Mine That Bird back at Churchill; Woolley mulling rider for
Belmont
Last year’s Canadian champion juvenile will return to the track on Tuesday to
Trainer Bennie “Chip” Woolley Jr. rolled his truck and the trailer that
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“The trip was great — it went smooth as silk,” Woolley said. “He looks good.
He come off the trailer pretty relaxed and looks all right, so we’re pretty
happy with where he’s at right now.”
The journey from Baltimore was less eventful than Mine That Bird’s journey
through the 1 3/16-mile Preakness. The Derby winner ran into some traffic
problems and had to swing wide for the run down the stretch with a furious rally
under jockey Mike Smith. He erased all but one length from his early deficit to
the victorious Rachel Alexandra, who was coming off a 20 1/4-length triumph in
the Kentucky Oaks (G1).
“You’ve got to give a lot of credit to that filly,” Woolley said. “She run
huge and deserves all the respect. She run a great race and we just come up a
little short.”
Mine That Bird won’t get much time to relax on his return to the track where
he notched his 6 3/4-length victory at odds of 50-1 in the May 2 Kentucky Derby.
Woolley said Mine That Bird would head back to the track on Tuesday to resume
his training for the Belmont.
“We’ll just maybe jog him a couple of rounds backwards tomorrow and then go
back and gallop the next day,” Woolley said. “We don’t know when we’ll work him.
We’ll let him decide that. He’s run two hard races and we’ll let him freshen up
a little bit. When he starts to showing he’s a little too fresh, he’ll stretch
his legs. But we’ll make that decision later.”
As he returned to Churchill Downs, Woolley and co-owners Mark Allen and Dr.
Leonard Blach found themselves in the unusual position of again looking for a
jockey to ride Mine That Bird in the Belmont. Calvin Borel gave up the mount
after the Derby to ride Rachel Alexandra in the Preakness. Mike Smith was aboard
for the Derby winner’s big effort in the Preakness, but he is committed to ride
Madeo (Mizzen Mast) for trainer John Shirreffs and owners Jerry and Ann Moss in
the Charles Whittingham Memorial H. (G1) at Hollywood Park on Belmont Stakes
Day.
Smith rode Giacomo to victory in the 2005 Kentucky Derby for the Mosses and
Shirreffs, and is the regular rider for their unbeaten champion mare Zenyatta
(Street Cry [Ire]). So Smith will honor an earlier commitment to ride Madeo in
the Whittingham.
“I don’t know,” Woolley said. “It’s kinda funny. You’d think if you get a
horse this good, you’d keep one, but apparently not. So we’ll deal with that
here in a couple of days and we’ll see what happens.”
Woolley said he’s heard from the agents of several riders who are interested
in the mount on the Derby winner in the 1 1/2-mile third jewel of the Triple
Crown. He has not made up his mind, but indicated that he won’t wait to see
whether Rachel Alexandra goes on to the Belmont. If the filly does not run, it
would free Borel to ride the horse he piloted to the second-biggest upset in
Kentucky Derby history.
“We’re going to make a decision pretty quickly, so we’ll see what happens,”
Woolley said. “Patience is probably the number one concern. Is somebody patient
and will they wait and see how things develop. We’ll just have to see how it
goes.”
While Mine That Bird will be in familiar surroundings at Churchill Downs as
he prepares for the Belmont, Woolley said his Derby winner could have a
different ride when he makes the trip to Belmont Park. Woolley said Mine That
Bird would probably fly to Belmont in the days before the race rather than
travel in his trailer because of concerns about traffic on the trip to the
Elmont, New York, track.