Final Turn : mine that bird

More Hero; Less Goat - By Cot Campbell

Blood-Horse Staff — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 19:51:00 GMT

The 2009 edition of the Triple Crown has been one of the most fascinating of recent times, although—with numerous high-profile scratches from the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I)—it did not start out to offer any special cachet. Calvin Borel emerged as the poster boy for the wonderful triad of races. After the Belmont Stakes (gr. I), however, I fear he is in some danger of being the goat, and I don’t want him to be.

Calvin Borel has long been one of America’s most underrated jockeys and one of our most endearing personalities. How could you not like Calvin, with that back-country smile, his heart-warming emotional outbursts, and such an obvious love of the animals he rides? He was the perfect pilot for the plain little gelding from New Mexico and his black-clad cowboy connections. Calvin just about literally rode the hair off Mine That Bird in the Derby, and it was thrilling. Great story.

Then Calvin jumped ship in a most honorable, up-front manner and won the BlackBerry Preakness (gr. I) with the beloved filly Rachel Alexandra. This was 11 days after she was bought and then supplemented to the race by Jess Jackson (and partner Harold McCormick), a man who is as “game as Dick Tracy.” Rachel wisely passed the Belmont, and Calvin was reunited with Mine That Bird, thanks to the incredibly long-suffering patience of that gelding’s connections.

Then the mistakes came. Calvin made the most ghastly blunder one can make in the sport of horse racing—or in any other field, for that matter. He guaranteed a victory. What an absolutely insane thing to do! First mistake.\

Second mistake: Calvin spent the week before the Belmont becoming the media darling of the sports world. Wonderful for horse racing, but this media blitz should have made room for some familiarizing rides on the mile and a half, big sandy track of Belmont Park, a tricky venue with which the Midwest-based Calvin is not on intimate terms. He did not ride any horse anywhere that week, instead trekking from studio to studio and enjoying the sights of Gotham. Not only that, but his agent did not line up a single mount in another dirt race for him on Belmont day itself. From a practical standpoint this was not smart, nor did it look good cosmetically. Calvin said he did not need that preparation, but still it did not look good.

Third and worst mistake was made at the three-eighths pole in the Belmont Stakes, when this fine jockey pushed the button. He asked Mine That Bird the big question, and he got the answer. The feisty little gelding went into overdrive, hit the front at the eighth pole, but began to struggle when he had gone a mile and seven-sixteenths. Calvin Borel—noted for his extraordinary patience and coolness in big races—uncharacteristically opted for an overland route and surely moved prematurely on a tricky racetrack with which he was not terribly familiar. He blew the Belmont, I believe.

I think this: If Calvin Borel, instead of Mike Smith, had ridden Mine That Bird in the Preakness, and if Mike Smith, instead of Calvin Borel, had ridden Mine that Bird in the Belmont, we would be celebrating the first Triple Crown winner in 31 years.

Calvin’s post-race comments were as good as he could muster. But the award for grace and class under pressure should go to Chip Woolley, Mine That Bird’s heretofore unheralded trainer. He showed enormous poise, patience, and character during the entire Triple Crown venture and deserves the respect and admiration he is now receiving. Except for one little glitch prior to the Preakness, so do his two owners—Mark Allen and Dr. Leonard Blach—good old boys from New Mexico.

Calvin Borel was about to earn his way into racing’s Hall of Fame, but the Belmont may have slowed that movement down. I hope it will not derail his ultimate admission to the hallowed hall. It should not. He is a fine human being, a credit to racing, and a hell of a jockey. The Belmont experience simply did not find Calvin at his best. His horse’s trainer and owners have seemingly excused this aberration from excellence. So should we all. In the meantime, racing needs more Calvin Borels and more hard-knocking geldings like Mine That Bird.

Cot Campbell is the president of Dogwood Stable, a racing partnership based in Aiken. S.C.

The Whitney Line - By Antony Beck

Blood-Horse Staff — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 23:30:00 GMT

"A Whitney mare." Those three words have meant a lot to Thoroughbred breeders for more than 100 years. In 1930, after the death of Harry Payne (H.P.) Whitney, many questioned whether his son, Cornelius Vanderbilt (C.V.) Whitney, would carry on his father’s successes within the Thoroughbred industry. C.V. answered that question loud and clear over the next six decades, leaving a breeding legacy that rivals those of the all time greats: the Belmonts, E.R. Bradley, Federico Tesio, and the Aga Khan.

Among C.V.’s proudest achievements was breeding the great matriarch Almahmoud, second dam of Northern Dancer, whose bloodlines run throughout top pedigrees to this day. The primary strategy of both H.P. and C.V. Whitney was to breed to the Whitney mares that had proven themselves as fast and sound runners at the track. Both men believed strongly in the continuation of Whitney bloodlines rather than the incursion of new blood into the families.

Perhaps the most important influx of new blood for the future of the long and illustrious Whitney bloodlines came in 1958, and her name was Marylou Whitney. Marylou has carried on the remarkable Whitney breeding traditions just as her late husband, C.V., and his father before him. Following the dispersal of the Whitney breeding stock in the 1980s, Marylou made a personal mission of re-establishing the lineage of the family line when she began building back a band of the best of the Whitney broodmares. The first of these was Inca Legacy, granddaughter of the great Silver Spoon. The mating of Inca Legacy with Storm Cat produced multiple stakes winner Catinca, who captured the Ruffian (gr. I) and the Shuvee (gr. II) Handicaps.

More recently, Marylou purchased Dear Birdie, whose first three dams were bred by the Whitney family and whose grandsire is none other than Northern Dancer. Dear Birdie garnered Marylou the Ogden Phipps Award as top breeder by the New York Turf Writers Association in 2004 for her success with Bird Town and Birdstone. Bird Town was Dear Birdie’s eighth named foal and the multiple grade I winner made her family proud on her way to becoming the 2003 Eclipse Award winner as champion 3-year-old filly.

Birdstone (Dear Birdie’s ninth named foal) was a grade I winner at 2 and 3 and is one of only two horses to sweep the Champagne, Belmont, and Travers (all gr. I) Stakes. Until a few weeks ago, Birdstone was mostly known for spoiling Smarty Jones’ bid for the elusive Triple Crown by defeating him in the 2004 Belmont Stakes. That was until Birdstone’s son Mine That Bird won the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) by 63?4 lengths (the largest winning margin since Assault in 1946), and then ran a noble second in the BlackBerry Preakness Stakes (gr. I).

Beyond their direct contributions to the improvement of the breed, Marylou and her husband, John Hendrickson, have demonstrated an unparalleled level of generosity and support to countless racing programs and charitable initiatives. Among these are a range of contributions, from donations for the funding of the Marylou Whitney and John Hendrickson Cancer Facility for Women at the University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center to hosting weekly dinners and entertainment for backstretch workers and their families at her beloved Saratoga during the summer race meeting.

This Triple Crown season has been a blessing for racing in many ways. We have had remarkable story lines for the media, with not one but two horses jumping to national prominence, and a gentleman jockey that has won the hearts and minds of sports fans around the country. Yet, when it appeared that some racing interests might conspire to keep Rachel Alexandra from competing against the Derby winner in the Preakness, Marylou once again stood up for the best interests of racing by declaring that she would withdraw her horse, Luv Gov, from the field if it were necessary to secure a starting birth for Rachel Alexandra.

Immediately After Mine That Bird’s impressive Derby victory, I had the opportunity to visit with Marylou and John. It was a great moment to share with them as they were able to witness first-hand the culmination of their efforts to resurrect the Whitney breeding program. Marylou described it as the “greatest moment of her life.”

Racing is a game where the best of efforts and intentions do not always result in success. In this case, it was an honor to see one who has given so much to the sport be so appropriately rewarded for a lifetime of dedication.

Antony Beck, whose family owns Gainesway Farm near Lexingon, serves as a Trustee of Blood-Horse Publications.

Derby Weekend Celebration - by Dr. Scott Palmer

Blood-Horse Staff — Tue, 12 May 2009 13:42:00 GMT

(Originally published in the May 16, 2009 issue of The Blood-Horse magazine. Feel free to share your own thoughts and opinions at the bottom of the column.)

Calvin Borel, Bennie “Chip” Woolley Jr., and Mine That Bird stole the show in the 135th running of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I). The upset victory was a Cinderella story if there ever was one. A hard-working, ex-rodeo-cowboy-turned-Thoroughbred trainer drives to Louisville from New Mexico hauling his Derby-bound horse. Borel rode Mine That Bird with a Street Sense-like determination that proved unbeatable in one of the most dramatic finishes in Derby history. Does it get any better than that?

Borel and Mind That Bird weren’t the only winners on the first Saturday in May. In the past year the Thoroughbred racing industry has been focused on reform initiatives designed to make racing safer for both horses and riders. The National Thoroughbred Racing Association Safety and Integrity Alliance has put in place an accreditation program that has stimulated racetracks to institute policies and capital improvements that have created a climate of increased awareness and dedication to the safety of our athletes.

Some have embraced and supported these initiatives. Others are skeptical of the progress made in the past year. They point to the lack of a national racing commissioner and persistent variability in rules and regulations among the 38 racing jurisdictions in the U.S. as shortfalls of this effort. Still others say all this work is a lot of talk and that nothing substantial has really changed. They say you can’t legislate morality or responsibility.

The events leading up to the running of the 2009 Kentucky Derby speak differently.

Decisions by the connections of several Derby contenders demonstrate an increased awareness of safety issues and a commitment to “put the horse first.” Three horses were withdrawn as Derby starters in the week leading up to the race. Quality Road’s connections were unable to resolve a quarter crack. The connections of this horse could have managed him into the race. Instead they put the horse first. Win Willy was not entered due to an ankle problem, and Square Eddie was removed because of a shin injury. Most notably, the morning-line favorite in the race, I Want Revenge, was scratched in the early daylight hours of race day, not due to a fever or obvious lameness but because inflammation was found in the right front fetlock, an indication of an injury that could have placed him at risk had he raced.

Breeder and co-owner David Lanzman, trainer Jeff Mullins, and veterinarian Dr. Foster Northrop weren’t just talking a good game. They walked the walk. This is the first time in Derby history that the morning-line favorite was scratched the day of the race. They put the excitement, the hopes, and the dreams of the moment aside. They put the horse first.

A number of heroes surround this year’s Derby. On the backside of the racetrack, people are focused on safety. They are taking greater individual responsibility for their actions. It’s true we haven’t accomplished all of our goals yet, but correcting the course of the racing industry is a massive endeavor and can’t be turned quite as quickly as we might like.

However, there is progress, and the horse is the beneficiary. Safety issues are at the forefront of racing. First you change the attitude, and the behavior follows. As long as responsible horsemen stay focused on the safety and welfare of the horse, we will continue to make progress toward our goals of reform.

The Jockey Club, the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, the Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium, the Association of Racing Commissioners International, and others have all been working to pass model rules that promote uniformity and increased safety and integrity. The AAEP’s recommendations on racehorse safety provided a veterinary viewpoint to insure that in the process of racing reform, the horse was the priority.
Horses are the better for all of these efforts.

We can all celebrate the first weekend in May. It was a remarkable weekend on a number of levels. Congratulations to Calvin Borel and the connections of Rachel Alexandra and Mine That Bird for two performances for the ages.

Behind the scenes, horsemen are working to improve the sport and put the horse first. We should celebrate that as well.

Dr. Scott Palmer is the owner of New Jersey Equine Clinic in Clarksburg, N.J., and is chair of the AAEP’s racing committee.