Mine That Bird 'proved that he was no fluke'
50-1 shot that won Derby two weeks ago nearly catches Rachel Alexandra
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 | Filly wins Preakness thriller Rachel Alexandra holds off Derby winner Mine That Bird to become first female to win race since 1924. NBC Sports |
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BALTIMORE - A few minutes after jockey Mike Smith dismounted Mine That Bird, trainer Chip Woolley balanced himself on his crutches and gave the Hall of Fame rider a big hug.
“Thanks a lot, you did a good job,” Woolley said. “He just couldn’t get there.”
Long shot Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird fell a length short of catching sensational filly Rachel Alexandra in the Preakness Stakes on Saturday, ending the chance of a Triple Crown attempt in the Belmont Stakes on June 6.
Mine That Bird was virtually ignored all week with the hubbub surrounding Rachel Alexandra, who became the first filly to win the Preakness since Nellie Morse in 1924.
Not only that, the Derby winner was jilted by jockey Calvin Borel, who chose to ride the filly over the Derby winner, claiming he would be riding the best horse in the field.
Woolley accepted the decision and went with Smith, giving Mine That Bird the same rider who scored a Derby victory with 50-1 shot Giacomo in 2005.
Sent off as the 6-1 third choice in the field of 13, Mine That Bird did not get the last-to-first, rail-hugging ride Borel gave him in the Derby. But Smith had the 3-year-old gelding poised to make a move on the turn before being forced wide by the rest of the pack.
Still, the surprising Derby winner looked as if he just might catch the filly in the 1 3-16-mile Preakness.
“Everything was going according to Hoyle, until the turn when we got fanned a little wide,” Woolley said. “Probably inside the eighth pole I thought we got a shot at her from there, but she just doesn’t falter enough,” Woolley said. “I’m real proud of him.”
Co-owner Mark Allen was all smiles when he greeted Smith, an indication these cowboys from New Mexico were having a thrill a minute on their unlikely ride through the first two legs of the Triple Crown.
Second place felt like a win, Allen said, because it proved the Derby “was no fluke.”
“He was coming but that filly, she run a big race. She’s about a length better than Mine That Bird,” he said.
For now, a rematch is looking good in the Belmont, with Woolley planning to send Mine That Bird in the 1½-mile “Test of the Champion” in three weeks and Rachel Alexandra’s co-owner Jess Jackson saying the Belmont is in the plans.
“He’s the best little horse I’ve ever been on, to be honest with you,” Smith said. “He proved today that he was no fluke. I wish we were going a little further, though.”
Maybe the two will meet again at the longer Belmont distance.
“He’s a tough little dude,” Smith said. “He worked his way through there and kept on trying. If we could have gone an extra sixteenth of a mile, I think we could have tackled her.”
Allen and co-owner Leonard Blach, a veterinarian, picked up $220,000 with Mind That Bird’s runner-up finish to go with the $1,417,200 for winning the Derby two weeks ago. Total earnings for the horse the owners bought for $400,000 is now $2,011,581.
“I’m glad my horse stepped up to the plate and put it all on the line,” Woolley added, “And everybody sees he’s a good horse.”
Affirmed was the last Triple Crown winner in 1978, and this year will mark just the sixth time in 13 years a Triple will not be on the line in the Belmont. Last year, Big Brown won the Derby and Preakness before being pulled up and finishing last in the Belmont.
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