Mine That Bird rips bullet five-eighths

Mine That Bird went faster than his trainer forecast (EquiSport Photos) Kentucky Derby (G1) winner MINE THAT BIRD (Birdstone) blitzed five furlongs in a bullet :58 1/5 at Santa Anita on Monday as he continues his preparations for the November 7 Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1). The Chip Woolley trainee tied for the fastest of 32 works at the distance on the Pro-Ride. Mine That Bird is coming off a sixth in the October 10 Goodwood S. (G1), beaten a total of 3 3/4 lengths in his return from a two-month break. In his first work since the Goodwood, the gelding traveled an easy half-mile in :51 on October 19. “We wanted him to step it up a little bit today,” Woolley told Daily Racing Form. “It was maybe a little faster than I was looking for. “The only part of his workout that is really important is the final quarter-mile. He finished big today and galloped out big past the wire.”

Since his 6 3/4-length romp in the Run for the Roses at odds of 50-1, Mine
That Bird has finished second in the Preakness S. (G1) to Rachel Alexandra (Medaglia
d’Oro), third in the Belmont S. (G1) to Breeders’ Cup Classic rival Summer Bird
(Birdstone), and third in the West Virginia Derby (G2) to Soul Warrior (Lion
Heart). Mine That Bird subsequently had surgery to repair an entrapped
epiglottis, and in its aftermath, wound up missing the Travers S. (G1).

Last year’s champion juvenile male in Canada, Mine That Bird boasts
$2,196,581 in earnings from his 13-5-2-2 line.

Two other Breeders’ Cup-bound horses posted the day’s next-best time of :58
2/5 at Santa Anita, Classic candidate REGAL RANSOM (Distorted Humor) and Ladies’
Classic (G1)/Turf Sprint contender LETHAL HEAT (Unusual Heat).

Grade/Group 2 hero Regal Ransom, a front-running winner of the Super Derby
(G2) last out, traveled so well that he was given the “breezing” designation for
his five-furlong exercise.

The Super Derby was Regal Ransom’s first start since the Kentucky Derby,
where he was eighth to Mine That Bird. The Godolphin colt had landed the U.A.E.
Derby (UAE-G2) in March.

Grade 2 queen Lethal Heat, runner-up to the unbeaten champion Zenyatta
(Street Cry [Ire]) in the Lady’s Secret S. (G1), also drilled her five-eighths
in a sparkling :58 2/5.

Trainer Barry Abrams is considering an unprecedented Breeders’ Cup
doubleheader for Lethal Heat. After her tilt at the November 6 Ladies’ Classic,
the versatile filly could take on males in the Turf Sprint the following day.