Mine That Bird makes news again, courtesy Dullahan
The 2009 Kentucky Derby winner, Mine That Bird, wasn’t expected to make much news after his heroics three years back, and how a long shot at 50 to 1 went on to sweep the Derby by a convincing margin of 6 ¾ lengths, but he is making the news once again, by
not doing much, it is just a matter of his half brother being one of the early favourites to take the Kentucky Derby, and his name is Dullahan.
The 3-year-old colt runs under the banner of Donegal Racing and is trained by Dale Romans, popped on to the scene when he conjured up a majestic run to win the Grade 1 Toyota Blue Grass Stakes at 1 1/8 mile at Keeneland, where he downed the 2011 juvenile
champ, Hansen.
Mine That Bird was also a juvenile champ in Canada, and he won the first leg of the Triple Crown under the ownership of Blach’s Buena Suerte Equine and Mark Allen’s Double Eagle Ranch.
“When he crossed that finish line is what I remember the most,” Blach said. “I’ve described it 100 times, but I just can’t describe it adequately. There were so many things that happened in that Derby. He was so far back and made a big stretch run and (jockey)
Calvin Borel came through that hole on the rail. It was just amazing, you know. It was a miracle to win that race.”
Second and third in the Preakness and Belmont Stakes, respectively, Mine That Bird didn’t win anything after his massive win in the Run for the Roses.
After the Triple Crown, the Birdstone colt, out of Smart Strike mare Mining My Own, raced seven times and apart from the Grade 2 West Virginia Derby, he couldn’t manage a single placed finish.
Trained by D. Wayne Lukas, Mine That Bird was out of racing, as he ended his competitive racing career after running four times in 2010, and when he retired Mine That Bird’s bankroll was a whopping $2,228,637.
“Just like anybody who is retired he doesn’t do much of anything,” said Dr. Leonard Blach.
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