The View From Here . . .

By Bob Morgan, Jr.

Every once in a while, it makes sense to take a break from the many troubles and issues of the world and merely celebrate an extraordinary event. Sometimes it is a true matter of life and death, like the heroic landing in the East River last January by Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger. miraculously sparing the life of all passengers on board.

But even events of far lesser magnitude can fill the bill, like last week's heroic Kentucky Derby, featuring a highly improbable ride on a highly improbable horse, Mine That Bird.

Mine That Bird was certainly not horse racing royalty. Although his parentage was not bad, he was purchased at auction as a yearling for just $9500. His owners must not have thought much of his potential as a sire, since he was gelded. He ran moderately well in Canada as a two year old, but finished dead last in his one test against top competition, the Breeders Cup Juvenile. This year he was entered into two nongraded Derby prep races in New Mexico, not exactly a horse racing mecca, and did not win either.

Not surprisingly, Mine That Bird received no respect when he was entered into the Kentucky Derby. Handicappers who make speed figures based on past performances determined that he was probably the slowest horse in the race. An online gambling site had the gelding as the favorite to finish last. It certainly did not help that his new trainer, Bennie Wooley, had just one victory in 32 races this year, or that Wooley personally vanned the horse 21 hours from New Mexico to Kentucky.

The one positive for Mine That Bird was jockey Calvin Borel. While not one of the game's elite riders, Borel earned the nickname, "Bo-rail", for his strategy of keeping his mounts inside near the rail and saving ground. Borel had won the Derby in 2007 with a rail-skimming move aboard Street Sense. But the game is called horse racing, not jockey racing, and Borel was given little chance to keep Mine That Bird even competitive.

When the Churchill Downs gates opened, Mine That Bird initially seemed to live up to the negative predictions and to his 50-1 longshot odds. For the first three-quarters of a mile, Mine That Bird was on the fence well behind the field, trailing the 18th place horse by 6 lengths. Then, however, Borel began to move Mine the Bird quickly along the rail, and the horse went into 12th place with a quarter mile to go. Borel finally encountered some traffic in Atomic Rain, went around that horse and went right back to the fence with 3/16 of a mile to go. Then Borel sneaked Mine That Bird through a small opening at the rail past Join in the Dance. At that point, Mine That Bird was suddenly clear of the entire 19-horse field, and went on to win by 6 3/4 lengths, the biggest Derby margin since 1946. Race caller Tom Durkin, one of the best in the game, understandably focused on the major contenders and basically missed Mine That Bird's move until he was drawing away. Durkin described it as a "spectacular upset," an "impossible result."

I didn't have a nickel wagered on Mine That Bird, but I still think that this is an inspiring story of an obscure horse, an obscure trainer, and an inspired ride by a talented, if somewhat unknown, jockey. Sometimes in life you have to be willing to run the race, even at long odds, and once in a while you win.