Summer Bird and Desormeaux Pair to Win Belmont
Jockey Overcomes Past Disappointments With Birdstone's Other Boy
Jun 6, 2009
Birdstone's heart galloped through again as his son got it done in the $1 million 141st edition of the Belmont Stakes (G1) -- that would be Birdstone's other son, the chestnut Summer Bird -- and so did jockey Kent Desormeaux.
Bird One Fidgets -- Bird Two Soars
Birdstone's Number One son, Kentucky Derby champion Mine That Bird failed to rate well under Calvin Borel, who returned to ride him after guiding the filly Rachel Alexandra to a win in the May 16 Preakness Stakes.
Desormeaux, who has suffered some hard knocks in the Belmont, said prior to the race that he approached this year's race with the will to win. "Last year's Belmont was like swallowing a spoon sideways," he told interviewers.
Having lost the Triple Crown title by a nose aboard Real Quiet in the 1998 Belmont and succumbing to the unresponsiveness of popular Big Brown in last season's third Triple Crown race, Desormeaux knew he had power and determination focused beneath him this time around.
Desormeaux Adds Carnations to Resume
Summer Bird "broke like a rocket," he said. Birdstone's lesser known son dragged him along, found room when he needed it, and "laid his body down" in the stretch to overtake the leaders, Desormeaux cooed, ecstatic to add the Belmont Stakes to his wins column.
The Hall of Fame jockey, who twice before thought he had a Belmont win set up for the taking, said he thought there was a glaring "gap" in his resume because he lacked a Belmont Stakes victory. Summer Bird closed the gap.
Belmont day started well for Desormeaux, as he rode three winners prior to scoring carnations in the afternoon's sun-soaked main event. Desormeaux has three Kentucky Derby victories and two Preakness Stakes wins on his personal score card.
Mine That Bird Comes Up Short
At the sixteenth pole, Mine That Bird snatched the lead in good position after losing yards of ground fighting Borel for some run earlier. From the outside, he strode past Dunkirk, but the big gray didn't wilt under the challenge.
Dunkirk had controlled the race's early pace, with Charitable Man and Miner's Escape stalking.
Summer Bird Swoops From Outside
Summer Bird, betted at 11 to 1, surged three wide to menace in the stretch and reeled in his Kentucky Derby champion half brother as well as Dunkirk, as Charitable Man faded. Completing his swoop, Summer Bird landed on the other side of the wire 2-3/4 lengths in the lead, traveling the 1-1/2 miles in 2:27.54.
Borel had no excuses for Mine That Bird, who secured a large following with a stunning underdog's victory in the Derby, then came up a length short of the filly Borel chose in the Preakness. Borel was competing in his first Belmont Stakes.
"He fought me a little bit, but no excuses," Borel said. "He ran his race."
Belmont Stakes Order of Finish
- No. 1 --- Summer Bird, by 2-3/4 lengths
- No. 2 --- Dunkirk, by a neck
- No. 3 --- Mine That Bird, by 3-3/4 lengths
- No. 4 --- Charitable Man
- No. 5 --- Luv Gov
- No. 6 --- Flying Private
- No. 7 --- Brave Victory
- No. 8 --- Mr. Hot Stuff
- No. 9 --- Chocolate Candy
- No.10 --- Miner's Escape
Summer Bird's Connections
Summer Bird increased his earnings to $723,640 in two wins and one show from five starts. In the Kentucky Derby, Summer Bird finished sixth. He is owned by two retired doctors, Kalarikkal and Vilasini Yayaraman, natives of India. They oversee the Ocala, Florida breeding facility Tiffany Farm. In 1997-1998, when Desormeaux lost on Real Quiet, the Yayaramans were named the top breeders in Arkansas, where they resided eleven years ago.
Tim Ice conditioned Summer Bird. Ice is a family friend of Desormeaux who has operated his own stable for fifteen months after serving as an assistant trainer for fifteen years. He garnered his second stakes victory overall and his first graded stakes win with his first Belmont entry.
The biggest winner of the 2009 Triple Crown series, perhaps, was Birdstone. His two sons scored in two of the three American classics, including the test of a champion Belmont Stakes, the marathon he himself won in 2004 to spoil the Triple Crown attempt put together by the hard charger Smarty Jones.
The double triumph puts Birdstone lengths ahead of his 2004 classmates in sired graded stakes winners.
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