Critics might not yet know what to make of Mine That Bird’s Kentucky Derby triumph, but a slew of contenders are ready to find out whether the gelded son of Birdstone is for real.
The connections of graded stakes winners Musket Man, General Quarters and Terrain all confirmed Wednesday that they intend to head to Pimlico Race Course next week to take on Mine That Bird in the Preakness Stakes. Terrain, fourth behind General Quarters in the Grade I Blue Grass Stakes, had also been under consideration for Saturday’s Grade III Lone Star Derby.
“We are not exactly sure what we saw last Saturday,” trainer Al Stall Jr. said of Mine That Bird’s upset victory and the decision to go on to Baltimore with Terrain.
Stall said he plans to work Terrain on Saturday or Sunday at Churchill Downs and ship to Baltimore next Wednesday.
Musket Man, third in the Kentucky Derby, is stabled at Monmouth Park in New Jersey. Trainer Derek Ryan said he plans to work the colt possibly Tuesday before heading to Pimlico later in the week.
“We will not be coming to Pimlico early. We want to stay here as long as possible,” Ryan told Pimlico officials.
Tom McCarthy, owner and trainer of General Quarters, said the colt has bounced out of his 10th-place finish in the Derby in good order, evidenced by his strong 11/4-mile gallop at Churchill on Wednesday morning.
“I knew I couldn’t walk him another day, and (exercise rider) Julie (Sheets) couldn’t stop him,” McCarthy said. “He came out of this race better than any race yet.”
McCarthy said General Quarters could van to Pimlico next Tuesday.
“That would give us Wednesday, Thursday and Friday to gallop over there,” McCarthy said. “Julien (Lepa­roux) would ride him back.”
Other confirmed Preakness contenders include Grade II winner Papa Clem, fourth in the Kentucky Derby; Flying Private, who was last in the 19-horse Derby field; undefeated Derby Trial winner Hull; Todd Pletcher trainee Take the Points; and Delta Jackpot winner Big Drama.
As his list of rivals grows, Mine That Bird remains at Churchill Downs, galloping twice around the 1-mile oval Wednesday morning with exercise rider Charlie Figueroa up.
“He looked super and switched leads perfectly,” trainer Bennie “Chip” Woolley Jr. said. “I was happy with him yesterday (when Mine That Bird galloped a mile). He tried to run off a little bit, and that surprised me. I will let him do a little bit more tomorrow.”
Mine That Bird is scheduled to ship to Pimlico on Tuesday.
Although no decision has been made on whether Pioneerof the Nile will go on to the Preakness, the Derby runner-up jogged at Churchill on Wednesday morning in his first day back at the track since Saturday.

Preakness Stakes
When: Saturday, May 16
Where: Pimlico Race Course, Baltimore
TV: NBC-18

Confirmed starters, Horse Last race
Big Drama 2nd, Swale
Flying Private 19th, Ky. Derby
General Quarters 10th, Ky. Derby
Hull 1st, Derby Trial
Mine That Bird 1st, Ky. Derby
Musket Man 3rd, Ky. Derby
Papa Clem 4th, Ky. Derby
Take the Points 4th, Santa Anita
Terrain 4th, Blue Grass
POSSIBLE STARTERS
Others under consideration are Kentucky Derby runner-up ­Pioneerof the Nile, Derby favorite Friesan Fire, Lexington Stakes runner-up ­Conservative, European invader Sky Gate and Laurel Park-based Tone It Down.

Random post-Kentucky Derby notes:

■ For those lucky few who cashed that $103.20 win ticket thanks to a $2 bet on Mine That Bird, you have a 2001 decision to thank.

That was the year Churchill Downs eliminated mutuel field wagering.

In the old days, or pre-video-board days, tracks had only so many places on the tote board to show the betting odds for horses in a particular race.

Thus, two or more of the long shots were grouped together into what was a field bet. If you bet on one horse in the mutuel field, you got all the horses in the mutuel field.

Because you received more than one horse for your one wager, many patrons annually jumped on the field bet for the Derby. You got more bang for your buck.

But it also drove down the prices for the longest shots on the board. In 2000, for example, the field went off at 20-1. In 1999, the field went off at 11-1, while winner Charismatic was a 31-1 shot that paid $64.60 to win.

The last field horse to win the Kentucky Derby was Canonero II in 1971. Not surprisingly, that’s the same Derby winner veteran trainer Carl Nafzger compared surprise winner Mine That Bird to after this year’s running. And, as part of six horses in the mutuel field in 1971, at odds of $8.70-to-1, Canonero II paid just $19.40 to win.

The guess here is that had there been field betting Saturday, Mine That Bird would have been included. Why, trainer Chip Woolley himself joked Sunday morning he was surprised his entry didn’t go off at 100-1.

■ Since mutuel field betting was eliminated in 2001, a total of 29 horses have gone off at odds of 50-1 or greater in the Derby.

Four of those 29 have hit the board. At 55-1, Invisible Ink ran second in 2001. At 50-1, Giacomo won the 2005 Derby. And 71-1 shot Closing Argument finished second that same year. Now 50-1 shot Mine That Bird won this year.

Twenty of those 29 long shots finished no better than 10th. Twelve of those 20 finished no better than 15th.

■ Consider, too, that between Donerail’s win in 1913, which paid $184.90 on a $2 bet, and Giacomo in 2005, only four Derby winners paid $50 or more.

They were Exterminator in 1918 ($61.20), Gallahadion in 1940 ($72.40), Dark Star in 1953 ($51.80), Proud Clarion in 1967 ($62.20).

We’ve now had two Derby winners in the past four years pay more than $100 to win.

■ Mine That Bird was the 17th betting choice, ahead of only Join in the Dance (51-1) and Atomic Rain (55-1). Starting with 2001, the 17th choice among the bettors has finished 10th, 18th, 13th, 18th, 14th, 19th and 15th. (Only 16 horses ran in 2003.)

■ Friesan Fire’s 18th-place finish was the worst by the post-time favorite in the Derby since Total Departure, coupled in an entry with Marfa, finished 20th out of 20 in the 1983 Derby.

■ Mine That Bird’s original selling price of $9,500 is the lowest amount at public auction for an eventual Derby winner since 1971 champion Canonero II, who sold for $1,200 as a yearling.

Of course, co-owners Leonard Blach and Mark Allen paid $400,000 last year for the Canadian 2-year-old champion, but the yearling price was quite the bargain.

Last year’s Derby winner, Big Brown, sold for $60,000 at the 2006 Fasig-Tipton sales.

Sackatoga Stables paid $22,000 for 2003 Derby winner Funny Cide as a yearling. Seattle Slew, the 1977 Triple Crown winner, brought $17,500 as a yearling. Silver Charm, the 1997 Kentucky Derby winner, sold for $16,500. Dust Commander, who won the 1970 Derby for Robert E. Lehmann of Paris, sold for just $6,500. But that was way back in 1968.

■ Remember the talk last year that the Eight Belles tragedy would turn off potential racing viewers?

Without a compelling favorite or a dominating pre-race story, this year’s Kentucky Derby drew its best TV ratings in 17 years. Go figure.

So many story lines and nuggets emerged before and after this year’s Kentucky Derby that — even if our country’s newspapers weren’t shrinking — it was difficult to fit everything. With that in mind, we decided to put together a “Best of … ” for the 135th Run for the Roses.

Best quote that had to be censored: Bob Baffert, trainer of runner-up Pioneerof the Nile, describing how his wife, Jill, first noticed Mine That Bird coming through on the rail: “I was focused on (Pioneerof the Nile) because he was battling it out there, and my wife picked (Mine That Bird) up on the rail. She said, ‘Who the (bleep) is that?’ and then I heard her say, ‘It’s that (bleeping) Calvin Borel!’ “ Jill, you aptly summed up what most of us were thinking.

Best-looking horse in the post parade: Not that it helped his cause once the race started, but Desert Party could have shut down any beauty pageant with the way he showed himself. His mane was perfect, his flesh was taut, and his bay coat was dappled. Simply stunning. Sad to hear he suffered an ankle injury in the race. Runner-up: Mr. Hot Stuff.

Best reason to retire: Trainer Larry Jones didn’t get the fairy tale ending in the Derby he hoped for with Friesan Fire, but that doesn’t change his reasons for wanting to step away from the game for a while. “I’ve got a grandson running around, and today (last Monday) was the fourth time I’ve seen him, and he’s 16 months old. I haven’t seen a single grandkid open Christmas presents. We’re always with the horses. Every Christmas Day, Cindy and I are with the horses for the last 20 years.”

Best couple: Hal Wiggins, trainer of superfilly Rachel Alexandra, and his wife, Renee. They’ve been together for more than 40 years, but Renee still lights up talking about how Hal showed her how to read the racing form on their first date. Runner-up: (tie) Larry and Cindy Jones and Bob and Jill Baffert (How could you not love Jill for that wonderfully honest race description?).

Best show of resiliency: Despite going through the heartache of having to scratch I Want Revenge the morning of the Kentucky Derby, co-owner David Lanzman and trainer Jeff Mullins still showed up in the paddock before the race and handled a slew of well-wishers who came up to offer condolences. Lanzman then proceeded to take the giant placard that was supposed to designate I Want Revenge’s stall in the paddock and held it up for fans to see as he made his way through the tunnel before the race.

Best effort despite a meltdown: Papa Clem was having a tantrum that would put a toddler to shame during the post parade, but still pulled it together to finish a solid fourth in the Derby in a three-horse battle with Pioneerof the Nile and Musket Man.

Best legend in the making: Rachel Alexandra, ’nuff said. The Derby contenders ought to drop to their knees in gratitude that she wasn’t nominated for the Triple Crown.

Best reasoning/foreshadowing: Trainer D. Wayne Lukas, describing why he was taking a shot with three fillies in the Kentucky Oaks against overwhelming favorite and eventual winner Rachel Alexandra: “It’s the Kentucky Oaks, and it’s a career-making race in a lot of ways. When you ask owners to put up substantial amounts of money … you need to give them the opportunity to give them residual value. If we could run second or third or even fourth, putting that on a filly’s résumé when she goes to the broodmare band is significant.” Sure enough, Lukas managed to snag that coveted second-place finish with Stone Legacy.

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
]]> http://www.heraldleaderphoto.com/derby/2009/05/05/i-want-revenge-has-%e2%80%99significant%e2%80%99-injury-career-in-doubt/feed/ http://www.heraldleaderphoto.com/derby/2009/05/05/rail-hugging-rides-are-borels-signature/ http://www.heraldleaderphoto.com/derby/2009/05/05/rail-hugging-rides-are-borels-signature/#comments Tue, 05 May 2009 13:44:55 +0000 Deedra Lawhead http://www.heraldleaderphoto.com/derby/2009/?p=1900 21. Joe Hirsch, the late Daily Racing Form sage, used to say in praise of jockey Pat Day's patience that "he's the head waiter of the American turf."]]> Fast-break points — all Calvin Borel — from along the Derby rail:

21. Joe Hirsch, the late Daily Racing Form sage, used to say in praise of jockey Pat Day’s patience that “he’s the head waiter of the American turf.”

“If Joe were with us today, I think now he’d be saying that about Calvin Borel,” said Churchill Downs Vice-President John Asher on Monday.



Jockey Calvin Borel, who has finishes of first, third and first in the last three Kentucky Derbys, celebrated aboard Mine That Bird.

20. I’m not nearly knowledgeable enough to qualify as any kind of horse racing authority, so take this for what it’s worth: I thought Borel’s rail-hugging ride that guided 50-1 long-shot Mine That Bird from dead last at the 3/4-pole to going-away victor in the 135th Kentucky Derby was one of the more epic athletic feats I’ve ever seen.

19. Has there ever been a better performance by a jockey in a Kentucky Derby? “I thought Bill Shoemaker’s ride on Ferdinand in 1986 was a great one,” Asher said. “I’d put Calvin’s ride Saturday right there with it.”

18. Which is not to say Saturday’s was the best ride Asher has ever seen from Borel.

“I’ve seen him put up more amazing rides on just some Wednesday afternoon out here,” Asher says. “I’ve seen him get through holes where no hole exists. He’s got the nerve — I was about to use a different phrase — to sit down there and wait for things to open. He has the patience it takes.”

17. Which is not to say that Borel always finds his way through. Says Asher: “Sometimes, he does get stopped. The shortest way around doesn’t always work for him.”

16. One thing I’ve always wondered about Calvin “Bo-Rail,” is how often does his ride-the-fence style make him the victim of the jockey’s worse nightmare, the injurious spill?

“Well, does 39 different broken bones, a plate in his wrist and no spleen sound like he’s had some spills?” asked Jerry Hissam, Borel’s jockey agent since 1991, on Monday.

Well, yes.

15. Yet Borel always goes back to the rail. Says Hissam: “Calvin’s always said if you begin racing with fear, it’s time to quit racing.”

14. Other than Susan Boyle, has anyone had a better career breakthrough in their 40s than Calvin Borel? More or less a career journeyman until he reached middle age, Borel, 42, has finishes of first, third and first in his last three Kentucky Derbys.

13. With his wins on the regal filly Rachel Alexandra in the Kentucky Oaks on Friday and Mine That Bird in the Derby on Saturday, Borel became only the seventh jockey to win both in the same year.

12. For a rider, putting yourself on a list that also includes Isaac Murphy, Eddie Arcaro and Jerry Bailey is as rarefied as air gets.

11. Churchill Downs’ Asher says Bob Baffert was telling people around the track post-Derby that Borel’s ride on Mine That Bird should be the tipping point that puts the jockey into horse racing’s hall of fame.

10. Says Borel’s agent, Hissam: “I’d like to think what he did last weekend, with the filly and the Derby, would at least get him in position for a (Hall of Fame) nomination.”

9. It was veteran trainer Carl Nafzger trusting Borel on eventual 2006 Breeders Cup Juvenile and 2007 Derby winner Street Sense that launched Borel’s late-career ascendancy. If you saw any of the jockey’s post-Derby interviews Saturday, you noticed that he kept thanking “Mr. Carl.”

8. Still, after Rachel Alexandra’s staggering 203/4-length win in the Kentucky Oaks, Street Sense is no longer the answer to the question “Best horse ever ridden by Calvin Borel?”

7. “Before Rachel, Street Sense was the best,” says Lisa Funk, Borel’s fiance. “But Rachel is a monster. Calvin says he’s never even asked her to run yet.”

6. For a guy who has, in the last four years, now won two Kentucky Derbys, a Travers Stakes, a Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and the Kentucky Oaks, I’m not sure Borel gets access to the quality of horses to ride that those accomplishments merit.

5. “For whatever reason, Bob Baffert, Todd Pletcher, Bobby Frankel, they don’t seem to call Calvin,” says Churchill Downs’ Asher about some of the nation’s elite trainers. “So Calvin just beats them, especially when they come here.”

4. Says Hissam: “I think now our name is at least among the top 10 of riders when people have a quality horse.”

3. Hissam says he has a goal for Borel. “As we speak, I think he’s on 4,729 winners,” the agent said of the career victory total of his client. “I think it’s Calvin’s goal — well, it’s a goal I’ve sort of set — to get to 5,000 winners. There’s no need to retire or even think about it when you’re going good.”

2. Two years ago, when Borel won the Derby aboard Street Sense, he brought his fiance, Funk, to the post-race news conference. The couple are still engaged.

Any wedding date set?

“No, we’re sort of playing it by ear,” Funk said Saturday.

1. After all, it is patience that has made Calvin Borel the new head waiter of the American turf.

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
]]> http://www.heraldleaderphoto.com/derby/2009/05/05/rail-hugging-rides-are-borels-signature/feed/ http://www.heraldleaderphoto.com/derby/2009/05/05/1894/ http://www.heraldleaderphoto.com/derby/2009/05/05/1894/#comments Tue, 05 May 2009 13:39:48 +0000 Deedra Lawhead http://www.heraldleaderphoto.com/derby/2009/?p=1894 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.

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
]]> http://www.heraldleaderphoto.com/derby/2009/05/05/1894/feed/ http://www.heraldleaderphoto.com/derby/2009/05/05/1886/ http://www.heraldleaderphoto.com/derby/2009/05/05/1886/#comments Tue, 05 May 2009 13:32:38 +0000 Deedra Lawhead http://www.heraldleaderphoto.com/derby/2009/?p=1886 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.


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.

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• Derby infield | Sights from the scene at Churchill Downs
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• 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
]]> http://www.heraldleaderphoto.com/derby/2009/05/05/1886/feed/ http://www.heraldleaderphoto.com/derby/2009/05/04/on-to-preakness-for-derby-winner-mine-that-bird/ http://www.heraldleaderphoto.com/derby/2009/05/04/on-to-preakness-for-derby-winner-mine-that-bird/#comments Mon, 04 May 2009 20:08:40 +0000 Deedra Lawhead http://www.heraldleaderphoto.com/derby/2009/?p=1769 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.

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• 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
]]> http://www.heraldleaderphoto.com/derby/2009/05/04/on-to-preakness-for-derby-winner-mine-that-bird/feed/ http://www.heraldleaderphoto.com/derby/2009/05/04/john-clay-mine-that-bird-connections-have-interesting-history/ http://www.heraldleaderphoto.com/derby/2009/05/04/john-clay-mine-that-bird-connections-have-interesting-history/#comments Mon, 04 May 2009 12:56:33 +0000 Deedra Lawhead http://www.heraldleaderphoto.com/derby/2009/?p=1751 LOUISVILLE — So how did the owners of Mine That Bird hook up with trainer Chip Woolley?

“I met him through Mark, and I think they’ve know each other a long time,” said Dr. Leonard Blach on Sunday morning outside of winning Barn 42.

“Twenty-five years,” said Mark Allen.

So how did Allen and Woolley meet?

Allen simply grinned.

“I don’t know if we can tell that,” said Blach.

“We were in a bar and I started a fight and he helped me out,” Allen said of Woolley.

Did you win the fight?

“We wound up on top,” said Allen, “but it took us a while.”

Was that your last bar fight?

“That night,” said Woolley.

Forgive the Derby’s 18 losing connections if they felt like doing a little drinking, and maybe a little fighting, after a $9,500 yearling purchase, who prepped in New Mexico of all places, won the 135th Kentucky Derby on Saturday.

After all, there was Todd Pletcher, maybe the world’s most successful trainer, running his Derby winless streak to 0-for-24. There was Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, with his ridiculously deep pockets, again running up the track. There was trainer Larry Jones, second in the past two Derbys, this time finishing 18th with post-time favorite Friesan Fire.

And there was Jeff Mullins, the trainer who had guided I Want Revenge to the point of being the morning-line favorite for this Derby, only to suffer the heartbreak of having to scratch his horse the morning of the race.

“It might have been different if he’d been in the race,” Allen said of I Want Revenge.

Make no mistake, they’re cowboys. Woolley wears a black cowboy hat — “It’s a part of me,” he said Sunday — and rarely takes off his shades. Allen, the son of an oil company chief executive at the center of former Alaska senator Ted Stevens’ corruption trial, arrived at the barn in his black hat, large silver Kentucky Derby belt buckle, and a Harley-Davidson T-shirt and jacket.

But for all their rough exteriors, they’re endearing cowboys. The day after, they seemed as surprised as everyone the day before.

The trio said their hope was to finish sixth or better, take some time off and run in the Belmont, the race won by Mine That Bird’s sire, Birdstone. They never really thought they’d win.

“I still can’t believe it,” Woolley said.



When someone mentioned that even after the Derby, winning jockey Calvin Borel said that Rachel Alexandra, the filly he rode to victory by 201/4 lengths in the Kentucky Oaks, was the best horse he’d ever been on, Allen said, “No doubt about it.”

Borel said if he had to pick between the two, he’d pick Rachel.

“I wouldn’t blame him,” Allen said.

So fluke or freak? Was there something in Mine That Bird that no one saw — “I figured she’d go off 100-to-1,” Woolley said — that could have predicted the Saturday stunner? Is there something that bodes well for the next two Triple Crown legs?

The horse was the 2-year-old champion in Canada, winning four straight races. His two losses at Sunland Park were by a neck and 3¼ lengths. In both races, the horse moved too early, Woolley said. He needed a patient rider like Borel, which is exactly what he got for the Derby.

But who are we kidding? The last 50-1 shot to win the Derby, Giacomo in 2005, was third in the Preakness and didn’t hit the board in the Belmont. Mine That Bird still looks more fluke than freak.

Better watch it, those might be fighting words.

“We’re too old to fight now,” said Allen. “We’ll let the horse do our talking.”

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