2009 BELMONT STAKES

HORSEPHOTOS/NTRA

Summer Bird wins the 141st running of The Belmont Stakes.

SUMMER BIRD VICTORIOUS IN 141ST BELMONT STAKES

THE BELMONT STAKES OFFICIAL RESULTS

JUNE 6, 2009

BELMONT STAKES

GRADE I

BELMONT RACETRACK, ELMONT, NEW YORK

FOR THREE YEAR OLDS

ONE AND ONE-HALF MILES

MAIN TRACK: FAST

SUMMER BIRD

Winner

141st Belmont Stakes

Jockey: Kent J. Desormeaux

Trainer: Tim A. Ice

Owners: Kalarikkal K. Jayaraman and D. Vilasini

Three Year Old Chestnut Colt

Bred by Dr. KK Jayaraman & Dr. V. Devi Jayaraman (KY)

Birdstone - Hong Kong Squall, by Summer Squall

OFFICIAL ORDER OF FINISH

 23.41, 47.13, 1:12.43, 1:37.86, 2:01.66, 2:27.54

EARLY BIRD GETS THE CLASSIC VICTORY

Belmont Stakes 141

June 6, 2009

Belmont Park - Elmont, NY

52, 681 fans moved into the Belmont Race track to hoping to see Calvin Borel win the triple crown on two different horses.  On this day Borel would reunite with 2009 Derby win Mine That Bird after guiding Rachel Alexandra to victory in the second leg of the 2009 crown at Pimlico two weeks earlier.  In the end though the crowd would see the elusive victory of Summer Bird and jockey Kent Desormeaux who exercised a few demons for the miserable mount of Big Brown from the 2008 Belmont Stakes.

Summer Bird would win the mile and a half marathon by two and three-quarter lengths over a stubborn game effort by Dunkirk in a final time of 2:27.54.  The victory would give trainer Tim Ice his first Triple Crown race victory since being on his own for a little more than a year after being an assistant for all of his career.  Summer Bird would continue the family line of winning this classic race as his father Birdstone won the 2004 edition.

Desormeaux would win four races on the card and quipped about the Belmont winner "The colt broke like a rocket," Desormeaux said. "He dragged me around the racetrack. I had an armchair ride until I found some room, and when I found some room, he laid his body down."

The derby winner would run out of gas just short of the wire as Calvin Borel claimed Mine That Bird "kind of came up empty." He said he "made a little early move," which trainer Chip Woolley also cited as a reason for Mine That Bird failing to sustain his rally.

"When you let this horse drift up, he's going to go," Woolley said. "It would probably be better if he was covered up on the fence. That's easy to say now."

With the Breeders' Cup Classic the end goal for the Derby winner Wooley stated that his colt would take eight weeks off before racing again with roughly three more starts for the year if all goes right.

The Belmont  track crew did an excellent job getting the surface prepared despite drenching rains on Thursday and Friday of the week.  And with that another triple crown trail comes to an end.  But there are big things happening this year and the return of Rachel Alexandra and Mine That Bird now along with Belmont winner Summer Bird confirm that good racing should continue through the fall and into the championship part of the year.  See you at the Breeders' Cup.

See below for the recap of Belmont Stakes 141.

Nine contenders took on Derby winner Mine That Bird on a fast track at Belmont.  Dunkirk would move to the front after the break and lead the field through the opening mile in fractions of 47.13, 1:12.43 and 1:37.86.  Miner's Escape would settle in a length off the leader with Mr. Hot Stuff just off the two frontrunners in third position.  In the far turn Mine That Bird would move to the front and looked like he might be ready to claim victory and coming into the stretch the winner of the first leg of the triple crown carried a length and half advantage.  Dunkirk dug in stubbornly in second while Charitable Man was still in the hunt as the field moved into deep stretch.  Nearing the wire Summer Bird made a closing move to pass a now tiring Mine That Bird and went on to win The 2009 Belmont Stakes by a two and three-quarter lengths in a final time of 2:27.54.  Dunkirk maintained second position for a game run while Mine That Bird was third.  Summer Bird is a three-year-old chestnut colt owned by Kalarikkal K. Jayaraman and D. Vilasini, trained by Tim A. Ice and was ridden by Kent Desormeaux.