10/26/09 (Last updated: 10/25/09 9:33 PM)
Summer Bird drills five furlongs between races at Oak Tree
Desormeaux set him down to breeze approaching the five-furlong pole. The chestnut colt posted fractions of :24.42 and :48.56 and was caught galloping out six furlongs in 1:13.03. "The work was great," Ice said. "This was exactly what we wanted. He looked super getting over the track and he's been getting over it very well ever since we got here. "Kent had a ton of horse under him and he just let him work on his own, within himself. I'm super-happy with how he's trained here and how he's handled everything. We'll walk tomorrow and he'll go back to the track Tuesday morning." Desormeaux, who experienced a three-hour airport runway delay in New York, flew in earlier in the day for the work. With his son Jacob in tow, Desormeaux simply stated, "He enjoyed it and he galloped out super." Summer Bird, who has competed exclusively on dirt so far, will race on a synthetic surface for the first time in the 1 1/4-mile Classic. He has experience in training over the Pro-Ride, however. As a juvenile last fall, Summer Bird recorded nine works at Santa Anita before being sent to Ice at Oaklawn Park. Summer Bird began the season as an unraced maiden, but now ranks as a leading candidate for an Eclipse Award as champion three-year-old male. He has won three of his last four races, all in Grade 1 company, and his lone loss during that span was a second in the Haskell Invitational (G1) to Horse of the Year contender Rachel Alexandra (Medaglia d'Oro). Summer Bird has compiled a mark of 8-4-1-1, $2,023,040. Ice said that Summer Bird would have one more breeze prior to the Breeders' Cup. "He'll work five-eighths next Saturday," the trainer said. |
