At Churchill Downs on Friday, Arkansas Derby (G2) third SUMMER BIRD
(Birdstone) worked six furlongs in 1:15 4/5 from the five-eighths pole to the
seven-eighths. Jockey Chris Rosier was aboard for the move, which took place
after the renovation break on the fast track.
Summer Bird stood quietly in the six-furlong gap waiting for the track to
reopen. The chestnut then went about his business with Churchill Downs clockers
recording fractions of :12 4/5, :25 1/5, :37 1/5, :49 2/5, 1:02 3/5. Summer Bird
galloped out seven furlongs in 1:29 3/5.
“I am happy as I can be with it,” Rosier said. “He was relaxed and calm all
the way through.”
Trainer Tim Ice, who will head to Lone Star Park on Saturday with Rosier and
come back Sunday, liked the work.
“I got him in 1:15 and three, but he doesn’t work much by himself,” Ice said.
“He needs something in front of him.
“He is a deep closer and he picked it up nice and galloped out strong. He
gets better the longer he goes.”
Ice said Summer Bird would walk Saturday, jog Sunday morning and gallop into
the race “with a two-minute clip down the lane on Wednesday, which is the same
thing he did before the Arkansas Derby.”
Making only his third start in the Arkansas Derby, Summer Bird came from 15
lengths back to finish 1 1/4 lengths behind the victorious Papa Clem (Smart
Strike).
“We expected good things out of him, but didn’t expect as much of a jump
right off the bat,” said Ice, who has saddled horses at Churchill Downs before
as an assistant. “It’s a whole new experience having one for yourself for the
Derby. There is no other race like it.”
Summer Bird, a homebred campaigned by K.K. and Vilasini Jayaraman, has
$100,000 in graded earnings. He began his career at Oaklawn Park on March 1,
finishing fourth, and broke his maiden next time out on March 19. Overall, he
has earned $123,040 from his 3-1-0-1 line.