(From Churchill Downs)
Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) winner Mine That Bird returned to the racetrack for the first time since finishing third in the June 6 Belmont Stakes (gr. I) by leisurely back-tracking once around the Churchill Downs oval June 11 under exercise rider Charlie Figueroa.
“He is fresh as a daisy this morning,” trainer Chip Woolley said as Mine That Bird pranced off the track that had been rendered sloppy by overnight and morning rain.
The break from the track was the longest for Mine That Bird “since we brought him back last December off the layoff from the Breeders’ Cup,” Woolley said. “He will walk the next two days and go back to the track Sunday (June 14).
Owners Mark Allen of Double Eagle Ranch and Dr. Leonard Blach are scheduled to arrive in Louisville from New Mexico and, along with Woolley and jockey Calvin Borel, will receive their Kentucky Derby trophies on June 13.
“I am going to get with Mark and Doc when they get here and right now I am aiming for Monday (June 15) for a decision on what we are going to do,” Woolley said. “We have six options that we are looking at.”