Posted on 04/30/2009 4:26:51 AM PDT by gate2wire
I Want Revenge, runaway winner of the Gotham Stakes (gr. I) and a determined victor in the April 4 Wood Memorial (gr. I), has been made the 3-1 morning line favorite for the May 2 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I). The son of Stephen Got Even will break from post 13 in a full field of 20 3-year-olds for the $2-million classic that will be run under the Twin Spires of Churchill Downs set for 6:24 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.
Churchill Downs oddsmaker Mike Battaglia put the 3-1 price on I Want Revenge. He noted the lower price on the colt based on the fact that Quality Road was withdrawn from consideration earlier in the week. Battaglia made co-second choices of Pioneerof the Nile (post 16) and Florida Derby (gr. I) runner-up Dunkirk (post 15) at 4-1. The fourth choice is Friesan Fire (post 6) at 5-1. Hold Me Back and Desert Party have been pegged at 15-1 and all of the other starters are 20-1 or higher.
The draw was conducted at the Marquee Village at Churchill Downs, an area of luxury suites past the first turn adjacent to the Longfield Avenue parking lot. The past few years the post position selection process took place later in the afternoon at Fourth Street Live! in downtown Louisville on a nationally-televised stage.
(Excerpt) Read more at bloodhorse.com ...
My daughter was invited to the derby with friends today. She asked me for $$ for a small bet. Have any advice? I was thinking maybe Papa Clem.
There are some things to like about Papa Clem. Only lost to Pioneer by a half length and beat I want Revenge. He did lose to Friesan Fire by 7 though. Might improve enough. Can’t blame you for going with him. Will be a nice price.
I prefer I want Revenge and Pioneerofthe Nile.
Thanks. What’s this I hear - I Want Revenge was just withdrawn???
Yes. Just read it.
Hope your daughter has a great time. It’s a lot of fun.
Thank you. I’m so jealous!
“I Want Revenge was just withdrawn???” ~ Andy’smom
Yep!
LINK
The 135th Kentucky Derby: Churchill Downs, Louisville Kentucky
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2242800/posts
OMG what a race!!! Did either of you have the winner?
That horse looked like he was shot out of a cannon when he made his move on the rail. I ROTFLMAO when they said that the owners hauled him to Churchill Downs on a trailer hooked up to the back end of a pickup truck - 21 hours straight through. LOL
The horse only cost $9,500. and had run only forth in an obscure race a few days ago out in New Mexico. UNBELIEVABLE! LOL
bttt
LOL, did you hear that the owner of Chocolate Candy is one of the owners of Jennie Craig.
Payoffs:
$2 EX 8-16 paid $2,074.80
TRI 5-16-2 paid $41,500.60
Super 8-16-2-7 paid $557,006.40
As Mine That Bird flies: Gelding takes a curious path from Woodbine to Kentucky
Toronto Sun ^ | May 1, 2009 (day *before* 50-1 Derby win) | ROB LONGLEY
Posted on Saturday, May 02, 2009 6:53:52 PM by ETL
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/2242925/posts
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Before he ever set hoof to racetrack, Canadian champion Mine That Bird was unfathomable furlongs from being a Kentucky Derby prospect.
He stood a little crooked, was too frisky for his own good and was bought, more or less, to be a modestly profitable racehorse for a Woodbine trainer quite adept at that game.
Yet there he was on a lazy afternoon yesterday outside his Churchill Downs barn, oblivious to the fuss building for tomorrow’s opening jewel of the Triple Crown.
Of more pressing concern, really, was the whereabouts of his latest trainer, Bennie (Chip) Woolley, as feed time approached. A thoroughbred has got to eat after all, regardless of his roots.
The horse, who won three stakes races at Woodbine in 2008 on his way to winning a Sovereign Award as Canada’s top two-year-old, has been roundly dismissed as a sideshow to the storied race.
There have been no shortage of expert handicappers who laughed off his lethargic workout earlier in the week, openly wondering why the long shot is even part of the show.
We’ll know late tomorrow just how (or if) he is outclassed, but for now, his story is as intriguing as that of any of the 20 horses slated to run in the 11/4-mile classic.
No matter how high his odds drift, what a trip it has been for Mine That Bird.
From Woodbine, where he learned to run well and win for former owner and trainer Dave Cotey, to Santa Anita for the Breeders’ Cup in November, to New Mexico after yet another trainer change. And finally, the crazy itinerary that has landed him here at the famed ground of American racing.
“I’m just so tickled that me and my horse are now going to be part of the history of the Kentucky Derby,” said Woolley, a former bareback rodeo rider turned horse trainer. “We’re going to do it and they won’t ever be able to take that away from us.
“It’s down to racin’ luck and what happens.”
Sometimes in horse racing, the losers are as strong a story as the winners. Sometimes, the everyman’s horse is as popular as those owned by movers and shakers and insanely rich sheiks.
As a rule, this business isn’t so egalitarian, of course. Money spent improves the odds at success as does exquisite breeding. But at post time tomorrow, Mine That Bird, he of the humble beginnings and $9,500 purchase price, will line up a few stalls down from Dunkirk who, at a cost of $3.7 million US, is the second-priciest horse ever to contest the Derby.
The gelded son of Birdstone began his journey at Woodbine with Cotey taking a shot — and not an expensive one — on a horse who was far from perfect.
“He ‘toed out’ a little bit and he didn’t exactly stand straight at first,” Cotey said of the youngster’s build, which in part led to his bargain price.
“He was not the most correct in terms of conformation but there is a great temperament to him.”
Under saddle, he was far more fond of the fillies than of running at first, which prompted Cotey to have the colt snipped of his manhood.
Here’s where you need to know a little of how Cotey operates. The majority of owners wouldn’t dare have a big-stakes prospect gelded other than in extreme circumstances. A Derby winner, after all, would be worth mammoth money as a stallion.
But when Cotey buys, he deals in volume, and can’t always afford to wait long for a horse whose mind isn’t readily on his business. Hence the son of Birdstone going from colt to gelding before he ever raced.
The day after Mine That Bird won the Grey Stakes — one of Canada’s most important tests for two-year-olds — he was never worth more. It was his third consecutive stakes score and it came in a race that has produced Derby starters (and one winner) in the past. So when the New Mexico group of Double Eagle Ranch and Bueno Suerte Equine came calling with an offer, Cotey listened.
Mine That Bird already had earned $304,000 and when he was able to hammer out another $400,000 from the interested party, the horse trader in Cotey cashed in.
“Selling enabled us to go out and buy a lot of other horses,” said Cotey, whose horses run under the name Dominion Bloodstock. “He allowed us to get some bills paid.”
Mine That Bird and his current connections have endured their share of ridicule this week, but without pretense or overblown optimism, Woolley has enjoyed it like the personable cowboy he is. Most of the trainers have their colts shipped here in fancy horse vans or cargo planes but Woolley hitched his horse trailer to his pickup and drove the 1,500 miles from Sunland Park near El Paso, Tex., himself.
“I’m a definite underdog, I know that,” Woolley said. “But I do know that you can’t win if you don’t even try.”
Mine That Bird will have his share of supporters here because one of the game’s enduring attractions is the love of a long shot. And he’ll have a solid support group at Woodbine, as well, when his former trainer and the man that made him gathers with a group of friends at the Finish Line Bar to root him on.
“We’ll yell and cheer for him,” Cotey said. “I know the horse and I know I helped develop him. I just hope he gets a piece of it.”
No. I didn’t have him, but one minute before post time I was talking to my nephew by phone in New Orleans who was at the Fairgrounds all day setting up for an Art Fair. Amazingly the track itself was closed even for simulcasting.I had talked to him during the Louisiana Derby and told him to eliminate one of the faves, Patena, but go with General Quarters, who was a medium longshot, and of course, won. He ignored me.
The last thing he said to me just before the Derby was “How about the 8 horse, with Borel???? I love Borel”
I said yeah, he’s a great jockey, I just don’t understand what this horse is doing in the Derby.I gotta go, the race is on in TWO MINTUES!
When the race was over I said to my wife “I guarantee you that is about a $100,000 superfecta”. After a 15 minute wait, it turns out to be a $557,000 superfecta. That MUST be a record! My nephew called one minute after the race, and said. SEE? I told you, Borel! Look at Borel, he’s cryin’! Borel RULES!
I had been touting Papa Clem, General Quarters and others.
I had put Musket Man in a few superfectas AND Pioneerofthe Nile. I also had Mine that Bird SECOND in two supers.
But not first. I KNEW this would be a BIG payday/
However I had serious financial strictures today, due to circumstances beyond,etc. , so just spent about eight bucks on supers.
Well, let me see here...
The favorite scratches on the day of the race, and then a 50-1 horse wins the race.
Somewhere, the odds makers heads are exploding at a awesome rate.
Just a guess.
I JUST DID THE MATH: A ten cent super (they were not available on this Derby) on those four horses,
WOULD HAVE PAID over $27000!!!!
He was one of the first horses I threw out...you never know. :-)
That’s right. I tried, was not allowed. I would not have had that anyway.
I did not hear that...and I'm glad I wasn't anywhere near a track today...I would have lost Dick Cheney (thanks for being a great VP) style..."BIG TIME"!
I just got home from work and I heard on the car radio...what an upset, eh? (now going to check out the race on the internet).
I tossed him too, but not before much discussion of him with my buddy who is tight with the WinStar bunch. She thought I was nuts to even consider him, but I tossed everyone of the favorites because all had something really wrong IMO that wouldn't allow me to even waste $ 2 on them. I was convinced it would be a horse that paid BIG. I couldn't figure out which one of the really longshots to play and ended up playing Musket Man across the board so I didn't lose anything.
I've never seen a Derby like this before. Usually, I end up picking some horse that isn't worth playing because the odds are too short. This year, there wasn't even one of those with all the defections.
First I heard yesterday that Mine Tat Bird, was going to sit out the Preakness, because his owner/trainer thought the Belmont was a better distance for him/
Then TODAY I heard somewhere he WILL be in the Preakness~
SOMEBODY MUST HAVE RECONSIDERED WHEN THEY TOLD HIM THE TRIPLE CROWN WAS WORTH , WHAT, FIVE MILLION NOW?
I hope to God he runs. And wins the Triple Crown to boot.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.