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Kentucky Derby 135 Recap2009 Kentucky Derby Recap with Facts and Figures, Trivia and Connections Quotes 
Calvin Borel celebrates victory in the Kentucky Derby aboard Mine That Bird as Pioneerof the Nile runs second.
Photo by Scott Serio/Eclipse Sportswire
Mine That Bird Wins Wild and Woolley Derby
By Dick Downey The Downey Profile Posted May 2, 2009 Bennie "Chip" Wooley, Jr. is the third trainer to handle Mine That Bird, and it was Calvin Borel's first time to ride him. Together, the three of them captured Kentucky Derby 135 in a major upset. Mine That Bird, a gelding, was the third-highest shot on the board at 50-1 odds. Trailing the other 18 horses in the field by multiple lengths going down the backstretch, Mine That Bird and Borel took a rail-skimming trip around the far turn and up the lane to blow by Pioneerof the Nile and two other contenders for the win. Borel's riding style was almost a duplicate of the one he employed in winning the Kentucky Derby with Street Sense in 2007. It was the Derby's largest margin of victory in years. The 6 3/4-length win was a quarter-length better than Barbaro's in 2006 and stands as the fifth-best in Derby history. It was the largest winning margin since Assault cleared by eight lengths in 1946. Three others have won by eight lengths. Pioneerof the Nile looked like a winner as he took command leaving the turn after a stalking trip. As he and Garrett Gomez began approaching the wire with about about an eighth of a mile left in the mile and a quarter race, Gomez looked sharply to his left, spotting Mine That Bird going past him on the rail. Borel pointed his stick back in the direction of Pioneerof the Nile, Musket Man and Papa Clem as he hit the finish line. Mine That Bird was timed in 2:02.66 after trailing moderate early fractions of :22.98, :47.23, 1:12.09 and 1:37.49 on a track rated sloppy. Pioneerof the Nile finished second, a nose before the late-running Musket Man. Papa Clem was a head back in fourth. Another six lengths back in fifth was Chocolate Candy. The New Mexcio connections of Mine That Bird last raced him in the 1 1/8-mile $800,000 Sunland Derby at Sunland Park on March 29, when he went four wide on the far turn and took a brief lead between calls. But Mine That Bird couldn't stay with it and finished fourth to Kelly Leak, beaten 3 1/4 lengths. The best previous success of the son of Birdstone was on Oct. 5 in the Grade III Grey Stakes at Woodbine. Sent off at 6-1, Mine That Bird split horses around the turn and outfinished Bear’s Conductor for the half-length victory. At the time, Mine That Bird was trained by David Cotey's Dominion Bloodstock. The current owners, Double Eagle Ranch and Buena Suerte Equine, purchased him for $400,000 out of Canada just before the Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita, and he was placed in Richard Mandella's barn. Woolley needed to be in New Mexico at the time. Mine That Bird finished last, beaten 9 3/4 lengths by Midshipman. The horse was then given a rest, and Woolley assumed training duties. Mine That Bird was entered in the Feb. 28 Borderland Derby at Sunland, where he finished second to Scorewithcater. The Derby was the first race that Mine That Bird was taken back to make a late, successful run, and Borel was specifically recruited to handle it. Mine That Bird entered the Derby with career earnings of $374,381. He made $1,417,200 in the Run for the Roses. "It’s unbelievable," said Borel. "I took the rail the whole way, we had a good trip, got stopped maybe one time going around the turn but after that, it was awesome. I knew he was going to win by the 3/8 pole. I knew if we could just find our way through that we were going to win from there." "It’s wonderful, it hasn’t sunk in," said Woolley, whose stable is based in New Mexico. "I just can’t say enough. I’m feeling like I never have before. I was thinking Calvin Borel is the best, he just rode a huge race, and everybody around him did a great job and we just were lucky to get here." Equibase Chart Free for Seven Days After Race Race Replay Link
2009 KENTUCKY DERBY FACTS, FIGURES
Breeder: Lamantia Blackburn & Needham/Betz Thoroughbreds Trainer: Bennie L. Wooley, Jr. Owner: Double Eagle Ranch and Buena Suerte Equine Jockey: Calvin Borel Sire (Sire’s Sire, Dam): Birdstone (Grindstone, Dear Birdie) Dam (Dam’s Sire, Dam): Mining My Own (Smart Strike (CAN), Aspenelle (CAN)) Dosage Profile (Points) Index: 8-3-5-0-0 (16) 5.40 Foal Date: May 10, 2006
The Top Five Finishers Winning Time: 2:02.66 Track: Sloppy Pace Fractions-- :22.98 (Join in the Dance), :47.23 (Join in the Dance), 1:12.09 (Join in the Dance), 1:37.49 (Join in the Dance), 2:02.66 (Mine That Bird) Mine That Bird's Fractions--:27.18, :50.41, 1:15.59, 1:39.47, 2:02.66 Mine That Bird's Internal Fractions: Mine That Bird went the first quarter mile of the Kentucky Derby in :27.18, the second quarter in :23.23, the third in :25.18, the fourth in :23.88 and the final quarter mile in :23.19. Winning Margin 6 3/4 lengths
Payoffs
Future Wager 1: $5.80 (All Others)
All-sources handle on the Kentucky Derby was $104,563,501, an 8.7% decrease from the $114,557,364 all-sources total in 2008.
Finish position, Name, Finish Margin
TRIVIA
Battle of the Pletcher Horses Join in the Dance, seventh; Dunkirk, eleventh; Advice, thirteenth Battle of the WinStar Horses Hold Me Back, twelfth; Advice, thirteenth; Mr. Hot Stuff, fifteenth Best, Worst in Proportion to Odds Best finish of a low-odds horse: Pioneerof the Nile, second at 6-1 Worst finish of a low-odds horse: Friesan Fire, eighteenth at 7-2 Best finish of a high-odds horse: Mine That Bird, first at 50-1 Worst finish of a high-odds horse: Flying Private, nineteenth at 46-1 Worst relative performance other than Friesan Fire: Dunkirk, eleventh at 5-1 Best relative performance other than Mine That Bird: Summer Bird, sixth at 43-1 Highest odds in the field: Atomic Rain, sixteenth at 55-1 Final Odds of the: Florida Derby winner: NA Wood Memorial winner: SCR (I Want Revenge) Santa Anita Derby winner: 6-1 (Pioneerof the Nile) Illinois Derby winner: 19-1 (Musket Man) Arkansas Derby winner: 12-1 (Papa Clem) Blue Grass Stakes winner: 10-1 (General Quarters) Show Bet in Derby The show payoffs were quite good as usual: Mine That Bird, at 50-1, paid $25.80 to show. Pioneerof the Nile, at 6-1, paid $6.40 to show. Musket Man, at 19-1, paid $12.00 to show. Closer That Couldn't Get There Dunkirk was in ninth place at the first call, tenth place at the second call and ninth place at the third call, all behind moderate fractions. Closer That Got into the Picture That would be Mine That Bird, who was nineteenth at the first three calls and twelfth with a quarter of a mile to go. Winner Lengths Off the Pace At a quarter mile: 20 1/2 lengths At a half mile: 15 1/2 lengths At six furlongs: 17 lengths At one mile: 9 1/2 lengths
KENTUCKY DERBY CHART BY POST POSITION
POST-RACE TRAINER QUOTES Bennie "Chip" Wooley, Jr. trainer of Mine That Bird (first): "Calvin Borel is the best. He just rode a huge race, and everbody around him did a great job, and we were just lucky to get here. When they turned for home, I lost him. I saw him start outside, and then he got lost behind some horses, and then he swung to the fence. I looked up at the eighth pole and he was already on the lead, I was just blown away. When he got smashed leaving the gate and bounced to dead last, I was thinking I'm not going to make a good showing in my first Derby, but Calvin did a great job, he was right where he needed to be." Bob Baffert, trainer of Pioneerof the Nile (second): "Those cowboys, they came with a good horse." Derek Ryan, trainer of Musket Man (third): "He got hung out so wide, but he was still coming at the end. I was really proud of him the way he ran today. He got bumped around, but that's the Derby." Gary Stute, trainer of Papa Clem (fourth): "No excuse. He ran good. He was super, but just got outrun." Jerry Hollendorfer, trainer of Chocolate Candy (fifth): I don't think we had the best orf trips--far back, down inside and catching all the mud. But I had him ready to run, I'm pleaded to have been able to run in this race, and I have no excuses." Tim Ice, trainer of Summer Bird (sixth): "Looks like he came back just fine. I'll know more when I get back to the barn. He ran good for a horse with just four starts." Todd Pletcher, trainer of Join in the Dance (seventh), Dunkirk (eleventh) and Advice (thirteenth): "I was really proud of Join in the Dance. He took them as far as he could and was hanging in ther.Turning for home, I loved seeing him still up there. He ran great. "Dunkirk stumbled two strides out of the gate, then again before they went 50 yards. When a horse does that, you know you're in trouble. I think he just wasn't comfortable out there. This track was sort of in-between. It wasn't sloppy or it wasn't fast. It was drying out, and I think it was a little heavy. "Rene Douglas (said Advice) had trouble at the quarter pole. "We'll take our horses to New York now. "I salute Calvin for his terrific ride. It just shows you how special this race is. Anything can happen. Rick Metee, assistant to Saeed bin Suroor, trainer of Regal Ransom (eighth) and Desert Party (fourteenth): "Both have a few minor nicks and scrapes, but nothing unexpected.... I think Regal Ransom probably ran his race considering it was 10 furlongs and the pace scenario. He did have to be asked a little earlier than we thought.... He was still there at the 3/16 pole fighting away.... "We can't really offer Desert Party much excuse. Given the post draw, he really pulled a pretty good trip.... For whatever reason midway around the turn, he couldn't run with them any more, which was surprising and a little disappointing." Kelly Breen, trainer of West Side Bernie (ninth) and Atomic Rain (sixteenth): "They both seemed to come back fine. Atomic Rain got tired, but West Side Bernie finished running." Tom McCarthy, trainer of General Quarters (tenth): "I didn't think much of the performance, to tell you the truth. He didn't show who he was. He back to the barn choking in mud. One eye was completely packed shut and one nostril was completely shut with mud. He coughed twice and it popped out after he got back to the barn." Bill Mott, trainer of Hold Me Back (twelfth): "(Kent) just said he put him in position and he was empty at the 3/8 pole. He said when he asked him, he jumped into the bridle. Then he flattened out with three furlongs to go." Eion Harty, trainer of Mr. Hot Stuff (fifteenth): "No thoughts. He didn't run any good." Nick Zito, trainer of Nowhere to Hide (seventeenth): "I'm happy for Birdstone (sire of the winner and formerly trained by Zito). What a game this is. It just proves that you never, ever know." Larry Jones, trainer of Friesan Fire: "He got hit really badly out of the gate and grabbed a quarter. He's bleeding. If you see blood on the track, it's his."
D. Wayne Lukas, trainer of Flying Private (nineteenth): "He's fine. All I can put my finger on is that he didn't handle the track."
POST-DERBY JOCKEY QUOTES
CALVIN BOREL (Mine That Bird, first) – "It’s unbelievable! I took the rail the whole way, we had a good trip, got stopped maybe one time going around the turn but after that, it was awesome. I knew he was going to win by the 3/8 pole. I knew if we could just find our way through that we were going to win from there. He’s just a little horse, but when I asked him he kept getting closer to them and then I thought, ‘God – he’s going to get here!’ I was pretty far back, like 15 to 20 lengths back, but I was seven or eight lengths back from the horse in front of me and they were all bunched up." GARRETT GOMEZ (Pioneerof the Nile, second) – "He ran really good. Everyone’s question mark was the dirt racetrack. He was able to leave the gate good, get me in really good position. I was in a tracking position the whole way. The pace wasn’t extremely fast but was honest. When I asked him turning for home, he gave me some and stayed on. The horse on the rail was a flash but the horse held on, stayed on well and two weeks from now we have the Preakness. "I thought I was sitting on the winner when turning for home. It was just a matter of him going when I asked him to go. He was pulling and traveling well. I haven’t had a trip like that in the Kentucky Derby yet. He pulled to the quarter-pole and it was a nice feeling. Like I said, when I turned for home, I thought I was going to win my first Derby." EIBAR COA (Musket Man, third) – "I was forced to go wide coming into the stretch. My horse was still running at the end, but I got bumped near the finish, and I know that cost me second because that other horse (Pioneerof the Nile) only beat me a nose." RAFAEL BEJARANO (Papa Clem, fourth) – "I can’t believe it. I was in perfect position and sitting comfortable. He was moving so smooth and I thought I was going to win the race. I really did. He was still running all the way to the wire, but the winner, he was fantastic when he passed me in the stretch." MIKE SMITH (Chocolate Candy, fifth) – "Turning for home, I thought I was going to win it. Then he just hung. He got hot behind the gate on me. That didn’t help. But he ran great." CHRIS ROSIER (Summer Bird, sixth) – "It went good. I thought my horse ran well. The crowd got to him a little but he ran a good race." CHRIS DeCARLO (Join in the Dance, seventh) – "I probably went a little too quick the first part, but they weren’t going to give me an easy lead, then he ran as far as he could. In a race like this no one’s going to give you an easy lead, especially with 19 horses, it’s not like a five-horse field where you can dictate. I knew I’d be close to the front because he looked on paper like he was the fastest horse in the race. But someone’s always going to try to force the issue. And that’s exactly what happened." ALAN GARCIA (Regal Ransom, eighth) – "He ran his race and tried hard. He had a good, clean trip." STEWART ELLIOTT (West Side Bernie, ninth) – "I had a good trip. My horse got (pushed) back in the race and I left him too much to do at the end. He came running at the end but he was just too far back." JULIEN LEPAROUX (General Quarters, 10th) – "He broke good but didn’t show any speed today. I don’t know why." EDGAR PRADO (Dunkirk, 11th) – "I sat right behind the speed and I thought he was going to be good right there, but when I asked him to go I didn’t have much horse left. He stumbled twice. He broke and the second jump he stumbled. It might have cost a little position, but not much really. He was doing good until he passed the half mile to the three-eighths pole and after that I just ran out of horse." KENT DESORMEAUX (Hold Me Back, 12th) – "My horse was more tired than he should have been and maybe he was struggling over the ground." RENE DOUGLAS (Advice, 13th) – "Actually, I had a great trip. I know I was behind and all that but I had a great trip. I thought I had a lot of horse around the three-eighths pole and then the horse next to me [Dunkirk] stepped on my horse and he lost all momentum right there. He just backed up on me and he never got going the way he was going before. If that hadn’t happened, I’m not saying I was going to win, but I would’ve been in contention with the other horses. I think the distance is no matter with him. He was running good; he took the dirt good, he took the track good. I had no excuse with him. I think he tried and I think he’ll run good next time." RAMON DOMINGUEZ (Desert Party, 14th) – "I was having a good trip. I was following Pioneerof the Nile on the outside but I found myself with no horse at the five-eighths pole. My horse never really finished up. (On the winner): "When I saw Calvin make his move, it was at the quarter pole and he passed me in no time. I was very surprised. He squeezed through the inside of (Todd) Pletcher’s other horse (Join in the Dance) and he finished amazing." JOHN VELAZQUEZ (Mr. Hot Stuff, 15th) – (On his trip): "It was good. Not good for me. My horse just was not comfortable out there. (The winner) was next to me the whole way on the backstretch. My horse was not running with mud getting kicked in his face so I eased out a little bit and he took the spot I left open on the inside. Then he just took off and passed everyone. It was unbelievable." JOE BRAVO (Atomic Rain, 16th) – "He got really tired. At the top of the stretch, I knew he wasn’t going anywhere." SHAUN BRIDGMOHAN (Nowhere to Hide, 17th) – "I ended up having a pretty clean trip but my horse didn’t handle the surface and he was slipping and sliding and couldn’t get the traction I needed. He just didn’t handle the track." GABRIEL SAEZ (Friesan Fire, 18th) – "He got a bad start and got hit (in his left front). I feel that he didn’t want to go, so I let him relax and finish the race. I didn’t want to hurt the horse. I just dropped the reins and let him gallop. He came back OK." ROBBY ALBARADO (Flying Private, 19th) – "I had a great trip. I was in position on the first turn. I was clear. I was untouched the whole way around there. I just couldn’t match strides with them." |
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