June 8 - With all the surprises that this year's U.S. Triple Crown has delivered, perhaps it is not all that surprising that 11-1 runner Summer Bird - with champion jockey Kent Desormeaux aboard - delivered a spectacular victory in Saturday's $1 million Belmont Stakes (Gr 1) at Belmont Park in New York.

With all eyes on the dynamic duo of race favorite Mine That Bird and jockey Calvin Borel aboard, Summer Bird slipped through the cracks, or at least he did until he came thundering past Dunkirk and Mine That Bird in the final furlong to sew up the prestigious 1 1/2 mile race in a not-too-shabby time of 2:27.54.

Summer Bird's glorious victory has concluded what can only be described as a Triple Crown jammed with excitement, shocks, drama, heroes, villains, surprises and most important of all, loads of entertainment. Following Summer Bird across the line was Dunkirk in second place and Mine That Bird in third place.

In fact, Summer Bird has such a pace on him that he crossed the line a convincing 2 3/4 lengths in front of Dunkirk, paying those punters smart enough to back him $25.80. The colt won the Belmont Stakes' top prize of $600,000 for his connections, who include owners Drs Kalarikkal and Vilasini Jayaraman.

For Summer Bird's trainer Tim Ice, the victory could not have been better timed as it took place on his 35th birthday, giving him a gift that he'll remember and treasure for the rest of his life. For Desormeaux, the win was also sweet, because he won the very race that eluded him last year aboard Big Brown.

Said the thrilled champion jockey, 'He broke like a rocket and then proceeded to drag me around the course. I had an armchair ride until I found some room, and when I found some room, he laid his body down. I was hoping when I had a chance to present this colt, he would increase his speed, and he did.'

Wearing blinkers for the first time, Summer Bird hugged the rail until the time was right to rally towards the line. As for the future plans of the winner of the third and final leg of the 2009 Triple Crown, Ice said he'll likely enter the colt in the Jim Dandy Stakes on Aug 1 followed by the Travers Stakes on Aug 29.

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2012/04/02 06:44:06 AM