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As expected, Kentucky Derby winner and Preakness runner-up Mine That Bird has been installed as the 2-1 morning line favorite in a field of 10 for the 141st running of the Belmont Stakes this Saturday at beautiful Belmont Park.
An anonymous longshot coming into this years’ Run for the Roses, Mine That Bird thrust himself into the national spotlight with an equally awesome and surprising last-to-first, rail skimming move to win the Derby by a widening 6 ¾ lengths under jockey Calvin Borel.
In the Preakness, trainer Chip Woolley was forced to find a new rider for his little gelding after Borel, in an unprecedented move, opted to ride Kentucky Oaks winning superfilly Rachel Alexandra in the Preakness, marking the first time a rider took off the Derby winner to ride a different horse in the second jewel of the Triple Crown.
Under Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith, Mine That Bird put in another explosive late rally in the Preakness but fell a length short of Rachel Alexandra and Borel, who won the Preakness in gate-to-wire fashion.
After the Preakness, Smith announced he wouldn’t ride Mine That Bird in the Belmont due to a prior riding commitment in California leaving Mine That Bird without a rider again. But after the connections of Rachel Alexandra announced she wouldn’t contest the 1 ½ mile “Test of the Champion,” a confident Borel finds himself back aboard the Derby winner.
“We’re going to win,” Borel guaranteed earlier this week. “No questions asked.”
Woolley, who has become a celebrity in his own right over the past few months, with his customary cowboy hat and crutches he needs to get around with after breaking his leg in a motorcycle accident earlier this year, has changed things up a bit going into the Belmont. First, he has decided not to give Mine That Bird a workout over the Belmont strip, known as “Big Sandy.” Secondly, Mine That Bird actually flew into New York from Churchill Downs on Wednesday as opposed to taking his usual van ride with Woolley at the wheel. Still, he’s confident in his horses’ chances and loves the enthusiasm exuded by his rider.
“That’s just Calvin. I’m fine with that,” Woolley said at the Belmont Stakes draw Wednesday morning. “I love a man who’s confident and he’ll be comfortable when he gets on the horse, because he won’t be afraid.”
One thing Borel and Woolley surely do have to be afraid of is the apparent lack of pace in the Belmont and the fact that second choice Charitable Man figures to be the one that will control the early happenings may not bode well for the Derby winner as well. Undefeated in three starts on dirt, Charitable Man won the first two starts of his career before being sidelined with a leg injury that forced him to miss the Derby despite last ditch efforts when he was off the board in his first start of the year in the Blue Grass at Keeneland over a synthetic surface. In his most recent start, Charitable Man, who’ll be ridden again by Alan Garcia, won the Peter Pan, the traditional New York prep for the Belmont by almost four lengths.
While formidable on paper, perhaps the most telling sign of how well Charitable Man is doing is by the words of his trainer Kiaran McLaughlin over the past few days. Usually soft-spoken, McLaughlin has been just as excited, and almost as boisterous as Borel in the days leading up to the Belmont.
“Our horse couldn’t be doing any better,” McLaughlin said. “We’re very excited. I wouldn’t trade places with anyone.”
Another trainer who is more than pleased with how his horse is coming into the Belmont is Todd Pletcher who’ll saddle the highly regarded Dunkirk on Saturday. After breaking his maiden and winning an entry level allowance contest in his first two starts by daylight, Dunkirk was a game second in the Florida Derby over a speed favoring course that severely hampered his chances of winning.
His Kentucky Derby try was a series of calamities. He stumbled out of the starting gate, was steadied into the first turn and never handled the cuppy, muddy Churchill Downs surface that day. Since the Derby, he’s trained brilliantly at Belmont over the past couple of weeks, a sure sign that the $3.7 million yearling purchase is poised to run well this Saturday.
“That’s not really my style, but it shows how talented he is,” Pletcher said, in regards to the fast times Dunkirk has posted in the morning works.
It’s worth noting that Pletcher and Velazquez, along with part owner Michael Tabor teamed up to win a thrilling 2007 renewal of the Belmont with the filly Rags to Riches, who defeated the sports eventual all-time leading money earner Curlin.
Trainer Nick Zito is another who is familiar with winning the Belmont and toppling Derby winners. In 2004, the Zito trained Birdstone, sire of Mine That Bird, ran down the undefeated Smarty Jones, stopping his bid to become the twelfth Triple Crown winner and just last year sent out Da’ Tara who went wire-to-wire as 2-5 favorite Big Brown was eased in the stretch in his bid for a Triple Crown.
This year, Zito sends out a pair of longshots in Miner’s Escape, winner of the Federico Tesio at Pimlico last out who might have a say in the early going and stablemate Brave Victory who was a hard charging third in the Peter Pan despite the fact that jockey Rajiv Maragh lost his whip in the stretch. Both colts are owned by Bob LaPenta who also owns Da’ Tara. Maragh returns aboard Brave Victory while Jose Lezcano will be back aboard Miner’s Escape.
Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas will look to join the great Woody Stephens, who won five Belmont Stakes in his career, when he sends out a pair of longshots in Flying Private and Luv Gov. The former finished last in the Derby before closing well to be fourth in the Preakness despite encountering some trouble on the far turn while the latter has won just one of his eleven starts and is better known for being named after disgraced former New York governor Elliott Spitzer. Julien Leparoux rides Flying Private while Miguel Mena will pilot Luv Gov.
The Belmont field is rounded out by three Kentucky Derby also rans. Chocolate Candy was fifth in the Derby for trainer Jerry Hollendorfer and will get the services of Garrett Gomez in the Belmont. Sixth place Derby finisher Summer Bird will get blinkers and a key rider switch to Kent Desormeaux for trainer Tim Ice while the Eoin Harty trained Mr. Hot Stuff, fifteenth in Louisville, will get Edgar Prado in the saddle for the first time. Prado won the 2002 Belmont aboard Sarava, the longest priced winner in the history of the race at $142.50 and was also aboard Birdstone in 2004
