NEWS
Mine That Bird, Summer Bird
settle in at Saratoga
Posted: Tuesday, August 04, 2009 3:48 PM
MINE THAT BIRD
Courtesy of Mountaineer Race Track
Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) winner Mine That Bird got his first look at the Saratoga Race Course main track on Tuesday morning, galloping 1½ miles under regular exercise rider Charlie Figueroa.
“He might have started just a hair flat, but he got into it the last half-mile; got pretty aggressive,” said trainer Bennie “Chip” Woolley Jr., who arrived from West Virginia with the Birdstone gelding on Monday afternoon following his third-place finish in the West Virginia Derby (G2) on Saturday. “You always worry when you run one and then have to ship 500 miles, but he ate pretty good last night, drank water, and went good this morning. I’m happy with the way he looks. I couldn’t ask much more.”
When he returned to the barn, Mine That Bird walked the shedrow and had a bath before Figueroa led him out to graze under Woolley’s supervision.
Shortly before 9 a.m. EDT, jockey Calvin Borel, who rode Mine That Bird to his 50.60-to-1 Kentucky Derby upset victory and third-place finish in the Belmont Stakes (G1), arrived to visit with Woolley and the horse.
Woolley said he would send the gelding out at the same time on Wednesday to gallop two miles, but he had not decided on a regular schedule for him.
“We’ll see how he does this week and then make a decision about when to work him,” Woolley said. “He’ll basically train every day except the day after a work.”
Belmont Stakes winner Summer Bird arrived at Saratoga on Tuesday morning to begin preparations for the $1-million Shadwell Travers Stakes (G1) on August 29.
The race has the potential to offer as much sheer starpower as has been seen in one event this year as the connections of Summer Bird, Mine That Bird, BlackBerry Preakness Stakes (G1) winner Rachel Alexandra, and record-setting Amsterdam Stakes (G2) winner Quality Road all are considering entering their horses in the 1¼-mile race.
Summer Bird finished second to Rachel Alexandra in the Haskell Invitational Stakes (G1) on Sunday at Monmouth Park
“Rachel proved she’s a superstar filly in that race,” Ice said. “My colt ran big; no second-guessing. Regardless of whether she goes in the Travers, all systems are go for us, knock on wood.
“The mile and a quarter is a good distance for my colt, and, whoever comes, comes. If she comes, and you have all three classic winners, it should bring a lot of people. ”
Ice said Summer Bird would walk for the next few days before returning to the track for training on Friday.
Trainer Todd Pletcher said Quality Road came out of his record-setting performance in the Amsterdam Stakes (G2) without a problem on Monday and that he would be pointed to the Travers as planned.
The Elusive Quality colt, bred and owned by Edward P. Evans, covered 6½ furlongs in 1:13.45, breaking a 30-year-old record by nearly a full second.
“He came out of the race very well,” Pletcher said. “Regardless of the time, we were very pleased with the way he ran, the way he finished, the way everything unfolded.
“It was so fast that I think everyone was like, ‘Is that legit?’ And when it was, it’s indicative of how good of a horse he is.”
