by Dalley Hughes

Created on: May 05, 2009

"You've got a hole, you've got a shot," yelled Jockey Calvin Borel, and take that hole and the 50 to 1 long shot, Mine That Bird did; going on by 6 lengths to win the 2009 Triple Crown Kentucky Derby Race. This disrespected, most unlikely horse to win, amazed the 153,653 guests of Churchill Downs, as well as, his owners, his trainer, his jockey and the eighteen other entries of the race, along with the onlookers of the nation, giving attention to the 135th anniversary race that would provide the second largest stunner upset of the Derby's history. How did it happen?

Was it fluke, or freak, luck, or chance, persistence or passion, knowledge or wisdom?; Or can we look very closely at the opportunities that Mine That Bird had, and say that the opportunities were seized at every possibility, and as if with the mark of a good soldier Mine That Bird had been prepared to "Be Ready."

An opportunity to be sired by a winner

Mine That Bird was the son of Birdstone, a 2004 winner of the Belmont Stakes. Though let us not forget the Dam, Mining My Own. Many believe that the female of the breeding pair make the greatness of a horse.

Opportunity of Financial Means

Even though the undersized horse with a crooked right front and left rear leg had been sold at an auction for only $9,500, the current owners Dr. Leonard Blach and Mark Allen, purchased the horse, sight unseen for $400,000 and had the financial ability to take the horse on to compete in races that would prepare him for his upcoming Derby debut.

Cowboy trainer opportunity

Chip Woolley , an unknown, 45 year old, cowboy, quarter horse trainer of 25 years, who had been a rodeo circuit, bareback rider in college, had a great love for the horses he worked with. He never ran a horse when it was sore, and knew how to get a horse fit. He was given permission by the owners to fly the horse to Kentucky, but instead chose to drive the 1,700 miles from Roswell, New Mexico, with Mine That Bird in a trailer behind his pickup truck. And to add to the dedication, he drove on a broken leg that he had injured in a motorcycle accident.

The opportunity for a patient, confident jockey

Having won the 2005 Derby riding Street Sense, Calvin Borel had learned how to have patience with the three year old gelding. "They can only run so fast, so far," Calvin confidently said from experience, as he faithfully carried out the only request made by the trainer to "lay the horse back and be patient," which as Woolley said, "He did that magically." Borel,

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