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Mine That Bird Causes Upset in Kentucky Derby - 05-03-09
May 3 - Causing arguably the biggest upset in the Kentucky Derby in many years, the largely unknown and 50-1 long shot Mine That Bird, trained by Bennie Woolley Jr and ridden by Calvin Borel, shocked the enormous Churchill Downs crowd yesterday by romping home first by a massive 6 3/4 lengths.
Based in New Mexico, when Woolley Jr - sporting dark glasses, a cowboy hat and a pair of crutches as a result of an ankle injury he sustained from a recent motorcycle accident - was interviewed pre-race, he was mainly asked questions about the fact that he personally drove his charge 21 hours to Louisville.
Little stock was put in his chances ahead of the 135th running of the great race, considering the caliber of runners he would go up against. But Mine That Bird, the only gelding in the race, seemed to have other ideas as coming into the straight, he suddenly accelerated from next to last place to rocket up the field.
The traffic in front of him posed no problem as under the guidance of Borel, who won the 2007 Kentucky Derby aboard Street Sense, literally weaved his way through the middle of the pack and then past the frontrunners on the inside, including the heavily backed Pioneerof The Nile, to run home unchallenged.
Mine That Bird completed the 1 1 /4 mile Kentucky Derby in a time of 2:02.66 over a sloppy main track after the area was subjected to heavy rain the night before. After a nail-biting three-way battle, Pioneerof The Nile managed to hold on for second, followed by Musket Man in third and Papa Clem in fourth
Friesan Fire, trained by Larry Jones, was expected to feature in the top spots, but finished a disappointing 18th out of the 19-horse field. The race was supposed to boast 20 runners, but race goers were stunned by the news Saturday morning that race favorite, I Want Revenge, was scratched due to an inflamed leg.
After the race Calvin Borel was ecstatic as he paraded Mine That Bird in front of the main grandstand at Churchill Downs on his way to the winner's circle. When Woolley Jr finally hobbled up to him, he gave the winning jockey a big hug. The gelding paid $103.20, the second-highest price in Kentucky Derby history.
Said Borel, 'I just took him back, rode a Street Sense race. I knew at the three-eighths, if I got through, Katie bar the door.' The jockey also won the prestigious Kentucky Oaks Friday aboard Rachel Alexandra, becoming only the 7th jockey in history to win both of Churchill Downs' biggest races in the same year.
This year's Kentucky Derby was Bennie Woolley Jr's first and what a way to make your debut in America's greatest horse race. Said the trainer, 'I can't say enough. This is a feeling like I've never had before.' The two-minute run earned the Double Eagle Farm-owned gelding the $1,417,200 first place purse.
Other Articles:
I Want Revenge Likely Out Until 2010 - 05-07-09Ambiance Stud Farm to Close after 16 Years - 05-06-09Empires Choice Aimed at 2009 Melbourne Cup - 05-05-09Mine That Bird Unconfirmed for Preakness - 05-04-09Top Horses and Horsemen in Kentucky Derby Today - 05-02-09Posts Selected for 2009 Kentucky Derby Twenty - 05-01-09Takeover Target vs Huxssen in Goodwood - 05-01-09Rachel Alexandra Should Win Kentucky Oaks - 05-01-09
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Digiturf - Train and race your own horses |
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| | 2009/11/20 11:35:13 AM |
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