NEW YORK(AP)—This was a Belmont for the Birds.

It was Summer Bird, not Mine That Bird and jockey Calvin Borel, who came roaring down the long stretch and won the final jewel of the Triple Crown on Saturday.

For a brief moment on the turn for home, Borel looked like a winner. His tough little gelding took the lead, and even Borel believed his victory guarantee was assured.

“I thought I was home free,” he said, “but the other horses galloped by.”

They sure did.

With the crowd of 52,861 cheering on the leaders in the stretch, Mine That Bird passed Dunkirk. But it was Summer Bird who pulled away from them both for a 2}-length victory, with Dunkirk second and Mine That Bird a neck back in third in the field of 10 3-year-olds

The upset ended Borel’s bid to become the first jockey to win a personal Triple Crown, and he failed to deliver on a guarantee of victory in the Belmont Stakes. Borel won the Kentucky Derby aboard Mine That Bird, then took the Preakness with the filly Rachel Alexandra.

Summer Bird, sent off at 11-1 odds, gave jockey Kent Desormeaux a Belmont victory he desperately wanted.


Direct Link

More http://sports.yahoo.com/rah/news;_ylt=AhQ84XSZwABFxRsHSeWvgXU5nYcB?slug=txbelmontstakes&prov=st&type=lgns

---

By: rjc1989 | On: Sat Jun 06, 09 11:17 AM

0 Comments | Post A Comment