NEWS
Canadian champion wins American classic
Posted: Saturday, May 02, 2009 7:21 PM
MINE THAT BIRD
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To view video of the Kentucky Derby, click here.
by Ed DeRosa and Mike Curry
As horses began dropping out of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) throughout the week, many observers wondered if maybe this would be a Giacomo-type year in which a longshot surprised the field.
Those Churchill Downs stable-area whispers turned into a chorus of shouts from 153,563 fans as Mine That Bird came through along the rail under, who else, jockey Calvin Borel.
Two years ago Borel guided Street Sense to a rail-skimming come-from-behind win in the Derby, and on Saturday the veteran jockey delivered a stirring encore with 50.60-to-1 longshot Mine That Bird to stun the field by 6 3/4 lengths.
The winning margin is larger than that of Barbaro, whose 6 1/2-length victory in 2006 was the widest since Assault won by eight lengths in 1946.
Mine That Bird was last in the early going and showed a tremendous burst of speed in the lane passing horses and slipping through a slim crease on the inside for his final run. The Birdstone gelding surged past Pioneerof the Nile, who nipped Musket Man by a nose for second and completed 1 1/4 miles in 2:02.66 on a track rated as sloppy
“He’s a small horse, there was room for him,” Borel said of his rail move. “I hollered at him and he just went.”
Borel is the first jockey since Racing Hall of Fame rider Jerry Bailey in 1993 to win the Kentucky Oaks (G1) and Kentucky Derby in the same year. Borel won the Oaks on Friday aboard Rachel Alexandra.
Mine That Bird won the Sovereign Award as champion two-year-old male in Canada last year off the strength of three stakes wins, including a victory in the Grey Stakes (Can-G3) (click here for video of the Grey). He finished last of 12 in the Bessemer Trust Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) (click here for video of the Breeders' Cup Juvenile) and raced just twice this year, finishing second in the Borderland Derby (click here for video of the Borderland Derby) and fourth in Sunland Derby (click here for video of the Sunland Derby), both at Sunland Park, for Mark Allen’s Double Eagle Ranch and Leonard Blach’s Buena Suerte Equine.
Indeed, Mine That Bird’s journey to the Kentucky Derby began at Sunland, ended in the winner’s circle, and included a 21-hour van ride across the country.
“It’s wonderful; I can’t say enough,” said trainer Bennie “Chip” Woolley Jr. “It’s a feeling like I’ve never had before.
“I was thinking, Calvin Borel’s the best. He ran a huge race. Everyone around me has done a great job, and we were just lucky to get here. Maybe now someone will talk about more than the drive here.”
Sunny’s Halo is the only previous Sovereign Award winner as champion two-year-old male to go on to win the Kentucky Derby. Mine That Bird paid $103.20 to win—the second-highest price in Derby history—and improved to five wins in nine starts. The $1,417,200 winner’s share boosted his earnings to $1,791,581.
“That was certainly a dream alright,” Blach said. “Mark and I became partners on the horse a little over a year ago. I really thought this horse had a lot of talent; we just weren’t able to see it all yet. My heart sank when he came by the first time and he was last, but I felt a little better when he came around again the second time and was first.”
Join in the Dance set a swift pace though an opening quarter in :22.98 and a half-mile in :47.23. Garrett Gomez angled Santa Anita Derby (G1) winner Pioneerof the Nile behind horses to stalk the pace, while Mine That Bird dropped back to trail the field under Borel.
On the far turn, Pioneerof the Nile moved ahead easily to challenge for the lead and took charge in the stretch.
Pioneerof the Nile was challenged by Illinois Derby (G2) winner Musket Man and Arkansas Derby (G2) winner Papa Clem, but Borel squeezed Mine That Bird through a narrow opening inside of fading pacesetter Join in the Dance and urged his mount to a convincing victory.
Musket Man edged Papa Clem by a head for third. Chocolate Candy rallied from 17th to finish fifth.
Sent off as the 3.80-to-1 favorite, Louisiana Derby (G2) winner Friesan Fire finished 18th in the 19-horse field. Florida Derby Presented by Blackberry (G1) runner-up Dunkirk stumbled at the start and did not fire when called upon in an 11th-place finish as the 5.20-to-1 second wagering choice.
Borel, who rode Mine That Bird in a race for the first time in the Kentucky Derby, said he had a great feeling nearing the lane.
“I just took him back; I must have been 15 or 20 lengths back. He's so small, he was just skipping across the mud, and they went pretty fast in the early part,” Borel said. “I knew he was going to win at the three-eighths pole.”
Bred in Kentucky by Lamantia, Blackburn, and Needham/Betz Thoroughbreds, Mine That Bird is the first starter out of the unraced Smart Strike mare Mining My Own, who is a half sister to stakes winner Golden Sunray.
For an Equibase chart, click here.
To view video of the Kentucky Derby, click here.
Ed DeRosa is news editor of THOROUGHBRED TIMES
Mike Curry is a Thoroughbred Times TODAY editor
