The Tim Ice pupil was posting his second work over the track in advance of
With jockey Kent Desormeaux aboard for Sunday’s drill, the blinkered Summer
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Desormeaux set him down to breeze approaching the five-furlong pole. The
chestnut colt posted fractions of :24.42 and :48.56 and was caught
galloping out six furlongs in 1:13.03.
“The work was great,” Ice said. “This was exactly what we wanted. He looked
super getting over the track and he’s been getting over it very well ever since
we got here.
“Kent had a ton of horse under him and he just let him work on his own,
within himself. I’m super-happy with how he’s trained here and how he’s handled
everything. We’ll walk tomorrow and he’ll go back to the track Tuesday morning.”
Desormeaux, who experienced a three-hour airport runway delay in New York,
flew in earlier in the day for the work.
With his son Jacob in tow, Desormeaux simply stated, “He enjoyed it and he
galloped out super.”
Summer Bird, who has competed exclusively on dirt so far, will race on a
synthetic surface for the first time in the 1 1/4-mile Classic. He has
experience in training over the Pro-Ride, however. As a juvenile last fall,
Summer Bird recorded nine works at Santa Anita before being sent to Ice at
Oaklawn Park.
Summer Bird began the season as an unraced maiden, but now ranks as a leading
candidate for an Eclipse Award as champion three-year-old male. He has won three
of his last four races, all in Grade 1 company, and his lone loss during that
span was a second in the Haskell Invitational (G1) to Horse of the Year
contender Rachel Alexandra (Medaglia d’Oro). Summer Bird has compiled a mark of
8-4-1-1, $2,023,040.
Ice said that Summer Bird would have one more breeze prior to the Breeders’
Cup.
“He’ll work five-eighths next Saturday,” the trainer said.