Mine That Bird will be in field

By Ken Murray | ken.murray@baltsun.com

May 5, 2009

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Baltimore won't have to relive another Preakness on Saturday without the Kentucky Derby winner after all this year.

Although connections for Mine That Bird were initially hesitant about participating in the $1 million Preakness on May 16, trainer Chip Woolley Jr. told the Maryland Jockey Club on Monday that his 3-year-old gelding would run in the race at Pimlico Race Course.

The sigh of relief from Old Hilltop was almost audible.

"I think it would've taken a lot of shine off of it," marketing expert John Maroon of Maroon PR said Monday shortly after Mine That Bird committed to the 134th Preakness. "The allure of the potential Triple Crown for your casual race fan is a big deal. From a marketing perspective, and making it a newsworthy story, having the Kentucky Derby winner there is vital."

History supports that sentiment.

In 1996 - the last time the Preakness ran without the Derby winner - Pimlico had an on-site attendance of 85,122. That was the race's lowest attendance figure in 20 years. The in-state, total handle that year was $6.74 million, the smallest handle in the past 21 years.

There was a similar, precipitous drop-off in 1985, when Spend a Buck bypassed Baltimore after winning in Kentucky.

A career-ending injury took Kentucky Derby-winning Grindstone out of the 1996 Preakness. Shock might have been the reason Mine That Bird's connections declined to make a quick commitment after Saturday's historic upset at Churchill Downs.

Woolley told jockey club officials he wanted to see Mine That Bird two days after his spectacular sprint in the Louisville mud. Sometime after the colt jogged a mile on the still-sloppy track, plans were made to ship him to Baltimore early next week.

Saying he felt no obligation to run in the Preakness, Woolley nevertheless acknowledged the pull of the Triple Crown.

"It is good for the sport," he said. "You cannot have a Triple Crown winner without having the Derby winner in the Preakness. That played into our decision, but the horse looks super. I have never been to Baltimore, but it looks like I won't be able to say that in a few days."

Mine That Bird, a 50-1 long shot in Louisville, will get considerably better odds in Baltimore. But Pimlico won't set those odds until the post-position draw May 13. The Preakness is limited to 14 horses.

Expect the field around Mine That Bird to fill quickly. Two fresh colts - or shooters - were added Monday, and their connections saw the same opportunity. Altogether, four horses are committed to the Preakness - Mine That Bird, Derby fourth-place finisher Papa Clem, Big Drama and Hull.

"If you're kind of searching around for a softer Triple Crown spot, out of the three dances, this might be the best," said David Fawkes, a trainer in Davie, Fla., who will send Big Drama to Baltimore this week.

"When you watch the Derby and see a 50-1 shot win, it can only help the Preakness. There might be some trainers who may not have thought their horses had Triple Crown abilities, but now might take a chance."

Big Drama has won five of seven lifetime starts but was disqualified and placed second in his only race this year. He bumped This Ones for Phil in the stretch in the Grade II Swale Stakes at Gulfstream Park. On Monday, the son of Montbrook went six furlongs in 1 minute, 14 seconds at Calder Race Course.

"He is the kind of horse where you can put him anywhere you want," Fawkes said. "He can sit off the lead and he has a huge turn of foot. When you push the gas pedal, he goes. He really should be undefeated. The only time we got beat to the wire was rider error [in his debut last July]."

By late afternoon, Hull, who won the Derby Trial on April 25, was added to the race, as well. Barry Irwin, owner of Team Valor International, said he was persuaded by jockey Miguel Mena to enter Hull in the Preakness.

"The Kentucky Derby was a very hard, grueling race, and any horse coming out of that will be compromised to a certain extent," Irwin told the Maryland Jockey Club.

Hull, the son of Holy Bull, is unbeaten in three races this year but has not gone around two turns in any of the three.

"It sure would be nice if we had done it once so the horse could get the condition and experience, but sometimes life is not ideal and you have to seize the opportunity when it presents itself," Irwin said. "I like the horse, but it was the jockey who swayed me. ... He says we have gotten nowhere near the bottom of him. That encouraged me to want to try the Preakness."

Mine That Bird, meanwhile, won't leave Louisville until Monday or Tuesday next week. Woolley said he won't breeze his colt before the race.

"I might walk him one day, maybe the day we ship, but he will have no breezes before the Preakness," Woolley said.