The Little Horse That Could

I can’t get enough of Mine that Bird, the longshot winner of this year’s Kentucky Derby whose improbable, impossible victory has led to him being called a “four-legged Rocky.”

I watched the race on TV and, like everyone else, I was both shocked and exhilirated as I watched this little brown 50-to-1 shot who was running last as the field entered the final turn, who was being pelted by the mud kicked up by eighteen horses ahead of him, act like he’d had enough and kick into a gear that propelled him in and out and finally ahead of all the other horses, to win by almost seven lengths. I was literally cheering as the TV broadcaster breathlessly called the finish - “A spectacular upset. A spectacular upset.” I loved it when the camera cut to the crowd where people were checking their programs for the answer to the question everyone was asking: Who is that horse? If you missed the race, do yourself a favaor and click on the video we have downloaded from YouTube.

The backstory to what is being called the second biggest upset in Kentucky Derby history makes the experience even richer. Mine that Bird was once purchased for $9,500, as compared to a purchase price of $2 million for two other horses that competed in the Derby. The ruler of Dubai had personally entered three horses in the race. The “little horse that could” hadn’t run all that well in previous races, barely qualifying for the Derby, but the owners had decided to enter him for a once-in-a-lifetime experience. He was hauled in a van hitched to the back of a pickup truck from southern New Mexico just a week before the running of the Derby. His trainer, a former rodeo bareback rider who wore jeans and a black cowboy hat, was hobbling around Churchill Downs on crutches because he’d broken his right leg in a motorcycle accident several months ago. The owner and trainer had become friends after one cowboy saved the other in a bar fight in a joint called Annie Get Your Guns in Raton, New Mexico. The jockey, who had met the horse for the first time less than a week earlier, said he was just as surprised as everyone else when he asked his horse to move out and Mine that Bird responded, passing all the other horse like they were suddenly running in slow motion. Fittingly, a photo of Mine that Bird graced the May 11 issue of Sports Illustrated with the billing “Miracle in the Mud.”

With anticipation I followed the build up to the Preakness. Even though he’d won the Kentucky Derby going away, few people were giving Mine that Bird a chance, especially when the jockey who had ridden him to victory decided to mount another horse in the Preakness. Mine that Bird was considered by most everyone as a one-horse-wonder.

And coming down the backstretch at the Preakness, running last again, it seemed that maybe they were right. But then Mine that Bird seemed to remember this was a horse race and he began to catch up with one horse after another. As he weaved through the pack, it was almost as if he’d discovered an inner V-12 engine. Anticipating his late move, the other jockeys created a traffic jam, crowding their horses against the rail and forcing Mine that Bird to run wide. As the horses came down to the wire it seemed as if Mine that Bird was going to shock the racing world with another upset… but in the end he came up three-quarters of a horse short, finishing second.

Now, with the Belmont Stakes, the third leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown, just a few weeks away, no one is underestimating Mine that Bird. And I, for one, can’t wait for the race.

What is it that so fascinates me about Mine that Bird? Like a lot of people, I have a soft spot for the underdogs. But more than that, it’s what I like so much about Painted Ponies. They come with a great story.