The Kentucky Derby has long been heralded as the greatest two minutes in sports, but last Saturday's Run for the Roses did much more than excite fans - the greatest of all horse races validated why we run them. We saw one of the most contentious fields in Derby history enter the gate, and in the end saw a stunning upset. However, it should be noted that by the time the horses were called to the post many of the brightest stars had fallen from the limelight.
Early-on, two-year-old Champion Midshipman was injured in Dubai and
declared off the Derby trail. Vineyard Haven would soon thereafter go
to the side-lines. Out in California The Pamplemousse came up injured
before we got to see how he would measure up against Pioneerof the
Nile. Old Fashioned disappointed in the Razorback and sustained a
career-ending injury in the Arkansas Derby. Quality Road stormed
through the Fountain of Youth and defeated Dunkirk in the Florida
Derby, only then to develop quarter cracks too stubborn to hold their
patches. Square Eddie looked like he might recover his two-year-old
form, but after one race at three, a recurring shin injury stopped his
training. By the time the morning-line was published, I Want Revenge
had inherited the favorite's role, though he too would not make the
famous walk over. The Jeff Mullins' trainee was scratched after the
vet check on Saturday morning denying IEAH Stables the opportunity to
vie for back-to-back Derby wins.
You're not hearing any complaints from the racing world about the pure dazzling excitement of this race. The result was good for the sport and good for the spirits of people everywhere. Of course, the speed figure guys may never recover, but that's okay - many of us have never taken them as gospel anyway. And for those of us of limited means, it's nice to once again be reminded that the cost is a different figure from the value. A $9,500 Fasig-Tipton October sales yearling had no qualms about passing Dunkirk, a $3.7 million dollar yearling purchase. He did it as if Dunkirk was tied to the quarter-pole. In his wake too, were Regal Ransom and Desert Party, purchased by Godolphin Stable for a combined $2.8 million. The favored Friesan Fire was beaten by 42 lengths. Horse racing proved once again why you have to run the race in order to declare the winner.
I'm friends with the breeders of the Derby winner, and we had talked about him through the week. The report from Judy Needham was, "I went to see Mine That Bird today and you know, the little colt (gelding) looks good, and these New Mexico guys are really good horsemen." Her husband Phil also visited the colt and met the new owners, but he did not change earlier made plans to allow for him to attend the Derby. None of us discussed what we thought Mine That Bird's real chances might be; we, like everyone else, thought of him as a long shot.
Later in the week I talked with Judy again and she remarked, "Birdman (his farm name) is a happy colt and he's eating everything in sight, just like he always did on the farm." She added, "You know, everyone is forgetting he was the two-year-old champ in Canada." But like everyone else, we could not get past the fact that he ran last in the Breeders' Cup, and he was coming out of New Mexico without a win in his three-year-old season.
Judy attended the race and afterward admitted that she was unaware that it was their little homebred making the surreal move. She said, "When I realized it was him, I just started to cry."
Phil Needham was in Columbus, Ohio competing in a bike race as he continues in his preparation for the Senior Games, to be held in San Francisco in August. A few years ago he won the Calvin's Challenge, which was defined by how far one can ride in 12 hours. He pedaled an amazing 225 miles and was back to the farm attending foaling chores just hours later. This time he took the easy route and rode the shortened version of Calvin's Challenge. This one was only six hours long. He won his age division, having pumped out a total of 123 miles. He said, "As I rode the race and would see a bird, I would yell to my cycling partner Mine That Bird!" On the way home he stopped at a sports bar to see the race and life hasn't been the same since.
The cell phones that were once used sparingly for the business of running a farm are now running out of bars repeatedly. The Needhams cannot help but embrace the day they bid $8,000 on a young Smart Strike mare as part of the arduous process of breaking up a long-held partnership with Bill Betz, in Needham-Betz Thoroughbreds. Now it's Needham
Thoroughbreds and Birdman's dam, Mining My Own is one of their 15 horses. They are sitting on a gold mine and humbly sifting through the sands of time.
You're not hearing any complaints from the racing world about the pure dazzling excitement of this race. The result was good for the sport and good for the spirits of people everywhere. Of course, the speed figure guys may never recover, but that's okay - many of us have never taken them as gospel anyway. And for those of us of limited means, it's nice to once again be reminded that the cost is a different figure from the value. A $9,500 Fasig-Tipton October sales yearling had no qualms about passing Dunkirk, a $3.7 million dollar yearling purchase. He did it as if Dunkirk was tied to the quarter-pole. In his wake too, were Regal Ransom and Desert Party, purchased by Godolphin Stable for a combined $2.8 million. The favored Friesan Fire was beaten by 42 lengths. Horse racing proved once again why you have to run the race in order to declare the winner.
I'm friends with the breeders of the Derby winner, and we had talked about him through the week. The report from Judy Needham was, "I went to see Mine That Bird today and you know, the little colt (gelding) looks good, and these New Mexico guys are really good horsemen." Her husband Phil also visited the colt and met the new owners, but he did not change earlier made plans to allow for him to attend the Derby. None of us discussed what we thought Mine That Bird's real chances might be; we, like everyone else, thought of him as a long shot.
Later in the week I talked with Judy again and she remarked, "Birdman (his farm name) is a happy colt and he's eating everything in sight, just like he always did on the farm." She added, "You know, everyone is forgetting he was the two-year-old champ in Canada." But like everyone else, we could not get past the fact that he ran last in the Breeders' Cup, and he was coming out of New Mexico without a win in his three-year-old season.
Judy attended the race and afterward admitted that she was unaware that it was their little homebred making the surreal move. She said, "When I realized it was him, I just started to cry."
Phil Needham was in Columbus, Ohio competing in a bike race as he continues in his preparation for the Senior Games, to be held in San Francisco in August. A few years ago he won the Calvin's Challenge, which was defined by how far one can ride in 12 hours. He pedaled an amazing 225 miles and was back to the farm attending foaling chores just hours later. This time he took the easy route and rode the shortened version of Calvin's Challenge. This one was only six hours long. He won his age division, having pumped out a total of 123 miles. He said, "As I rode the race and would see a bird, I would yell to my cycling partner Mine That Bird!" On the way home he stopped at a sports bar to see the race and life hasn't been the same since.
The cell phones that were once used sparingly for the business of running a farm are now running out of bars repeatedly. The Needhams cannot help but embrace the day they bid $8,000 on a young Smart Strike mare as part of the arduous process of breaking up a long-held partnership with Bill Betz, in Needham-Betz Thoroughbreds. Now it's Needham
Thoroughbreds and Birdman's dam, Mining My Own is one of their 15 horses. They are sitting on a gold mine and humbly sifting through the sands of time.
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