Longshot horse Mine That Bird wins the 135th Kentucky Derby:
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Longshot Mine That Bird wins 135th Kentucky Derby
Despite going off at 50-1 odds, jockey Calvin Borel guides the gelding along the inside rail down the homestretch for a 6 3/4-length victory at Churchill Downs.
Associated Press
4:03 PM PDT, May 2, 2009
Mine That Bird dug up a miracle, stunning the field to win the Kentucky Derby with a dynamic stretch run through the mud Saturday at Churchill Downs.
The 3-year-old gelding and jockey Calvin Borel found room along the rail deep in the stretch then pulled away for a 6 3/4-length win to give the 50-1 longshot one of the biggest upsets in the 135-year history of the race.
It was the largest margin of victory in the Derby since Assault won by eight lengths in 1946. Barbaro won in 2006 by 6 1/2 lengths.
The Derby win was the second in three years for Borel, who used a similar stretch run to send Street Sense to the winner's circle in 2007.
Mine That Bird joins Giacomo, who won in 2005, as one of the most unlikely victors in the Run for the Roses.
Mine That Bird covered the 1 1/4 miles in 2:02.66 and paid $103.20 to win. The payout was the second largest in Derby history behind Donerail ($184.90) in 1913.
Pioneerof the Nile held off Musket Man for second, but neither was a match for the unheralded horse from New Mexico.
Friesan Fire, who became the favorite after I Want Revenge was scratched earlier in the day, finished a distant 18th in the 19-horse field.
Borel thrust his right arm in triumph as he crossed the wire, and trainer Chip Woolley hobbled to hoist the trophy. The trainer from New Mexico broke his right leg in a motorcycle accident over the winter and drove his stable's star 21 hours to Churchill Downs.
"They'll know who I am now," Woolley said from underneath his massive black cowboy hat.
Posted by Valkyre at May 2, 2009 06:47 PM