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Following a brief procedure to correct a breathing problem, Mine That Bird, winner of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I), departed the Ruffian Equine Medical Center shortly after noon Tuesday Aug. 18 to return to Saratoga and continue preparations for the 140th running of the $1-million Shadwell Travers Stakes (gr. I) Aug. 29.
“It was as smooth as silk,” trainer Chip Woolley said of the procedure performed by Dr. Patricia Hogan to free an entrapped epiglottis. “We scoped him afterward, and you'd never know he'd had an entrapment. The whole go was just perfect.”
The condition was discovered during a routine endoscopic examination following a workout the day before at Saratoga.
The 3-year-old gelding arrived late Monday at the equine center located across the street from Belmont Park, having been personally driven there by Woolley.
The procedure was performed shortly after 9 a.m. Tuesday.
“He was a wonderful patient,” Hogan said. “The procedure itself took maybe 15 seconds. He got up like a gentleman and everything looks good.”
Woolley said Mine That Bird will resume training in a couple of days and remains optimistic he will be able to run in the Travers.
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