Mine That Bird works in advance of Saturday’s W. Virginia Derby

By BILL MOONEY

CHESTER, W. Va. — Mine That Bird breezed through a four-furlong workout at Mountaineer Casino Racetrack & Resort on Monday morning.

The track’s clockers recorded a time of :494‚Ñ5 as the Kentucky Derby winner continued his preparations for Saturday’s Grade 2, $750,000 West Virginia Derby.

The gelded son of Birdstone came out on the track at 6:55 a.m., just as sun was rising over the foothills of the Appalachians.” He was really sharp, we got just about exactly what we wanted out of him,” said Bennie “Chip” Woolley Jr., Mine That Bird’s 45-year-old trainer.

“We’ll walk him [today] and gallop him on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday,” Woolley said. “This racetrack’s going to fit him pretty well, we think. The track was as big a factor as anything in our decision to come to the West Virginia Derby.”

John Perez, a 35-year-old jockey from Mountaineer, was aboard for the workout. Perez was raised in Chester, rode his first race at Mountaineer 20 years ago and, interestingly, breezed Curlin before he was transferred from trainer Helen Pitts to Steve Asmussen and became a two-time Horse of the Year.

“Mine That Bird was perfect this morning,” said Perez. “He bounced right over the top of the track. It’s really a benefit if you ship in early to Mountaineer. The horse gets used to the surface, to the environment. These people are really making the right moves.”

Jennifer Duffy, a racing fan from Wellsville, was on the Mountaineer apron with her 8-year-old daughter, Hannah, watching the workout.

“We got up bright and early, at 5:30 a.m., to make it over here,” said Duffy. “To anyone who’s not a horse lover, they might think it odd. But, for me, it’s all goose bumps and tears to see a horse like this.”

The West Virginia Derby will be Mine That Bird’s first start since he finished third in the Belmont Stakes on June 6. Woolley and the horse’s co-owners, Mark Allen and Dr. Leonard Blach, had other options for Mine That Bird’s return, the most noteworthy of which was the Grade 1 Haskell Invitational Handicap at Monmouth Park in New Jersey.

But while the Haskell and West Virginia Derby are both run at 11‚Ñ8 miles, Woolley believes the latter is a better fit. “At Monmouth, the track’s a lot faster than it is at Mountaineer,” Woolley said. “It’s just not a good set-up for us.

“After the Belmont, we took a good look around the country, with the idea of finding the best spot. And we thought that it would be Mountaineer. I studied this very hard. We do want a fast racetrack, but we also need one that a horse can close over. That’s our main focus.

“The problem is that if you’re not within five or six lengths of the lead early at Monmouth, you have no chance. You can close somewhat at Monmouth, but you can’t close 20 lengths. And my horse is always going to be 15 to 20 lengths out of it early on.”

XBill Mooney is racing publicist and historian at Mountaineer Casino Racetrack & Resort.