From
worst to 1st: 50-1 shot shocks Derby field
Mine That Bird surges from last place, is 2nd-biggest
long shot ever to win
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - May 4, 2009 - The cowboy and his horse beat them all.
Four Hall of Fame trainers. The ruler of Dubai. Two very sentimental favorites.
Trainer Bennie Woolley Jr. hitched Mine That Bird to the back of his
pickup and drove to the Kentucky Derby from New Mexico. With an
inspired ride on the rail from Calvin Borel, it all added up to one of
the greatest upsets in 135 years of America’s most famous horse race.
“Those cowboys,” trainer Bob Baffert said, “they came with a good horse.”
Mine That Bird went off at 50-1 odds Saturday, but that was only one
measure of how little attention he garnered before pulling away in the
stretch to score a 6¾-length victory at Churchill Downs, the
second-biggest stunner in Derby history. The margin was the largest
since Assault won by eight lengths in 1946.
“All I asked him was to lay the horse back and be patient, and he did
that magically,” Woolley said.
That should have been no surprise since Borel used the same
rail-hugging ride to win the Derby two years ago with Street Sense.
“I learned by Street Sense being so patient with these 3-year-olds,”
Borel said. “They can only go so fast, so far. When I hollered at him,
he just went on.”
Pioneerof the Nile was second. Musket Man was another nose back in third.
Papa Clem was fourth, followed by Chocolate Candy, Summer Bird, Join
in the Dance, Regal Ransom, West Side Bernie, General Quarters,
Dunkirk, Hold Me Back, Advice, Desert Party, Mr. Hot Stuff, Atomic
Rain, Nowhere to Hide, Friesan Fire and Flying Private.
Mine That Bird ran 1¼ miles on a sloppy track in 2:02.66 and paid
$103.20, $54 and $25.80. It was the second-largest payout in Derby
history behind Donerail ($184.90) in 1913.
The 45-year-old Woolley, a former quarterhorse trainer who spent time
on the rodeo circuit as a bareback rider, hobbled on crutches to the
winner’s circle. He broke his right leg in a motorcycle accident two
months ago.
“I’m feeling like I never have before,” he said. “I was just blown away.”
Most of the pre-race storylines belonged to high-profile trainers like
Baffert, who was recently elected to the Hall of Fame and whose colt
Pioneerof the Nile was making his debut on dirt after racing on
synthetic surfaces out West.
But the cowboy in the dark glasses and big black hat outfoxed Baffert
and the likes of Bill Mott (12th with Hold Me Back), Nick Zito (17th
with Nowhere to Hide), and D. Wayne Lukas, last with Flying Private.
Woolley, whose victory was worth $1.4 million, was no kinder to
sentimental favorites Larry Jones and Tom McCarthy, two home-state
trainers whose feel-good stories also dominated the headlines for most
of the week.
Jones’ horse, Friesan Fire, the 7-2 wagering favorite of 153,563 fans,
was 18th in the 19-horse field. A year ago, Jones lost his filly Eight
Belles, who ran a gallant second to Big Brown, then broke down after
the finish line and had to be euthanized on the track.
Jones blamed Friesan Fire’s poor showing on the muddy track and
getting clipped on one of his legs out of the gate, drawing blood. The
trainer said it may have jeopardized his chance of running in the May
16 Preakness.
“Beating one horse was better than running second and what happened
last year,” he said.
McCarthy, a 75-year-old retired high school principal who paid only
$20,000 for General Quarters, captured the public’s imagination with
his one-horse stable. But the horse finished 10th and never found his
footing in the slop.
“He came back to the barn choking in mud,” McCarthy said. “One eye was
completely packed shut and his one nostril was completely shut with
mud. He coughed twice and it popped out.”
Also leaving empty-handed was Sheik Mohammed al Maktoum of Dubai,
whose duo of Regal Ransom and Desert Party failed to achieve his goal
of winning the Derby after nearly a decade and millions of dollars
spent trying.
The majority of the field prepped for the Derby on dirt tracks,
although other horses were trying it for the first time after coming
off synthetic surfaces.
Earlier, I Want Revenge became the first morning-line favorite to be
scratched on Derby Day after inflammation was detected in the colt’s
left front ankle. The injury wasn’t believed to be career-threatening
but worrisome enough to prompt trainer Jeff Mullins and owner David
Lanzman to withdraw.
Mine That Bird got squeezed coming out of the starting gate, but Borel
took a firm hold and wrestled the horse to the rail while they were in
last place.
They were 12th and going strong with a quarter mile to go, after
working their way around Atomic Rain. Borel quickly angled Mine That
Bird back to the inside with three-sixteenths to go and shot the
gelding through a tight spot approaching the eighth pole.
“I had enough room,” Borel said. “He’s a small horse.”
Once free, Mine That Bird quickly accelerated toward an improbable victory.
“I salute Calvin for his terrific ride,” said trainer Todd Pletcher,
whose Derby losing streak extended to 0-of-24. “It’s an amazing story.
It just shows you how special this race is. Anything can happen.”
Borel’s mind was on his parents during the race and he paid them
tribute by crossing the finish line with his whip pointing to the
overcast sky.
“If they could only be here to see what I accomplish in my life,” he
said, his voice choking.
Borel became the first jockey since 1993 to complete the Oaks-Derby
double, having ridden Rachel Alexandra to an eye-popping 20¼-length
victory Friday.
Woolley joined a parade of trainers who won with their first Derby
starter, the sixth time in seven years it has happened.
Mine That Bird, the son of 2004 Belmont Stakes winner Birdstone,
became the ninth gelding to win the Derby and just the second in the
last 80 years, joining 2003 winner Funny Cide.