by Kim Thomas
SUMMER BIRD's blinkers paid off today, as Kent Desormeaux rode to his first Belmont victory atop the son of BIRDSTONE who, of course, is the sire of MINE THAT BIRD as well. Young Tim Ice also will earn a spot in the hearts of racing fans, as he won the Belmont on his 35th birthday, and he has only been a trainer for a year.
DUNKIRK, who I keep thinking is the gray horse I keep thinking I'm dreaming of, led most of the way. However, in the final furlongs, MINE THAT BIRD and CHARITABLE MAN made some valiant challenges, but Desormeaux would not be denied as he thundered through the pack with SUMMER BIRD, and surged ahead to win the race, the longest race in the triple crown. (Seems like the longest race in the Thoroughbred world, the mile and a half Belmont does, but actually the Grand National steeplechase race in England is four miles, if you can imagine that).
What a great bunch of storylines here, frenzy fodder for the press clamoring to cover Thoroughbred racing this time of year. There's the tale of Kent Desormeaux, who lost last year on BIG BROWN, dashing hopes of a triple crown...but prevailed today for owners Tiffany Farm, taking home the Belmont trophy made by Tiffany. It's a New York kind of day, though, isn't it? I had some clam chowder earlier just to get in the mood (no Long Island Tea, not today :)
(no photos yet of the Belmont winner, SUMMER BIRD, but I will have some soon :)
So, Lambchops, start spreading the news...it was an exciting race, even though we all wanted to see Borel capture the 'Calvin Crown,' a personal triple crown of sorts. Love Borel as we may, i
t was not to be, even though he rode a brave race, weaving through the 9 other boys to make a go for it.
A few days ago, here's what I had to say about the big ol' chestunut: "SUMMER BIRD grabbed third place in the Arkansas Derby (Grade II) and may be a good bet if you like exactas or trifectas…and who doesn’t? His papa, BIRDSTONE won the 2004 Belmont, much to the chagrin of those who longed to see SMARTY JONES win the triple crown. SUMMER BIRD's mare, producer HONG KONG SQUALL is the daughter of SUMMER SQUALL, who came in second in the Derby and then went on to win the Preakness in 1990 by 2 ½ lengths over arch rival UNBRIDLED.
DUNKIRK, who I keep thinking is the gray horse I keep thinking I'm dreaming of, led most of the way. However, in the final furlongs, MINE THAT BIRD and CHARITABLE MAN made some valiant challenges, but Desormeaux would not be denied as he thundered through the pack with SUMMER BIRD, and surged ahead to win the race, the longest race in the triple crown. (Seems like the longest race in the Thoroughbred world, the mile and a half Belmont does, but actually the Grand National steeplechase race in England is four miles, if you can imagine that).
What a great bunch of storylines here, frenzy fodder for the press clamoring to cover Thoroughbred racing this time of year. There's the tale of Kent Desormeaux, who lost last year on BIG BROWN, dashing hopes of a triple crown...but prevailed today for owners Tiffany Farm, taking home the Belmont trophy made by Tiffany. It's a New York kind of day, though, isn't it? I had some clam chowder earlier just to get in the mood (no Long Island Tea, not today :)
(no photos yet of the Belmont winner, SUMMER BIRD, but I will have some soon :)
So, Lambchops, start spreading the news...it was an exciting race, even though we all wanted to see Borel capture the 'Calvin Crown,' a personal triple crown of sorts. Love Borel as we may, i
t was not to be, even though he rode a brave race, weaving through the 9 other boys to make a go for it.A few days ago, here's what I had to say about the big ol' chestunut: "SUMMER BIRD grabbed third place in the Arkansas Derby (Grade II) and may be a good bet if you like exactas or trifectas…and who doesn’t? His papa, BIRDSTONE won the 2004 Belmont, much to the chagrin of those who longed to see SMARTY JONES win the triple crown. SUMMER BIRD's mare, producer HONG KONG SQUALL is the daughter of SUMMER SQUALL, who came in second in the Derby and then went on to win the Preakness in 1990 by 2 ½ lengths over arch rival UNBRIDLED.
Since the Belmont has only 10 horses on the card, perhaps the son of BIRDSTONE -- who is having quite the year as sire of MINE THAT BIRD as well – will please everyone by passing all other nine fellow runners this time around and bring home the carnations. (That just doesn’t sound as poetic as bringing home the garland of roses, does it? Sorry.)"
At any rate, he hasn’t raced since May 2’s Derby, and let’s face it, he ought to be properly rested and ready to win! The buzz this week is that all that R&R seems to have paid off, as SUMMER BIRD’s owners are hopeful that he will break from the starting gate with the same fervor he had during his workout this week. His trainer, Tim Ice, is pleased that his post position is in the 4th slot versus his 13th spot in the Derby lineup. With Kent Desormeaux aboard, hopes are high that he’ll find the winners circle at the end of the day, blinkers and all.
Oh, and by the way, all horses will carry 126 pounds, bless their hearts, for their mile-and-a-half trip around for the longest and oldest stakes race in America, the Belmont Stakes, a/k/a the Test of Champions.
At any rate, he hasn’t raced since May 2’s Derby, and let’s face it, he ought to be properly rested and ready to win! The buzz this week is that all that R&R seems to have paid off, as SUMMER BIRD’s owners are hopeful that he will break from the starting gate with the same fervor he had during his workout this week. His trainer, Tim Ice, is pleased that his post position is in the 4th slot versus his 13th spot in the Derby lineup. With Kent Desormeaux aboard, hopes are high that he’ll find the winners circle at the end of the day, blinkers and all.
Oh, and by the way, all horses will carry 126 pounds, bless their hearts, for their mile-and-a-half trip around for the longest and oldest stakes race in America, the Belmont Stakes, a/k/a the Test of Champions.
Hey, now that I look back at what I said, I am pretty happy with this thing called blogging. It can be high maintenance, or not...it's up to the writer; and that means, it's up to me. It's time consuming, yes, but it's a lot of fun, and very rewarding, even if just one person says they read it. I will leave the in your face stuff to someone else, though (unless someone gets my dander in a fluff). I'm going to keep following Thoroughbreds, and I'm going to keep following the arts and activism here in the Bluegrass.
Pray for peace, y’all,
Kimmy
Pray for peace, y’all,
Kimmy
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