On Second Thought . . .

Birdbird returned to the track this morning for the first time since his fifth place finish in the Louisiana Derby, galloping a mile and a half at the Palm Meadows training facility which has been his winter home since December. One thing Team Bird learned from the Louisiana Derby was that training and running over the track was a distinct advantage at Fair Grounds as the first four finishers all had a race over the track. Taking that into account, owner Ray Cottrell, Sr. and trainer Ken McPeek have reconsidered the Florida Derby as Birdbird's next start. They have decided to revert back to Plan A, which was to ship the colt to Keeneland for the Toyota Blue Grass (G1) on April 14th. Birdbird last ran at Keeneland in the Lane's End Futurity last October where he was a credible fourth to the likes of Great Hunter and Street Sense (he was scoped after the race and was disagnosed with a lung infection). Birdbird will work five furlongs later in the week and then ship to Keeneland to train for his date in the Blue Grass.