‘Bird’ owners celebrate at the castle

By Karla Ward
Herald-Leader staff writer

Mark Allen and Dr. Leonard Blach, co-owners of Mine That Bird, were still high on their Kentucky Derby win as they celebrated Monday night at a party in their honor at the castle on Versailles Road.

“I may never come down,” Allen said with a grin.

“I’m trying to,” Blach said a little later. “It’s just hard to put words to this thing, so unexpected.

“We never dreamed that we’d win this thing.”

“Mark and I bought him as a racehorse just to have some fun with,” he said.

Among those at the party were Chips Chiappetta, left; Mark Allen, co-owner of Derby winner Mine That Bird; Bob Windsor; and Jean Cruguet, who rode Seattle Slew to the Triple Crown in 1977.

Among those at the party were Chips Chiappetta, left; Mark Allen, co-owner of Derby winner Mine That Bird; Bob Windsor; and Jean Cruguet, who rode Seattle Slew to the Triple Crown in 1977.

Allen, Blach and their entourage planned to spend the night at Castle Post and then tour some horse farms and check on some mares they board here on Tuesday.

Blach said he and his wife made a trip to Fayette Mall on Monday afternoon to buy more clothes, because they didn’t expect to stay this long when they left New Mexico.

The reception was the idea of Dana Martin, marketing and event coordinator for Castle Post, who said she recently met Ralph Kinder, who works for Allen’s Double Eagle Ranch, at Malone’s.

When she saw that the ranch had a Derby entry, she placed a bet on him. And when Mine That Bird won, she pulled out Kinder’s card and invited him to have a party, gratis.

“He invited people who have touched their lives, Lexingtonians who have been good to them,” Martin said. “It is our honor.”

Martin said she’d love to make a Derby winners’ after-party an annual tradition, “to give Lexington a taste of the Derby, too.”

Keith Crupper of Whispering Oaks Farm, who attended, boards Allen’s mares and helped connect him with Mine That Bird.

“My life will never be the same,” Crupper said, adding that the past few days have been “surreal.”

Also among those at the gathering was Judy Needham of Needham Thoroughbreds, which owns Mine That Bird’s dam, Mining My Own.

He was the 7-year-old mare’s first foal. “We’re absolutely thrilled,” she said.

She remembers Mine That Bird as a yearling, “a spunky, athletic little horse.”

Now, the Needhams are faced with the decision of whether to sell or keep Mining My Own.

There are “a lot of people wanting the mare,” said Denise Needham, Judy Needham’s daughter-in-law. “She’s hot right now. This is the hottest she’s ever going to be.”

Mine That Bird, meanwhile, is taking it easy at Churchill Downs.

“He’s feeling really good, almost like he never ran a race,” Blach said. “I would expect his head to be hanging.”

He said Mine That Bird will stay at Churchill until three or four days before the Preakness, which runs May 16 at Pimlico Park in Baltimore.

“We know, like the Derby, it will be tough to win,” Blach said. “Another race may never set up like that one did.”

The Breeders’ Cup remains his and Allen’s ultimate goal for the horse. But he has already had one great ride.

Related multimedia:

  • Bird is the word | Mine that Bird wins the Derby

  • Celebrities at Churchill

  • Derby infield | Sights from the scene at Churchill Downs

  • General Quarters at the Derby | Fashion

  • Stars come out for Barnstable Brown party | Rachel Alexandra romps in Kentucky Oaks

  • Kentucky Derby countdown | McCarthy loves his horse more than his story

  • Wednesday morning training and the Derby Draw

  • I Want Revenge workouts | 7 Derby horses do final workouts

  • Barbaro Memorial dedicated | Friends of Barbaro

    • May 5, 2009 | Filed Under Latest Headlines, Mine That Bird | 1 Comment 

    ‘Bird’ a boon to former owner

    By Tom Eblen
    Herald-Leader columnist

    Phil Needham didn’t make it to Churchill Downs to see the horse he’d bred and foaled pull a stunning upset in the Kentucky Derby.

    He had his own race to win.

    Mine That Bird became the second-biggest long shot ever to win the Derby, covering the 1¼ miles Saturday in a little more than two minutes and two seconds.
    A few hours earlier, Needham, 67, rode his bicycle 123 miles in six hours to win his age group in the 18th annual Calvin’s Challenge road race, which drew 210 cyclists to Springfield, Ohio.

    Bena Halecky and Phil Needham, co-owners of the mother of Mine that Bird, showed off medals they won bicycle racing the day their horse's son was winning the Kentucky Derby. The two were preparing for a ride Monday afternoon near Georgetown.

    Bena Halecky and Phil Needham, co-owners of the mother of Mine that Bird, showed off medals they won bicycle racing the day their horse?s son was winning the Kentucky Derby. The two were preparing for a ride Monday afternoon near Georgetown.


    Had the Georgetown resident not wanted to be done in time to see the Derby on television, he would have entered the bicycle race’s main event, where he set the record for his age group two years ago by riding 225 miles in 12 hours.

    Needham’s racing partner was Bena Halecky, 50, of Lexington, whose 123-mile performance won her age group. She was named the best overall female racer.

    “I went up to Louisville last Monday to see the horse work and meet the new owners and trainer, and I was very pleased with what I saw,” Needham said. “But the chances, you know, were very remote, 50-1. So because we had trained and planned for this race, we went to Ohio.”

    It wasn’t the first time Needham has been wrong about Mine That Bird.

    The Birdstone colt was athletic and strong. Needham’s wife, Judy, thought the yearling was promising. But Needham and his business partners decided to sell him.

    “When the partners agreed to sell, we had the right to buy, but we let him go,” Needham said. “He brought $9,500, which was next to nothing. People spend millions trying to create a Derby horse.”

    Needham had better instincts about Mine That Bird’s mother.

    When Needham and Bill Betz ended their thoroughbred partnership last year, they decided to sell the mare Mining My Own at auction. But when the bids started coming in, Needham thought they were too low. He jumped in and ended up buying her for $8,000.

    Needham and Halecky have been friends for years. Halecky, a Procter & Gamble executive, had urged him to buy P&G stock. “He said, ‘If I’m going to invest in your business, you need to invest in mine,” Halecky said. So she kicked in $4,000 for half interest in the mare.

    As Needham and Halecky raced Saturday, the Derby was on their minds. They considered it an omen that their race was called Calvin’s Challenge and Mine That Bird was being ridden by jockey Calvin Borel.

    “And then we kept seeing birds in front of us on the road and I kept yelling to Bena, ‘Mine That Bird!’” Needham said.

    After their race, Needham and Halecky headed back to Lexington, stopping at a sports bar near Cincinnati to eat dinner and watch the Derby. The place was noisy, and the big-screen TV was hard to see. So it took them a few moments to realize that the impossible had happened.

    “Finally, Phil looked at me and said, ‘We just won the Kentucky Derby!’” Halecky said. Soon their cell phones were ringing as friends called to congratulate them.

    Several of their Bluegrass Cycling Club friends, who gathered to watch the Derby at Keeneland, bet and won big on the horse. But Halecky had put only a $2 bet on him. Needham didn’t bet anything, although his wife, who had always known better, put down $100 to win.

    “It was one of the best Saturdays that anyone could ever have,” Needham said. “It’s just unbelievable.”

    Since ending his partnership with Betz, Needham has formed Needham Thoroughbreds, with interest in about 15 horses, including Mining My Own.

    Needham had planned to focus more on his cycling.

    He took up the sport a decade ago and has been riding competitively for seven years. He was sixth in his age group in the 24-mile time trial at the 2007 masters nationals. A first-place finish in last year’s Bluegrass State Games made him eligible to compete this August at the Senior Games in San Francisco, where he plans to enter the time trial and the road race.

    “My goal is to be number one in my age group in the country,” he said.

    But his 40-year career in thoroughbreds seems to have gotten a second wind.

    The $8,000 mare he and Halecky own could now be worth millions if they sell her — or even sell part ownership in her — and perhaps even more in the long run if they keep her and breed her well.

    Mine That Bird was the mare’s first foal. She also has a 2-year-old in training and a foal by her side, and she is pregnant with another. At age 8, Mining My Own could have 15 more years of productive life ahead, Needham said.

    “Bena wants to continue to own her and have the fun; my wife wants to continue to own her and have the fun,” he said. “My best business sense tells me to keep at least 25 percent. I have to review that with my partner. I have to let the dust settle a little.”

    As the dust was beginning to settle Monday afternoon, and it was beginning to rain, Halecky and Needham met near Georgetown for a bike ride through the countryside. They said they planned to ride 20-something miles, maybe more. After all, they had a lot to talk about.

    Related multimedia:

    • Bird is the word | Mine that Bird wins the Derby

    • Celebrities at Churchill

    • Derby infield | Sights from the scene at Churchill Downs

    • General Quarters at the Derby | Fashion

    • Stars come out for Barnstable Brown party | Rachel Alexandra romps in Kentucky Oaks

    • Kentucky Derby countdown | McCarthy loves his horse more than his story

    • Wednesday morning training and the Derby Draw

    • I Want Revenge workouts | 7 Derby horses do final workouts

    • Barbaro Memorial dedicated | Friends of Barbaro

      • May 5, 2009 | Filed Under Latest Headlines, Mine That Bird | 1 Comment 

      On to Preakness for Derby winner Mine That Bird

      By Associated Press

      Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird is headed to the Preakness. The trainer of the gelding that won the Derby at 50-1 odds said his horse will run in the May 16 Preakness, the second leg of the Triple Crown, Pimlico spokesman Mike Gathagan said Monday.

      Mine That Bird, ridden by Calvin Borel, won the Derby by 6 3/4 lengths over Pioneerof the Nile - the largest margin of victory since Assault in 1946.

      Gathagan said Monday that trainer Bennie Woolley Jr. called from Louisville, Ky., to say Mine That Bird is a go for the 1 3-16-mile Preakness. He said he was told plans call for the 3-year-old to be shipped to Baltimore from Churchill Downs on May 11 or 12.

      On Sunday, a day after the upset, Woolley said there’s “no obligation” to go to the Preakness and added: “You’ve got to do what’s best for the horse and the horse has got to come first.”

      The last Derby winner to skip the Preakness was an injured Grindstone in 1996. The last healthy Derby winner to miss it was Spend A Buck in 1985.

      Other Derby horses expected to take on Mine That Bird are fourth-place finisher Papa Clem and possibly Pioneerof the Nile, third-place Musket Man, Join in the Dance (seventh) and General Quarters (10th).

      Potential newcomers include Delta Jackpot winner Big Drama, Withers winner Mr. Fantasy, Take the Points and Miner’s Escape.

      The Preakness is limited to 14 starters.

      The big question, of course, is whether Mine That Bird can win the Preakness and set up a Triple Crown attempt in the Belmont Stakes on June 6. The last Triple Crown winner was Affirmed in 1978.

      Borel said he’ll be more than happy to take a shot.

      “He’s plenty of horse,” he said.

      Baffert had some advice for Woolley and owners Mark Allen and Leonard Blach: if Mine That Bird is OK, go for it.

      “This is a dream of a lifetime,” Baffert said. “I hope he comes out of it well and they go and maybe he’s for real. We’re going to find out.”

      Last year, Big Brown won the Derby and the Preakness, but finished last in the Belmont after being pulled up on the turn for home.

      Related multimedia:

      • Bird is the word | Mine that Bird wins the Derby

      • Celebrities | Celebrities at Churchill

      • Derby infield | Sights from the scene at Churchill Downs

      • General Quarters at the Derby | Fashion

      • Stars come out for Barnstable Brown party | Rachel Alexandra romps in Kentucky Oaks

      • Kentucky Derby countdown | McCarthy loves his horse more than his story

      • Wednesday morning training and the Derby Draw

      • I Want Revenge workouts | 7 Derby horses do final workouts

      • Barbaro Memorial dedicated | Friends of Barbaro

        • May 4, 2009 | Filed Under Calvin Borel, Latest Headlines, Mine That Bird | Leave a Comment 

        Bird is the Word

        Trainers try to move on after Derby upset

        By Alicia Wincze - awincze@herald-leader.com

        LOUISVILLE — Bob Baffert sat inside his office Sunday morning slightly bleary-eyed, still trying to make sense of what the heck had happened less than 24 hours earlier.

        “I’m just like everybody else, I just cannot believe it,” the newly minted Hall of Fame trainer lamented. “I’m still just in shock.”

        He wasn’t the only one.

        For practically everyone involved, the reality of Mine That Bird’s upset 63/4-length victory over Baffert trainee Pioneerof the Nile in the 135th Kentucky Derby was taking longer than usual to set in — albeit certain parties were enjoying the journey more than others.

        Outside of Barn 42, winning trainer Bennie “Chip” Woolley Jr. marveled at the stream of media that made their way over as he tried once again to describe what it felt like to be the man who helped turn a 50-1 shot into a classic winner.

        Not surprisingly, Woolley said he had gotten almost zero sleep since shocking the racing world. And as was expected, the low-key New Mexico resident found the anonymity he previously enjoyed had all but disappeared.

        “It’s an unbelievable feeling, it’s actually hard to get your mind around it at the moment,” Woolley said. “It’s hard to believe you came in here and won this thing.

        “I was saying a little while ago that nobody called me who owed me money, but we’ve had a lot of calls.”

        Though initial plans called for Mine That Bird to be pointed toward the Grade III Lone Star Derby on May 9, the defections of such top performers as The Pamplemousse and Old Fashioned from the Kentucky Derby trail allowed the bay gelding to work his way into the field by mid-April.

        John Clay: Bar Fight Turns Out Right for Kentucky Derby Owners

        Co-owner Mark Allen said the original plan was to skip the Preakness and head to the 11/2-mile Belmont Stakes if the gelded son of Birdstone “showed us something” in the Derby.

        Now that Mine That Bird demonstrated more than anyone expected on Saturday, that plan may be altered as well.

        “If he’s doing well we’d like to run (in the Preakness), but we’re going to let the horse tell us,” Allen said Sunday morning. “We don’t feel obligated to go. We don’t owe nobody nothing.”

        None of Mine That Bird’s connections were so bold as to say they saw Saturday’s stunning triumph coming, but hindsight told them he had a better run in him than people expected.

        In both the Sunland Derby on March 29 and the Borderland Derby on Feb. 28 — where he ran fourth and second, respectively — the smallish gelding was close to or on the lead in the early going and had already used up his kick before he hit the stretch.

        “He was moved too early both times,” Woolley said. “I kept telling everybody we needed to be back further. This horse had a huge move, he can swallow them at anytime, but at Sunland, he swallowed down the backside instead of in the stretch.”

        If Mine That Bird does commit to running in the Preakness, it’s uncertain how much company he will have.

        As of Sunday morning, the only Derby contender firmly committed to going on to Baltimore was fourth-place finisher Papa Clem.

        “We will probably stay here a few days, but we will go to Baltimore when there is a flight,” trainer Gary Stute said.

        Baffert said Pioneerof the Nile came out of the race with a handful of minor nicks and would wait a few days before making a decision to go on.

        Though Baffert has three Derby wins to his credit, those victories provided little comfort Sunday as he pondered what might have been.

        “The thing that really disappointed me is when he turned for home I thought ‘This is it,’ ” Baffert said of Pioneerof the Nile. “I really thought if he won the Derby he’d have a good shot at the Triple Crown.

        “It’s like (1996 Derby winner) Grindstone is still haunting me because Birdstone is by Grindstone and he beat me (by a nose) the first time when I had Cavonnier,” Baffert continued. “Maybe Mine That Bird is the real deal, we’re going to find out.”

        Cindy Jones, wife of trainer Larry Jones, said beaten favorite Friesan Fire had a chunk of flesh missing from his left front foot after getting bumped at the start of the race and was also sporting several minor cuts.

        “The more we got the mud off, the more cuts we found,” Cindy Jones said. “His right hock … its like a bad floor burn on the outside of it, like when you burn your knees. But he’s fine, time will take care of it.”

        Derek Ryan, trainer of third-place finisher Musket Man, said they would head back to Monmouth Park before making a decision on the Preakness. Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer said fifth-place finisher Chocolate Candy would likely skip the Preakness and train up to the Belmont.

        Related multimedia: