $5-million Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) on Saturday.
Woolley suspects that the ten-week break Mine That Bird had in between the West Virginia Derby (G2) on August 1 and Goodwood on October 10 played a part in his disappointing performance. The dawdling pace was no help. Mine That Bird trailed the field by 8¼ lengths through an opening mile in 1:36.2, before he launched his rally to finish 3¾ lengths back of upset winner Gitano Hernando (GB).
The ten-week break was not by design. A throat issue forced the Birdstone gelding to bypass the Shadwell Travers Stakes (G1) on August 29.
“He was a little flat going in [to the Goodwood],” Woolley said. “Since the race, about three or four days afterward, you could start to see him bloom. It wasn’t just me [that noticed]. I was thinking it was just me in my mind.”
Woolley said Racing Hall of Fame trainers Richard Mandella and Bob Baffert both volunteered that Mine That Bird looked like he was coming around.
“I just think he had gotten a little flat on me in the ten-week break,” Woolley said. “Now he’s kind of sharpened up and is doing better. More than anything, the ten-week break probably did him some damage. He’s really come back around, about four or five days after the race. He’s come full circle.”
Woolley would love to see a full-circle difference in the pace setup for the Classic.
“I hope I see him in the winner’s circle,” Woolley said. “He’s got to run his race. You need some pace in the race. I don’t overanalyze races. You’ve got to send yours out and let him run his race. If that’s enough to win, it wins; if it’s not, it’s not.
“The main thing is that you can’t let them get away with a :48 and :50 half-mile and expect to close to them with a run we like we had in the Derby. If they go that slow, he’s going to have to be some closer. He made an eight-length run in the stretch the other day and that wasn’t nearly enough. The main thing I’m looking for is pace, and it looks like there’s going to be plenty.”
Jockey Joe Talamo piloted Mine That Bird in the final tune-up on Monday.
“It was perfect, exactly what I wanted,” Woolley said. “I told Joe I wanted 1:02 and he goes [1:01 and 2]. You can’t ask for much more than that. The thing I liked the most was that he was extremely smooth over the ground. That’s the main thing I was looking for, that he looked like he was handling the track well. The track has tightened up, and it might be helpful to him.”
Borel said after the Goodwood that Mine That Bird had struggled with the Pro-Ride surface. Visually, Woolley thought he handled it fine.
“Calvin thought he struggled with it a little when he went into the turn and coming out of the turn; when he switched leads, he felt like he struggled a little,” Woolley said. “He knows better than me, he was on him. To me, he looked okay. He looked like he handled it good.”
Jeff Lowe is a Thoroughbred Times staff writer