Kentucky Derby (G1) hero MINE THAT BIRD (Birdstone) breezed a half-mile in
:49 4/5 over the fast main track at Mountaineer Park Monday morning as he continues his preparations for Saturday’s
$750,000 West Virginia Derby (G2).
The bay gelding came out on the track at 6:55 a.m. (EDT), just as the sun was
rising over the foothills of the Appalachians.
“He was really sharp, we got just
about exactly what we wanted out of him,” trainer Chip Woolley Jr. said. “We’ll
walk him on Tuesday and gallop him on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
“This racetrack is going to fit him pretty well, we think. The track was as
big a factor as anything in our decision to come to the West Virginia Derby.”
John Perez, a 35-year-old jockey from Mountaineer, was aboard for the workout.
Perez was raised in nearby Chester, rode his first race at Mountaineer 20 years
ago and, interestingly, breezed Curlin before he was transferred from trainer
Helen Pitts to Steve Asmussen and became a two-time Horse of the Year.
“Mine That Bird was perfect this morning,” Perez said. “He bounced right over
the top of the track. It’s really a benefit if you ship in early to Mountaineer.
The horse gets used to the surface, to the environment. These people are really
making the right moves.”
Jennifer Duffy, a racing fan from Wellsville, Ohio, was on the Mountaineer apron
with her eight-year-old daughter, Hannah, watching the workout.
“We got up
bright and early, at 5:30 a.m., to make it over here,” Duffy said. “To anyone
who’s not a horse lover, they might think it odd. But, for me, it’s all goose
bumps and tears to see a horse like this.”
The West Virginia Derby will be Mine That Bird’s first start since he finished
third in the Belmont S. (G1) on June 6. Woolley and the horse’s co-owners, Mark
Allen and Dr. Leonard Blach, had other options for Mine That Bird’s return, the
most noteworthy of which was the $1.25 million Haskell Invitational (G1) at
Monmouth Park. However, while the Haskell and West Virginia Derby are both run at 1 1/8 miles, Woolley believes the latter is a better fit.
“At Monmouth, the track’s a lot faster than it is at Mountaineer,” Woolley said.
“It’s just not a good set-up
for us. After the Belmont, we took a good look around the country, with the idea of
finding the best spot. And we thought that it would be Mountaineer. I studied
this very hard. We do want a fast racetrack, but we also need one that a horse
can close over. That’s our main focus.
“I would have loved to run Mine That Bird in the Haskell. There’s a lot of money
there, a lot of prestige. But the problem is that if you’re not within five or
six lengths of the lead early at Monmouth, you have no chance. I know, because I
watch the simulcasts of the races from there. I watch them every day. You can close somewhat at Monmouth, but you can’t close 20 lengths. And my
horse is always going to be 15 to 20 lengths out of it early on. That’s what
made him a great horse, when he adapted that (deep closer’s) running style.
“Mine That Bird’s got a great turn of foot for three-eighths of a mile. But
if you try to take that out of him early, you lose it on the end, and you end up
losing the race. That’s what happened in the Belmont. He made a big move, but he
made it too soon. It wasn’t Calvin Borel’s fault. When he moved Mine That Bird
to the outside, our horse got too aggressive.”
“When we decided to come to West Virginia, we didn’t know that (Preakness S.
[G1] winner) Rachel Alexandra (Medaglia d’Oro) was going to the Haskell,” Woolley
continued. “We thought
she might go after (the undefeated champion) Zenyatta (Street Cry [Ire]). I was kind of surprised,
although Monmouth is dead-suited to Rachel Alexandra’s running style.”
Hall of Famer Mike Smith will be aboard Mine That Bird for the West Virginia
Derby.
“The main focus here will be for Mike to keep the horse covered up early,
keep him in behind horses where he’s not trying to run, and then give him some
running room and make a move,” Woolley said.
“There’s no question that Mine That Bird was the best horse in the Kentucky
Derby,” he added. “You don’t pass 18 other horses within just three-eights of a
mile if you’re not the best.”
In Woolley’s mind, though, Mind That Bird’s best effort came two weeks later, when
he finished a fast-closing second in the Preakness, beaten by just one
diminishing length.
“We had a ‘garden trip’ in the Kentucky Derby, and squeaked through on the
rail,” Woolley explained. “But even if we had taken up and gone around
everybody, we still would have won. In the Preakness, though, we had a wide,
wide trip, there were horses stacked up going into the far turn. We got checked
up twice on the turn. But Mine That Bird just got geared up and came on again.
He ran better that day.”
Among other things, Mine That Bird has provided Woolley with a permanent niche
in horse racing’s history books.
“A guy like me, I’ve been in this for 25 years, and have never made a mark on
the industry,” he said. “You can go through a lifetime, and few people notice
what you’ve done. Two months after winning the Kentucky Derby, it’s still a hard
thing for me to grasp. You always dream of it happening, but you never really
think that dream will become reality.”