Mine That Bird: Sizzle or fizzle in Firecracker?

With one big change already behind him, former Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird takes another leap in his racing career Sunday as he makes his 2010 debut (after considerable layoff) in Sunday's Firecracker Handicap at Churchill Downs -- a switch to the turf.

In May, the 4-year-old's connections moved him from the barn of Chip Wooley -- who trained him for the second-biggest upset in Derby history and to credible performances in the Preakness and Belmont Stakes -- turning him over to Hall-of-Famer D. Wayne Lukas. The Birdstone gelding hasn't raced since an also-ran finish in the Breeders' Cup Classic in November, and a mile and a sixteenth Churchill allowance failed to fill for him recently. So Lukas, feeling the horse needs a race, decided to take a crack at the G2 Firecracker.

And for some reason, the horse has been highweighted at 122 pounds, and installed as the 3/1 morning-line favorite for the race. I just don't see it.

For starters, few horses are ready to fire their best shot after seven months on the shelf. I realize his status as a Grade 1 winner forces the racing secretary's hand a bit in setting the weights. But in this case, a horse who hasn't won since last May and is completely unproven on grass is giving up to eight pounds to everyone else in the field -- nine if also-eligible Baryishnikov draws in. And it isn't like he's made a huge class drop into a restricted stakes; the Firecracker is still a Grade 2 event.

I don't particularly like Mine That Bird's pedigree for the grass, either.

It isn't that his ancestors have been hopeless on the surface. His sire's second dam, Hush Dear (Silent Screen-You All, by Nashua) twice won both the Long Island and Diana handicaps, Grade 2 events, on the lawn. But in his first two seasons at stud, Birdstone's get's average Ragozin figure on dirt (20 3/4) is rather better than their turf figures (22); and neither is as impressive as I'd have expected considering the sire's stakes success among his young. Speaking of that stakes success by Birdstone's get, virtually none of it has been on turf. And Birdstone's sire, Grindstone, a Kentucky Derby winner now banished to Oregon, hasn't particularly been known for getting grass horses at stud.

On the bottom side, Mine That Bird's dam, Mining My Own, is by Smart Strike, who can certainly get a turf horse (grass champion English Channel, etc.). And she's out of a Vice Regent mare in Aspenelle, which doesn't eliminate the notion of turf. But Mining My Own never raced, so we don't know what her particularly affinities might have been in competition. And her one blacktype sibling, Golden Sunray, was a stakes winner on dirt.

Then there's the difficulty of facing the rest of a 14-horse field with plenty of tough turf competition.

Morning-line second choice Tizdejavu (4/1) has three prior graded wins on grass, earned six of his seven lifetime victories on turf, and has annexed at least three blacktype races over this very Churchill course, once already this season, during which he's 2-for-2. Why he isn't favored and why he's getting three pounds from Mine That Bird at 119 is hard for me to explain, though imposts are hardly my specialty.

Inca King (6/1) has at least three Churchill turf stakes wins in his long and successful career. Euroears (also 6/1) has experienced most of his success on dirt, but does have a turf-sprint stakes win. Co-8/1-choices Public Speaker and Attempted Humor have credible turf form on which to draw; the former a grass stakes winner and the latter never off the board on the lawn in five tries. Longer-shot Skipadate (12/1) broke maiden on grass, was a Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf entrant in 2009 (11th place) and has two recent allowance wins on grass.

Sheesh, 20/1 shots include Orthodox, a G3 turf winner at Churchill who only carries 114 Sunday under journeyman Jon Court, and British-bred Driving Snow, a minor grass stakes winner in the States and the only horse ever to defeat sublime European champion Sea the Stars, as 2-year-old maidens in the U.K.

Which begs the question, could Lukas have possibly picked a more difficult comeback race for a horse he's been asked to turn completely around?

I can't say I'd be completely blown away by news that Mine That Bird won the Firecracker. But I suspect the best he can come out of this race with is a learning experience -- both for horse and connections, to see if turf is ever again in his future -- and hopefully an outing that sparks a successful second half to 2010.

'Bird's surgery 'smooth as silk'

Good news Wednesday from the Mine That Bird camp; the Kentucky Derby winner's surgery for an entrapped epiglottis was called "smooth as silk" by trainer Chip Woolley.

The surgery was performed by Dr. Patricia Hogan at the Ruffian Equine Medical Center. Mine That Bird isn't even expected to miss his next start, scheduled to be in the $1 million Travers S.-G1 at Saratoga on Aug. 29.

Hogan called the horse "a wonderful patient" and said the procedure only took "about 15 seconds."

Woolley -- as is his way -- took it upon himself to drive Mine That Bird to the hospital, which across the street from Belmont Park in greater New York City.

Mine That Bird going under the knife

It's a minor procedure, but Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird is having surgery today for an "entrapped epiglottis." The operation is not expected to keep him out of the Travers S.-G1 at Saratoga on Aug. 29, according to trainer Chip Woolley.

The horse ran a dull five furlongs in nearly 1:04 this morning at Saratoga, last of 12 at the distance, which must have prompted some vetting and the realization that surgery was needed.

Surgery will be performed by Dr. Robert Hunt at the Ruffian Equine Medical Center.

While the operation isn't considered a major treatment, we all know how those "minor procedures" can turn out sometimes in both horse and human health care. Good luck to Mine That Bird and his connections; may everything at the hospital go just as planned.

And may somebody at NTRA get around to writing that Bennie Woolley Jr. biography that still hasn't been added to the organization's Web site, three and a half months after the trainer's horse won the biggest race in America.

Long time, no post ... see ya at Ellis?

Considering I haven't posted on the blog since Wednesday, I figured I'd better make an effort for those of you who've wondered whether I dropped off the face of the earth.

O.K., nobody wondered that, I haven't heard from a soul in my absence.

I've spent the past couple of days trying to get my act together for a road trip, which means doing about a week's worth of necessities ahead of time at the office, not to mention prepping the house and the dog-sitter for the time away. Lucky for that guy the dogs seem to like him. It was smart of me to have him start visiting a couple of weeks ago and always bring treats.

I notice Mine That Bird came up a bit short again when asked too soon, this time in the West Virginia Derby. Somebody needs to listen to Chip Woolley and keep that horse covered up on the rail until they straighten out for home. Considering Calvin Borel did it to perfection in the Kentucky Derby, I'm surprised that nobody's gotten it quite right since. Of course it's a little easier to keep a horse covered when he's running last of 20 than it was for Mike Smith on Saturday in a field of six.

Last word for this post -- though I might have another before I start driving, I have a couple in the works, but unfinished.

There's a chance I'll be stopping by at Ellis Park a week from Sunday, Aug. 9. (Why Ellis? Because it's the closet open racetrack on my route home. And when traveling alone, you know, any excuse to stop at a racetrack is plenty of excuse.)

Anybody who frequents Ellis and will be at the track on that date, keep an eye out for the guy who looks like one of the barns from the back side sprouted legs and hiked around to the grandstand to place a bet.

Julien Leparoux ... no, Mike Smith! ... to be aboard Mine That Bird in West Virginia Derby and Travers

It seems that nothing's ever simple or straightforward when dealing with Mine That Bird and his connections.

I check my e-mail pretty religiously, at least on weekends and when there are horses to discuss. I saw a tip from a message board friend that the Blood-Horse was reporting that jockey Julien Leparoux had committed to ride the Kentucky Derby winner in the upcoming West Virginia Derby-G2, Aug. 1 at Mountaineer Park.

I clicked the link to read the story, and the page at bloodhorse.com was empty.

I clicked the Blood-Horse logo to head back to the homepage and saw no page-topping story link to coverage of who is riding Mine That Bird now that owner Mark Allen and trainer Bennie Woolley Jr. have de-seated the man who won them the Kentucky Derby and beat them in the Preakness, Calvin Borel. But a quick search of the page found a smaller-type link for the story "Smith to Ride Mine That Bird in Two Stakes."

So the news is: Mike Smith, who rode Mine That Bird to a closing second behind Borel and Rachel Alexandra in the Preakness Stakes and then gave up the mount to ride for regular clients Jerry and Ann Moss on the west coast and skip the Belmont Stakes, is back in the irons for the West Virginia Derby and the Travers S.-G1, at Saratoga. ... But apparently that news came after an only-temporarily-correct story had broken that Leparoux would ride the 'Bird in West Virginia.

Or something.

Turns out the report about Leparoux was right until his agent "realized he had a prior commitment." ... The sort of commitment that apparently keeps him from riding a short-priced favorite in a $750,000 race.

This can't be the resolution that Allen and Woolley were hoping to achieve. Unseating Borel might have been the right move for them, because if Rachel Alexandra ends up in the Travers, too (or in the Jim Dandy-G2 on West Va. Derby Day) they were going to lose him, anyway.

But to go back to a jock who asked-off their horse prior to a Grade 1 ... and a jockey who will have to travel from California to ride their horse in these two eastern races ... and thus probably won't be working him in the interim ... and who didn't even commit beyond the end of August ... that can't be what Mine That Bird's principals were looking for.

I know they're New Mexico connections who are likely to blow away like tumbleweeds from the national racing landscape when this horse is gone. But he isn't looking like he'll be gone anytime soon.

Not only was Mine That Bird a convincing Derby winner in the slop, but he came back and scored a gutsy runner-up finish in the Preakness and a credible third in the Belmont Stakes without getting a good trip in either race. He's won over synthetic surfaces at Woodbine in earning a Canadian 2-year-old championship, and shouldn't chicken out of the Breeders' Cup at Santa Anita like the connections of some horses. (You heard me, Jess Jackson and Rachel.)

And he's a 3-year-old gelding. He might race in good company until he's 6, or 7, or 8.

Not to mention, though they're being passed off as hayseeds who crashed the party -- c'mon, NTRA, you're telling me that in two months nobody can get around to writing a frickin' bio for these two guys for your Web site? -- Mark Allen reportedly has the better part of $30 million to play with from the sale of his family's oil field services company. If he hires a good bloodstock agent, he'll keep himself in competitive horses for as long as he cares to stay there.

Will nobody commit to this horse through the Breeders' Cup? ... Nobody?

To me it seems we have a Catch-22: Mine That Bird appears to be a very good horse with obscure connections, and those connections realize they have a horse worthy of one of the best jockeys in the country and aren't willing to settle for less.

It's possible that Mike Smith won't be faced with having to take off Mine That Bird before the Breeders' Cup on the first weekend November, but then again, he might. It's reasonable to believe the Travers on Aug. 29 won't be Mine That Bird's last race before a Nov. 7 trip to Santa Anita for the Breeders' Cup Classic. That's a lot of days between.

Could be he fits in the Super Derby-G2 on Sept. 19 at Louisiana Downs. Or is sent out against older horses for the first time in the Jockey Club Gold Cup-G1 on Oct. 3 at Belmont. Or wants to clobber other 3-year-olds in the Indiana Derby-G2 at Hoosier Park on Oct. 3.

Any of those, and maybe others not on the cusp of my brain, set up as a potential last race for Mine That Bird before the Breeders' Cup in November. And nobody is committed to ride him in September or October. Or November.

Allen and Woolley probably should've swallowed their pride and stepped down just one peg on the jockey ladder to find someone with ability -- a younger guy, an overlooked guy, or not a guy at all -- who would be thrilled to have a horse the caliber of Mine That Bird, and who would have to be dragged off him with a cowboy's lasso (which Woolley could probably accomplish) rather than be asking off him the next time they have a good horse running anywhere else.

And that's actually a decent list of people.

For me, it starts with Chantal Sutherland, who piloted Mine That Bird to his Canadian championship. She rode him to a dull finish in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile, but who knows how "off" the horse was after a long ship from Woodbine to Santa Anita last fall? Allen's Double Eagle Ranch and partner Buena Suerte Equine had only owned him a couple of weeks at the time. Sutherland is presently 34th in earnings among all North American riders according to Equibase.com, winning at a fair 14 percent clip and hitting the board with 43 percent of her mounts. And she might be a good public relations move -- hiring the horse's capable former jockey, a spokesmodel-pretty and well-spoken woman, to boot, to try and guide him to a Breeders' Cup win that eluded them both last year.

Of course, maybe one ride last fall for these connections was enough for Chantal; only she could say.

There are plenty of other names worth tossing into the discussion, though I'll admit to not knowing all the commitments for them that might conflict.

Rajiv Maragh is No. 10 on the 2009 jockey earnings list and second in wins at the present Belmont meet. Mike Luzzi and one of my favorites, Richard Migliore, are capable old hands at Saratgoa who could stand to win a $750K race at Mountaineer next month, and "Migs" knows his way around Santa Anita plenty well, too.

Churchill's colony, if they're looking for someone to work the horse regularly and ship with him to races, has some respectable possiblities. Young Miguel Mena, 22, is third in wins during the Churchill meet -- ahead of names like Robby Albarado, Shaun Bridgmohan, Corey Lanerie, and Jamie Theriot -- and could use a "big horse" to give his career an extra boost. Not Mena? Try one of those other names I just listed; Bridgmohan in particular. He's 17th in earnings this year among all North American jockeys.

Willing to go with a California-based jock who might be very interested in a mount for the Breeders' Cup out there? Joel Rosario is another who apparently doesn't merit mention among the bios at NTRA, but all he's doing is leading the Hollywood Park meet in wins with 62 from 292 mounts, is second in earnings to Rafael Bejarano, and his jockey agent is track announcer Vic Stauffer, so your gelding is not going to get overlooked when hanging around at the back of the pack before bringing his late run.

I'm not saying Mike Smith is a bad jockey for Mine That Bird. What I'm saying is, if Jerry and Ann Moss or their trainer, John Shirreffs, come up with a horse for the Classic, you're losing him. And with no commitment for September or October, you're possibly losing him even earlier than that.

I'm starting to feel for these guys a little bit, and particularly for their horse. Mine That Bird is a Kentucky Derby winner who deserves a regular rider.

But it looks like the riders the connections want won't make the horse their No. 1 mount, and the good jockeys who'd be glad to make Mine That Bird their No. 1 horse aren't the riders Allen and Woolley want.

Or maybe they're selling the horse before the Breeders' Cup anyway and only need their own jockey for two more races.

Fear the Queen? Calvin Borel, Mine That Bird and the ongoing jockey-rider chess match

What if it's really about Rachel?

As reported, jockey Calvin Borel on Wednesday was taken off Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird by owner Mark Allen and trainer Bennie Woolley Jr.

Allen said it was because Borel was hedging on whether to ride Mine That Bird in the $750,000 West Virginia Derby-G2 on Aug. 1, or to ride the Grade 3-placed Medaglia D'Oro colt Warrior's Reward in the $500,000 Jim Dandy S.-G2 at Saratoga instead.

Allen said he didn't want Borel leaving him hanging, waiting on the jockey's decision "until the last minute" again as in the days leading up to the Preakness Stakes.

But Borel didn't leave Allen, Woolley and Mine That Bird "hanging" prior to the Pimlico classic; they had over a week to find a rider and there's only two weeks between Derby and Preakness anyway. And, jockey/trainer allegiances aside -- as Borel has a long relationship with Warrior's Reward conditioner Ian Wilkes, who was an assistant to Carl Nafzger, whom Borel calls "Mr. Carl" -- it would make sense to me for Borel to stick with the heavy favorite in a $750,000 race over a horse that, even with luck, will be merely a middling contender in a $500,000 affair.

Then Anne Mayea, a contributor to a Yahoo horse racing discussion group of which I'm a member, offered some insights that hit home.

What if it isn't about Warrior's Reward or even Mine That Bird at all?

What if it's all about Rachel Alexandra?

Precedent, and Borel's own words, are more than clear. Forced to make a choice between the two horses, Calvin will forever take Rachel Alexandra over Mine That Bird.

That isn't necessarily a conflict leading up to the first weekend of August. Though there's speculation that Rachel Alexandra might be entered against colts again in the Haskell Invitational-G1 at Monmouth Park, that race is on Sunday, Aug. 2. Borel could ride Mine That Bird in the West Virginia Derby on Aug. 1 at Mountaineer and Rachel in the Haskell the following day, no problem.

Only if Rachel were entered in the Jim Dandy instead (and she is training at Saratoga) would race-dates for the two conflict. And it could happen.

Even if not, then the Travers Stakes-G1 at Saratoga looms large.

Woolley has already stated that Mine That Bird's next race after the West Virginia Derby will be the Travers, at 10 furlongs over the Saratoga course on Aug. 29. And Rachel will be there, in training if nothing else.

Rachel will likely race twice between now and Labor Day: Her connections' available choices are many, but most attractive could be: the $1 million Delaware H.-G2 against older fillies and mares on July 19; the Coaching Club American Oaks-G1 against 3-year-old fillies at Belmont on July 25; the Jim Dandy on Aug. 1 or the Haskell on Aug. 2, both against 3-year-old males; the Alabama Stakes-G1 against her own age and gender at Saratoga on Aug. 22; the Travers against 3-year-old males on Aug. 29; and the Personal Ensign S.-G1 going 10 furlongs against older females at Saratoga on Aug. 30.

Rachel's primary owner, Jess Jackson of Stonestreet Stables, has indicated an interest not only in racing his filly against older females, but in racing her vs. colts again. If Rachel doesn't undertake that inter-gender challenge in the Jim Dandy or Haskell, the remaining spot then becomes the Travers -- which would force Borel off Mine That Bird by his own choice anyway.

Of course, nobody knows whose horse will be fit for any given race. But if things in all camps (including that of Warrior's Reward, whom Borel is riding in the Dwyer S.-G2 on Independence Day) work out as planned, Borel might have three horses he was riding as of Wednesday morning, all pointed at the Travers on Aug. 29. And Rachel trumps all.

So while Mark Allen might be using a potential conflict with the Warrior's Reward mount as his reason for taking Calvin Borel off Mine That Bird, he very well might be playing a bigger chess match -- and thinking one or two races and moves ahead as a result.

Allen might really be saying that he'd rather trade-out Borel for another pawn in the black Double Eagle Ranch silks right now, than have to worry whether the present 3-year-old queen of racing is going to sweep his cajun knight out of the saddle again later in the game.

Bird flies coop, leaving Borel behind

Mark Allen, primary owner of Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird, has told the Daily Racing Form that he and the horse's trainer, Bennie Woolley Jr., have taken the mount away from jockey Calvin Borel.

The Churchill Downs-based rider effectively won the horse and his connections the Derby by conserving the horse's energy and making the jockey's patented move up the inside fence in the late-going, a style of riding that has earned Borel the nickname "Bo-Rail." But after taking off the horse to ride filly Rachel Alexandra in the Preakness -- winning that race, relegating Mine That Bird to second, and ending the Birdstone gelding's Triple Crown hopes -- Borel was back on the horse for the Belmont Stakes, and was criticized by a number of observers, including Woolley, for a ride in which the jockey likely moved the horse too soon.

Mine That Bird was beaten in the Belmont by another Birdstone son, Summer Bird.

Allen told DRF that he and Woolley were not yet ready to name a new rider, but Borel wouldn't be the person aboard Mine That Bird when the gelding makes his expected return to the races in the Aug. 1, $750,000 West Virginia Derby-G2 at Mountaineer Park.

To a degree, I suppose, a little turnabout is fair play. Borel had to make a choice between MTB and the filly for the Preakness, and beyond a doubt made the right one at the time. He's paid for it since by regaining -- and now losing -- Mine That Bird, and by learning that Rachel's ownership group, primarily Jess Jackson of Stonestreet Stable, claim they will not run her on racing's biggest weekend, the Breeders' Cup this fall at Santa Anita. Jackson does not want the filly running on a synthetic track, even though she's won a race over such a surface as a 2-year-old.

Now, Allen says, Borel was hedging on whether he would ride Mine That Bird in West Virginia, or take the mount on Warrior's Reward in the Jim Dandy S.-G2 at Saratoga. If Borel was uncertain which horse to take in that case, it was his mistake. Warrior's Reward might be a very good colt, but as of now he's a Grade 3-placed runner with five lifetime starts who is pointed toward a $500,000 race.

While Borel is tabbed to ride Warrior's Reward (who beat Barbaro's brother Nicanor in a maiden race) in the Dwyer Stakes on the Fourth of July, I find it hard to believe Borel would consider keeping that mount over a Derby winner who placed in all three Triple Crown races and is pointed toward a $750,000 race, from which the jockey's winnings would be 50 percent more than if his horse won the Jim Dandy.

"I'm not going to bad-mouth Calvin or Jerry (Hissam, Borel's agent) because they've done me a lot of good. Heck, they won the Derby for me," said Allen. "But I'm not going to let them hang us out the way they did before the Preakness, waiting until the last minute to tell us we needed another rider."

Speaking in terms with which Allen is certainly familiar, I have to call bullshit on his claims of Borel "hanging them out ... until the last minute" with his choice of Rachel Alexandra for the Preakness. Once Jess Jackson owned her and pointed her toward that race, Borel made his definitive choice almost immediately. I blogged that he'd made the right choice on June 8, and that's a week and a day before the big race at Pimlico; hardly short notice.

But, Allen and Woolley have the right to put any jock they want on their horse, and unless the West Virginia Derby draws up way tougher than I'm expecting, Mine That Bird will be the heavy -- if not short-priced -- favorite to win.

So whoever that guy (or gal) to get the mount happens to be, should count himself lucky.

Mine That Bird's next flight: Almost Heaven

Trainer Bennie Woolley Jr. has revealed the schedule for Kentucky Derby winner and Preakness runner-up Mine That Bird, and it's a little bit off the typical beaten path for Grade 1 winners.

They're going to Disney World! ... No, wait. To West Virginia.

Woolley says Mine That Bird's next start will be in the West Virginia Derby-G2, to be run Aug. 1 at Mountaineer Park.

The West Virginia Derby is growing in stature, and Mine That Bird's entry could be the ultimate proof. The race has achieved Grade 2 status this year after several seasons as a Grade 3. The ascent is a bit amazing considering the race wasn't run at all from 1991-1997 and is staged at a track that is generally regarded as part of racing's second tier. But there's no quibbling with the purse: $750,000.

It's just that there are other alternatives that horsemen would usually prefer on that first weekend in August. Summer Bird, the "other son of Birdstone" who upset Mine That Bird in the Belmont Stakes, is pointed to the Aug. 2 Haskell Invitational H.-G1 at Monmouth Park, according to trainer Tim Ice. Like the WV Derby, the Haskell is run at 9 furlongs. But it's a Grade 1 and carries an extra $250K in purse money; $1 million total.

And Charitable Man, who came in fourth with a less-than-stellar trip in the Belmont, will, according to his trainer, Kiaran McLaughlin, likely race next in the Aug. 1 Jim Dandy S.-G2 at Saratoga. Another 9-furlong event, and a Grade 2 like the West Virginia Derby, the Jim Dandy is an historic stakes run at America's mecca of summer horse racing, but it does carry the lowest purse of the three at $500,000.

Leave it to Woolley and owners Double Eagle Ranch (Mark Allen) and Buena Suerte Equine to take the road less-traveled. Or maybe just to take the road instead of a plane. Mine That Bird is presently back in Kentucky, and if Woolley is going to haul him around in a trailer behind his big pickup truck, the way they got from New Mexico's Sunland Park to Churchill Downs, then Mountaineer is closer than either Monmouth or Saratoga.

Somehow I doubt that was their reasoning.

It seems all three of the aforementioned horses, health willing, are destined for the Travers S.-G1 at the end of the Saratoga meet on Aug. 29. But all are taking different routes to get there. And despite its Grade 2 status and $750,000 purse, Mine That Bird's is the more obscure.

That isn't to say good horses haven't been in the race of late. Multiple G2-winner Zanjero defeated G3-winner Bwana Bull in the 2007 renewal. Eventual multi-millionaire Magna Graduate came in second to millionaire Real Dandy in 2005. Other winners in the past decade have included Sir Shackleton, Soto and Wiseman's Ferry; runners-up have been the likes of Pollard's Vision, Dynever and the ill-fated Florida Derby-G1 winner Hal's Hope.

I'm certain that Mountaineer Park is thrilled with the news that America's plucky little hero, Mine That Bird, will be in its marquee race. Maybe even with Calvin Borel aboard. And at least the Travers is shaping up to be a potential clash of 3-year-old titans as each tries to stamp his ticket to the Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita.

Unless the $125,000 Mountaineer Mile Handicap on the same day is just too tempting.

Borel at Belmont: Blackball by default

Many observers, myself included, were critical of jockey Calvin Borel -- in print or otherwise -- for having no mounts during Belmont Stakes week and trying to win the third leg of the Triple Crown on Mine That Bird with very little experience traversing "Big Sandy."

Today Steve Haskin of The Blood-Horse reports that the decision wasn't Borel's. Haskin says he's been told nobody would give Borel a mount during the week at Belmont save one trainer, and that Borel was advised to take off that horse. (I believe I've heard elsewhere that lone ride was to be on the turf course, anyway.)

Calvin Borel is such a kind man that it isn't surprising, I guess, that he would deflect all criticism of his lack of mounts during Belmont week by good-naturedly saying it didn't really make a difference; that like all races, you just "break ... and turn left." It likely did make a difference -- Big Sandy and the Belmont aboard a keyed-up horse have been the undoing of more famed jockeys than he -- but if he tried and couldn't get mounts, what was he to do? Call the whole Belmont trainer colony everything but sons of God?

I don't really know what to make of a situation in which the hottest jockey in America can't get a ride for a week. On the one hand, you'd think somebody -- some little barn with a handful of horses, typically stuck hiring bug-boys and second-tier NY-circuit veterans -- would hand him the reins for a race or two during the week. Even if Borel wasn't aboard a winner, he'd get the feel for just how expansive that turn for home and how long the final stretch are; how you can't go as early as your instincts make you think.

(Haskin doesn't think Borel moved to soon aboard Mine That Bird; I still do. The outside trip might have cost him even more, and maybe Borel just couldn't hold back an uncharacteristically rank horse, but Mine That bird used too much energy, too soon.)

On the other hand, if you're a New York trainer of any stature, top-rung or bottom, what's really to be gained by naming Borel to a half-dozen mounts during Belmont week? Why break commitments and risk fracturing relationships with local jockeys for a rider, Borel, who almost certainly won't be there to ride your horse back the next time he runs?

It isn't your job to get the guy ready to run the Belmont. It's your job to win today, tomorrow and next week and next month with your owners' horses. Even if Borel wins on your horse, you can only say you've benefited if it seemed there was little chance of that horse winning without Calvin Borel. At Churchill Downs that happens almost every day; at Belmont Park, you probably have just as good a shot with any of a dozen other, more familiar, guys or gals in the irons.

There'd need to be some compelling reason to ride Borel instead of your regular guy, or even in the case of a horse that hasn't established a good working relationship with a jockey yet. You might do it if Borel was there to ride a friend's horse in the Belmont; a fellow trainer with whom you've had an on- and off-track friendship for a decade all around the Northeast. Or if it's realistic that you might have a horse in a nice race at Churchill someday and could want Borel in the irons for that one. Or even if the owner of Borel's horse is someone with whom you'd like to earn points, so that you might train some of his horses in the future.

It's likely none of that's the case with Belmont's trainer colony and Mine That Bird.

This might be a product, then, of a formerly obscure horse with perhaps destined to again be obscure connections in owners Double Eagle Ranch (Mark Allen) and Buena Suerte Equine, and trainer Bennie Woolley Jr. What's a Belmont-based trainer to think of collaborating with them?

They're the Sunland Park crowd; New Mexico guys. Mark Allen, despite his oil-business money, will likely never have a substantial string at Belmont and consider you as the trainer. And Woolley -- personable though he seems to be in horse circles -- is someone you just met; you owe him no return of a former favor and it's unlikely he'd ever be in a position to repay your favor of putting Borel aboard a long-shot in the fifth on Belmont Friday. Legging-up Borel would be a courtesy from which you'd not be expecting ever to benefit directly; nothing but "a kindness," as we say in the South.

I mean, follow the links ... there's probably an explanation behind why the NTRA has mugshots but still no bios on these men, nearly six weeks after their horse won the biggest race in America, the Kentucky Derby. Aside from Mine That Bird, nobody in racing's upper echelon is really expecting to hear from these guys again.

So in a game that's all about gaining and exploiting advantages -- not just from gate to wire, but from the sales, to morning workouts, to the entry box, to the saddling enclosure, to post-parade, to gate, to wire -- there was almost nothing to be gained for any Belmont trainer to put Calvin Borel on horses during Belmont week.

Call it a "blackball by default," perhaps.

There might have been some New York allegiances involved -- trainers who'd rather see a jockey or conditioner from the Belmont colony win the Belmont Stakes, rather than these upstarts in cowboy boots and their sudden-celebrity jockey. Or even some jealousy among NY-circuit jockeys and trainers watching this Louisiana middle-school dropout from Churchill breeze into the Big Apple and appear on late-night TV as a guest of David Letterman.

But there didn't need to be any animosity at all for the same net result to occur: No rides for Borel to prep his skills for the Belmont.

It's tough for the guy, for his horse, and for the connections. And it makes you admire Calvin Borel all the more that he had the good spirits and grace to smile through defeat and never utter a harsh word -- knowing he and the horse had tried their best when nobody would do him a favor all week in New York.

No "kindness" for the kindest jockey in America. That is a little bit sad, isn't it?

Birdstone can't stay out of his own way

The Belmont Stakes is in the books and the little 'Bird that could, 50-1 Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird, and his "Jockey Triple Crown" hopeful rider, Calvin Borel, are knocked down two pegs by another bird, Summer Bird.

That's right, the Derby long-shot son of Birdstone (who stole Smarty Jones' Triple Crown in the 2004 Belmont) loses the Belmont himself to another of his sire's sons, at a wee bit of a price ($25.80 to win).

In the end, Mine That Bird finished third behind Dunkirk, who nearly got taken down after some troubles in the stretch with Charitable Man. With a DQ, it would've been a Birdstone-double.

Criticism already is falling on Borel for perhaps moving too soon with Mine That Bird. I actually said it during the race to co-workers who were watching with me.

"It's too early," I said. "I'm afraid it's too early."

Mine That Bird was keen to go down the back stretch and Borel had to let him. But it was winner Kent Desormeaux, with his own Belmont shortcomings, who earlier in the week, called Borel "naive" for approaching the Belmont with confidence despite having no real experience over the track. Race-riding at Belmont is like nowhere else. Unlike most tracks, where the finish line is relatively near when the horses straighten out for home off the final turn, at Belmont, there are still some 1,100 feet left to run.

Mine That Bird had the lead when they straightened out, but having already come from the back -- and this time the long way around, on the outside -- maybe he didn't have enough left to finish like he needed. He was beaten not only by the fellow Birdstone-sired closer, but by Dunkirk, who had done all the work on the front end, but stayed on the rail in doing it.

I won't kick Borel while he's (comparatively) down, though. He's a great race-rider and we wouldn't even know Mine That Bird if Bo-Rail hadn't made one of the greatest moves in Derby history on the first Saturday in May, 2009. The Belmont Stakes has humbled more famous jockeys than he. And he still has the mount on the great filly of 2009, Rachel Alexandra.

I do wonder whether Bennie Woolley Jr. will keep Borel aboard Mine That Bird, though. Even Woolley -- though he said he'd "pat him on the back" when he saw Borel post-race -- was telling Janine Edwards after the race that the jock had moved too soon.

Final thought: How great a start to a stallion career is Birdstone having? A Derby win and a Belmont win in his first crop, and they weren't won by the same horse. And, Kentucky Oaks-G1 runner-up Stone Legacy, Tempted S.-G3 winner Livin Lovin, and multiple-stakes winner Texas Birdstone. ... That deserves a "wow."

Stop, thief! ... No, not the filly, the other guy ...

Talk about a run of bad luck with thieves. First Rachel Alexandra steals the Preakness and a potential Triple Crown from Mine That Bird, and now somebody steals the darned horse's papers.

The Blood-Horse reports that trainer Bennie Woolley Jr. awoke Tuesday at his hotel in Louisville, Ky., to find that his pickup truck -- the one with which he hauled Mine That Bird all the way from New Mexico's Sunland Park to victory at Churchill Downs (well, the horse ran the last 10 furlongs) had been burglarized overnight. A thief smashed out the passenger side window, stole the GPS that pointed Mine That Bird from Sunland to the site of his Kentucky Derby win (Calvin Borel directed the last 10 furlongs), and, in the process, also stole the little gelding's papers.

An interesting collector's item, I suppose. But could be tough to fence.

Since a horse can't race without official papers on file at the appropriate track's racing office, Woolley worked through Churchill Downs officials to get a new set from the Jockey Club posthaste so Mine That Bird would have documentation for the Belmont Stakes. Now that's been taken care of, and I presume the pickup's window has been fixed (Woolley is flying to NYC, not driving), soon all involved will be safe and sound in New York for the Belmont, with Louisville only a distant memory.

As Rachel waits, Derby winner dangles

Here we are, less than a week from the Belmont Stakes draw, with no commitment made from the Rachel Alexandra camp about whether the phenomenal filly will be present for a rematch with Derby winner Mine That Bird, whom she bested in the Preakness.

The Blood-Horse's Steve Haskin muses about why that might be, and speculates -- I think correctly -- that Rachel's connections, including Jess Jackson's Stonestreet Stable, have to be at least 90 percent certain by now about what they're going to do. But Haskin notes that Jackson has given conflicting signals, including statements that they'd know by last Monday whether Rachel was ready; now we'll know by this coming Monday, which for a mid-week draw and Saturday race is pretty much go-time.

Haskin writes that a decision on Monday is cutting it awfully close, and "leaves the NYRA marketing department up the proverbial creek without a paddle."

There's somebody else Jackson has left in a holding pattern: Mine That Bird.

By now I'm leaning heavily toward the notion that Rachel Alexandra won't run in the Belmont Stakes. My desire for a rematch aside, I think if she were my filly I wouldn't consider it the right spot for her.

Rachel opting out would leave her regular rider, Calvin Borel, free to reclaim the mount aboard Mine That Bird, a job he gave up when both horses were entered in the Preakness. Mike Smith rode Mine That Bird to second in that race, but has taken off the horse to stay out west next weekend and ride Madeo, a Jerry and Ann Moss horse, in the Grade 1 Charles Whittingham Memorial at Hollywood Park the same afternoon. Mine That Bird's trainer, Bennie Woolley Jr., has decided he'll wait and see whether Borel is available, and that means waiting out Jackson's decision on Rachel's Belmont future. Borel has even worked Woolley's horse in the interim.

I think Jackson might be tickled to make them sweat. After all, Mine That Bird's owner, Mark Allen, stuck Jackson and Co. in the sauna for a day when he, Ahmed Zayat and perhaps others gave serious consideration to blocking Rachel Alexandra from the Preakness by entering enough nominated, but undeserving, colts. All Jackson could do was dab at his brow for hours, until the Derby winner's connections and Zayat publicly changed their minds.

The Belmont-decision delay might just be Jackson's chance at a little turnabout. You made me wait and see whether my horse would run at Pimlico; I'll make you wait and see whether you get your jockey back for Belmont.

If so, that's the stuff good rivalries are made of.

'Bird flipped-off by another jockey

What's a Derby winner gotta do to keep a jockey?

Mine That Bird -- surprise and impressive winner of the Kentucky Derby and hard-charging runner-up in the Preakness Stakes -- has lost his second rider in as many races. Thoroughbred Times reports that hall-of-famer Mike Smith had to ask off the horse for the June 6 Belmont Stakes due to a prior commitment.

Smith was already confirmed to ride G2 winner Madeo in the Charles Whittingham Memorial H.-G1 at Hollywood Park the same day. Madeo is owned by Jerry and Ann Moss and trained by John Shirreffs, connections of Smith's own Derby-winning mount, Giacomo, and of 2008 champion mare Zenyatta. Smith was or is the regular rider of both.

Just as I couldn't blame Calvin Borel for taking off Mine That Bird to stick with potential champion Rachel Alexandra -- with whom he beat the 'Bird in the Preakness -- it's hard to fault Smith here for not going back on his word to the Mosses and Shirreffs. They consistently give him top horses to ride. He needs to keep his commitments to them and maintain that relationship.

Conversely, as good as Mine That Bird is, who knows when -- if ever -- Double Eagle Stables, Buene Suerte Equine and trainer Bennie Woolley Jr. will have this kind of horse again? And would they be sure to hand the reins to Smith even if they did?

Still, Woolley's reaction is both predictable and understandable.

"It's kinda funny," he said. "You'd think if you get a horse this good, you'd keep (a jockey), but apparently not."

Woolley said he'd close a deal with a new rider in a matter of days, not waiting to see whether Rachel Alexandra is entered in the Belmont. If she isn't, of course, he could try to reunite Mine That Bird with Borel, awkward though that might be. But it sounds like that idea is written-off already or Woolley would stall at least for a few days to see whether Rachel's entry seems likely.

Five reasons why Mine That Bird will win the Preakness

What, you thought I gave the Kentucky Derby winner no chance in Saturday's Preakness Stakes?

1. Bye-bye, Borel: Believe it or not, I don't think Mine That Bird needs Calvin Borel. Though the jockey's ride in the Derby was masterful, the gelding has shown that he can win without him. Mine That Bird has five wins from nine starts, and those victories have come with three different jockeys; Chantal Sutherland is the leader with three. This loss of jockey really could be much ado about nothing when it comes to race-riding at Pimlico. In fact, if what trainer Bennie Woolley Jr. and primary owner Mark Allen want from the horse is to be taken back early (done in part by necessity and in part by design in the Derby, to great success), replacement jock Mike Smith is among the best at winning with a deep closer. (Remember Giacomo?) ... Besides, Borel, a 14-percent winner in 2009, is at his best at Churchill. The guy getting the pickup mount is a hall-of-famer winning at 18 percent. How bad a trade is that, really?

2. Rachel Won't Win: I'm not saying that's a surety, I'm just saying that Rachel Alexandra as favorite -- probably heavy favorite -- isn't as sure a thing as the final odds (whatever they might be) are likely to suggest. And not just because she's a filly (though it plays a role; first race against boys, her toughest field ever, etc.). Look what's being asked of her. She's won five straight, and streaks do typically end. She switches barns, from Hal Wiggins, who obviously knew her well, to Steve Asmussen, who (despite, no doubt, talks with Wiggins), hardly knows her at all. Shipped to Pimlico, new stall, new grooms, new regimen. ... Tall order.

3. The Race Sets Up For Him: Another point against Rachel, for starters. She draws the 13-hole, which superstitiously is a negative, and could be practically, as well. A filly who runs up front -- no further than a head off the lead in her five straight wins -- Rachel might have to spend considerable energy early to draw clear and be able to drop over toward the rail to avoid being hung out very wide on the far turn; especially if one of the boys on the inside decides to make it extra-tough on the filly. Meanwhile, 'Bird sits in the 2-hole with fairly fleet Big Drama to his inside, permitting Smith to take back only a little and get right on the rail to save ground. He can sit second or he can sit 12th, it's up to him and his horse. (See free Daily Racing Form Preakness PPs here.)

4. Remember His 'Dirty Little Secret?' Well, Forget It: Yesterday I noted Mine That Bird's two efforts over a fast, conventional dirt track have not been nearly good enough to win a Grade 1 race. (They weren't good enough to twin two ungraded stakes races.) A fast strip at Pimlico could be a problem. It also could be a moot point. The Weather Channel's hour-by-hour forecast predicts a 30 percent chance of rain or thunderstorms almost straight through in the 24-plus hours from 6 p.m. Preakness Eve, to the 6:15 Saturday evening post time. And the chance of rain escalates in the forecast to 50 percent shortly after the race, and 60 percent throughout Saturday night. If the track takes on moisture at any time after the Black Eyed Susan card today, and if the heavier or at least more-probable rain comes in just a little earlier than the advance forecast predicts, the field could find itself playing in the Derby champion's birdbath, much to his contentment.

5. David vs. Goliath (or, 'The Birdstone Factor'): In this case, Goliath is a girl, and a talented field she leads, and fate, and the odds, which will still be somewhat stacked against this little gelding, although hardly 50-1 as they were on Derby Day. He's a little guy -- by some reports barely 15 hands -- facing a monumental task. But so was his sire, Birdstone, on the day he stole the Belmont Stakes and a Triple Crown from Smarty Jones at 36-1 odds. Don't doubt for a minute that heart and a spirit can flow from sire and dam to son and daughter, just as surely as more tangible attributes such as color, stature, speed and stamina. Then there are the Preakness myths, of almost biblical proportions, primed for the little hero to overcome. ... "Pimlico is speed-favoring, and the traffic can make it even harder on a closer." He can get through; he's a small horse. ... "But the turns at Pimlico are so tight!" Did you forget he's a small horse? ... "But it is just too big a task." The bigger they come, the harder they fall; eh, Goliath? ... Maybe this 'Bird is just the "David" to do it.

Five reasons why Mine That Bird won't win the Preakness

Can the diminutive Derby dandy pack the same punch at Pimlico's Preakness?

Here are five pretty good reasons why the answer could be "no."

1. Girl Power: Rachel Alexandra is just too good, not just for Mine That Bird, but for all the boys.

2. Beware the Bounce: After running Beyers of 81 and 80 in his prior two races (career highs), 'Bird flew to a 105 in the slop at Churchill. The only thing set up for a bigger bounce would be the kids' new trampoline. (See free Daily Racing Form Preakness PPs.)

3. Dirty Little Secret: Mine That Bird has not run well enough over a fast dirt strip to win a Grade 1 race. All four of his wins at age 2 were on the synthetic surface at Woodbine in Canada. His unlikely Derby triumph was in the slop. His only dirt/fast efforts were the aforementioned 81/80 Beyers at Sunland, including fourth beaten almost four lengths in the ungraded Sunland Derby.

4. Borel Bails: No disrespect at all to jockey Calvin Borel; it seems he made the right choice by sticking with a potential champion filly in Rachel Alexandra, with whom he has a five-race win streak. But when the Derby-winning jockey by choice takes off that horse for the Preakness, it can't be a good sign for what he thinks of the horse's chances. O.K., so nobody's ever done it before. Doesn't that prove the point?

5. Trainer Trouble: Has anybody thought that maybe part of the reason Mine That Bird was 50-1 at Churchill wasn't just his lack of a win since October at Woodbine? Or his far-below-par Beyers? Could it maybe have been that his trainer, Bennie Woolley Jr., was previously 1-for-34 for 2009? Now that he's 2-for-35, what are the odds he can win two in a row? (Edit: Information elsewhere states that Woolley was 1-for-33 when Mine That Bird won, so he's lost since. Streak broken, new streak to begin?)

How's this for a quick-hitter?

Even after a plot to keep Rachel Alexandra out of the Preakness Stakes fell by the wayside Sunday, the connections of Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird, owned and trained by men experienced in the improvisational pugilistic arts, remain interesting.

The day after the Birdstone gelding scored at an improbable 50-1, the Anchorage Daily News reported that principal owner Mark Allen of Double Eagle Ranch in New Mexico might have become criminally entangled in Alaska's ongoing public corruption probe, if not for immunity gained as a condition of his father Bill's plea bargain. Certainly that story has now made the rounds fairly well, but as colorful as this group seems to be, it seems that stories not normally told of Derby-winning connections could keep filtering to the top.

Like this: The Minneapolis Star-Tribune, also on the day after the Derby, might have been the first to report that Allen and longtime trainer (and ex-bull rider) Bennie Woolley Jr., first became friends as the result of a bar brawl. It's only a brief reference to the scuffle in a story primarily about the horse -- who, hopefully, will get to be the one in the spotlight ongoing. But it seems that some 25 years ago, Allen fomented fisticuffs in a drinking establishment, Woolley for whatever reason came to his aid, and the two have been buddies since.

The Associated Press sort of wrapped up the coverage of the connections later in the week, including some additional details on the Alaskan bribery probe.

As a small-town Kansas boy with a modest upbringing, I'd like to root for connections that are a little (O.K., a lot) rough around the edges by Triple Crown standards. Married into a rodeo family, I have a fondness for the fellas who congregate behind the chutes. It's a tough crowd, but if you can show 'em you're legit -- particularly that you're interested in and truly know their sport, not just a (ahem) tinhorn assigned to cover the rodeo -- they'll take you in almost as one of their own.

On the other hand, as a journalist by training and trade, tasked with keeping an eye on local government and business for signs of corruption, the bribery mess in Alaska keeps me from jumping on the Allen-Woolley bandwagon.

It does not, however, sour me on the horse. I don't wish him ill, or even particularly a loss. All he knows is he's born to race, and has earned his chance to be the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed by running the race of his life at Churchill.

Hopefully since the plot went poof his connections have turned their thoughts fully to prepping their little fellow for the race. Because while Rachel Alexandra -- and her four-straight Beyer speed figures over 100 -- might be his biggest threat, the Daily Racing Form past performances for potential Preakness contenders show she isn't the only one.

Borel owes nothing to anybody, not even an explanation

For a decision that seemed like a relative no-brainer to me, Calvin Borel is catching a little bit of grief -- in the blogosphere anyway -- for choosing to take off Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird in order to stick with Rachel Alexandra and likely ride the filly in the Preakness Stakes.

For the life of me, the only two "reasons" I can see motivating Borel's detractors to believe that he should have retained the mount aboard Mine That Bird is some sense of tradition mingled with misguided loyalty ("How can you take off the Derby winner with the Preakness at hand?") or, potentially, something resembling chauvanism.

The latter sentiment would never really make sense, though that doesn't mean there aren't a few observers who believe that picking the male horse is always a shrewder choice. We'll see soon enough whether Mine That Bird and his new rider, as yet unnamed, can finish ahead of Rachel Alexandra in the Preakness. (And sure, if the 'Bird wins, Borel looks like a bonehead.)

You could make a better argument for the former if it wasn't apparent that Borel is likely choosing the better horse, and certainly the mount to which he feels a stronger connection and owes greater loyalty.

Calvin Borel has race-ridden Mine That Bird exactly once, in the Kentucky Derby. He did his job to perfection and brought home one of the unlikeliest of victories to the gelding's connections, trainer Bennie Woolley Jr. and owners Double Eagle Ranch and Buena Suerte Equine. Borel owes those connections nothing; they were blessed to have one of Churchill's best on their long-shot. He's paid any debt to them in full by winning that race.

Besides, their horse has run eight races in which he wasn't ridden by Calvin Borel. And won four of them, including three stakes races at Woodbine. In fact, those three stakes races were won with Chantal Sutherland in the irons. And wouldn't bringing her in to replace Borel spice up the Preakness? ... Borel takes off the gelding to ride the filly; MTB's connections ask their boy's long-lost ladyfriend, in whose company he had so many great dates, to step back into his life and show Borel what might have been!

Whether it's Chantal Sutherland, who has proven beyond doubt she can pilot this 'Bird to the winner's circle, or somebody else, the Derby winner is going to get a fine jockey in Borel's absence. After all, Mine That Bird is the Kentucky Derby winner. And much as I'm a fan of the man, Borel's brilliance gleams brightest at Churchill; another jockey might serve MTB even better at Pimlico.

Meanwhile, Rachel Alexandra and Borel have their own good thing going. They're undefeated since pairing up five races ago, including three Grade 2 stakes and the G1 Kentucky Oaks. It matters not to me that her connections have changed (read what I think about the sale); not from Borel's perspective, anyway. She has a legitimate shot of winning the Breeders' Cup Ladies Classic (please call it "Distaff" again!) and a 3-year-old filly Eclipse, or more. You don't take off that sort of filly. You ride your heart out for her until whomever owns her says you can't ride her anymore.

A second undercurrent of negative sentiment in this debate is the belief of some in the blogosphere (or their readers, anyway) that fans would excoriate Woolley and Co. if they were to take Mine That Bird away from Borel and hand him to someone else for the Preakness. Certainly that would be true if Rachel Alexandra were pointed to the Black Eyed Susan instead of toward facing the boys. But it's far-fetched in my mind to think they'd even consider such a thing after the ride Borel gave their horse at Churchill; a ride in which Mine That Bird's career-best Beyer was elevated from an 81 to a 105. And even if they had -- considering Rachel Alexandra is expected in the Preakness -- what would Borel really have lost?

Wouldn't it be sort of like if a hypothetical gent miraculously found himself dating not one, but two former American Idol winners, and Kelly Clarkson up and tells him, "I've found someone new. Carrie Underwood can have you!" Sure, the blessing of abundance was great while it lasted. But how bummed out could he really be?

I still don't see how Borel can be faulted for the choice he's made. He's ridden Rachel Alexandra for five races to one (albeit brilliant ride) for Mine That Bird. She has "champion" written all over her and Mine That Bird still has something left to prove.

Borel's decision really shouldn't need so much explaining. Lucky for Calvin I'm here to save him the energy.