It's The Other Bird

Well, I would have preferred a more storybook ending but when all is said and done - it's still a Bird. The "other" Bird, Summer Bird, takes the Belmont this year spoiling the fairy tale quest by Mine That Bird. Of course, this victory has its own story with Kent Desormeaux winning his first Belmont after last year's disappointing developments for Big Brown's bid for the Triple Crown with Kent aboard. In my opinion, Kent did the right thing by the horse when he pulled up Big Brown and he was redeemed this year with a great run by Summer Bird.

I was concerned when Calvin Borel guaranteed victory early in the week. I was concerned about the detention barn at the Belmont. I was concerned that Calvin did not run any races during the week or that day leading up to major race of the day. I was concerned when I saw Mine That Bird's temperament before the race, quite out of character for the horse who captured my heart by being so easy going, laid back and relaxed. Anxious to get the race started, when it finally started, I noticed that Mine That Bird's body language was very different early in the race. Then when he started to move up on the back stretch, I immediately thought the move was too soon. Easy for me to say, I wasn't the one trying to guide the amped up horse. Coming around the turn for the home stretch, I briefly believed the "original" Bird was going to take home the prize. Not so. Creaping up from behind and finding another gear, Summer Bird blew by both Mine That Bird and Dunkirk to win with a final push.

While happy for Kent, this year's Triple Crown got me thinking about the structure of the three races. Bottom line, Mine That Bird got beat by two fresh horses, and still outran the rest of the field which included only one other horse that ran in all three Triple Crown races. There are a couple of ideas floating around to either space the three races differently, resting the horses a bit more, or allowing only the same field of horses to compete in all three races. Think of it like allowing one or more teams in the Stanley Cup playoffs to bypass one or two rounds altogether. The physical condition of those teams would be vastly different to those that had to play every 7 game series. On paper it sets up a big disadvantage for the non-rested teams. So how can the Belmont really be the "test of a champion" when the majority of the horses in the field are not being tested under the same conditions? Just a thought.

I liked Summer Bird going into the race, and I think it is interesting that he is a half-brother to Mine That Bird, both sons of Birdstone, another Belmont winner. My sentiment, however, is still with the original Bird. Considering his fresh competition yesterday, this horse is still top dog for me.