Birdbird and Castellano A Threat In The OBS Sunshine Millions Turf

Birdbird, drew post position five for Saturday's $500,000 Sunshine Millions Turf at Gulfstream Park. The field includes Icy Atlantic who placed in this race last year and Bill Mott has entered a pair of minor stakes winners, War Monger and Pickapocket.

Birdbird is coming off a close sixth place finish in the seven and a half furlong Pete Axthelm at Calder on December 29. The Pure Prize colt breezed four furlongs on Monday at Gulfstream in 48.40 with Castellano up and all concerned feel that Birdird will be a threat at the mile and an eighth distance of the Millions.

Kenny McPeek told the Blood Horse:

“He’s doing very well and had some significant time off with this race in mind,” trainer Ken McPeek said of Birdbirdistheword’s break, which lasted from May until a sixth-place run in Pete Axthelm Stakes at Calder Dec. 29. “This is a restricted race with a lot of money on the table and he’s doing well enough to try, but he still has something to prove as an older horse. If he gets it done Saturday, we’ll go from there, but if not we’ll take a step back and take a more conservative route.”

Javier Castellano will ride and break from post five.

Birdbird is a graduate of the August 2005 OBS sale where Ray Cottrell Sr acquired the son of Pure Prize out of Berchta for $32,000. Birdbird has gone on to earn $716,987.

Update: Birdbird's little half-sister Lady Lido (Lido Palace) brought a bid of $14,000 at this month's OBS sale.

Sunshine Millions Is Next For Birdbirdistheword

Birdbird closed nicely but belatedly to finish sixth in Pete Axthelm on Saturday, Javier Castellano kept him in the back of the twelve horse field behind a fast but honest pace. Birdbird was beaten only two and a half lengths in his first race in eight months.

Team Bird was pleased with the effort and Birdbird will be seen next in the $500,000 Sunshine Millions Turf at a mile and an eighth on January 26 at Gulfstream Park. Nominees for the race include old turf warrior Revved Up who nosed out Soldier's Dancer at Calder last out, Lava Man who won the race last year at Santa Anita, Icy Atlantic and Go Between who finished second and third to Lava Man last year.

All In The Family:

Thanks to Valerie over at Foolish Pleasure for pointing this out.

A half sister to Birdbird will be offered at the OBS January Sale.

Prince Arch: A Tough Act To Follow But Birdbird's Going to Try

Birdbird's owner Ray Cottrell Sr. is no stranger to the top echelon in racing.

A few years ago he owned a colt named, Prince Arch (Arch - Princess Kris, by Kris) who won the 2005 Gulfstream Park Handicap (now the Gulfstream Park Turf Stakes G1)and even traveled to Dubai for the Sheema Classic that year, In his three year old year the Prince took the Saranac at Saratoga (pictured above) and took down champion Kitten's Joy in the Jefferson Cup at Churchill Downs. Prince Arch also placed in the Virginia Derby and the Crown Royal American Turf, he is now at stud in Ireland.

Ray and Kenny McPeek have a similar goal in mind for his 2006 Delta Jackpot (G3) winner, Birdbirdistheword when the colt returns to the races this Saturday, eight months after being diagnosed with an injured left rear suspensory ligament which took the colt off the Derby trail in April.


Ray Cottrell Sr and Birdbird

Birdbird (8-3-0-0 $702,000) returns to the races in the grassy Pete Axthelm , named for the famed sportswriter, on the closing weekend at Calder. In his last published work last week, Birdbird worked 5f at Gulfstream in 1:00.00 handily,the best of 26 workouts at the distance.

Team Bird is looking for a top effort in a race that features some of best local three year olds in South Florida like Drums of Thunder who is also on the comeback trail and Craftmanship.

Of course I doubt if Drums of Thunder has his own ring tone.



So watch out, Birdbird is back and his main goal is the Gulfstream Turf Handicap (G1) on February 23rd.

Birdbird To Breeze

Update: Birdbird breezed three furlongs in a snappy 37 1/5 Saturday at Keeneland as he prepares to resume his racing career later in the year.

Tentative plans call for Birdbird to return to the races at Delta Downs on December 7 in the $75,000 Sam's Town at seven furlongs. The Sam's Town is being run the same night as the Delta Jackpot which Birdbird won last year.

Birdbird's stablemate, Sgt. Major Command won the first at Keeneland yesterday, a maiden $50,000 claimer drawing off by five lengths and in doing so validated the confidence his connections have in him. The colt ran greenly in his first start at Kentucky Downs and while his next race is undecided, Team Bird is eyeing the Delta Jackpot for Sgt. Major Command.

Birdbirdistheword Returns to Training

Sidelined since May with a suspensory injury, Ray Cottrell Sr's Delta Jackpot winner Birdbirdisword has returned to training at Ken McPeek's Magdelena Farm in Lexington Kentucky. Tentative plans call for Birdbird to return to the races in early December at Delta Downs, the scene of his most lucrative and commanding performance when he won the $1,000,000 2006 Delta Jackpot Stakes.



As you may know I had a great time following Birdbird on the Kentucky Derby trail last spring and was a guest of Team Bird at the Fairgrounds for the Louisiana Derby. Derby fever never really subsides if you love this game and Team Bird has another promising two-year old colt named Command SGT Major who is training up to his first race under the tutelage of Ken McPeek who thinks the colt shows some real promise.

Doctor's Orders

Dr. Bramlett has determined that Birdbird has injured his left rear suspensory in one of his recent races. This kind of injury can be very difficult to diagnose and probably played a role in Birdbird's poor showings in both the Florida Derby and Crown Royal American Turf. You can learn more about suspensory injuries here including an article by the the TBA's own Fran Jurga over at Hoof Care who has written on this topic here. Birdbird will get 60 days off at that time Dr. Bramlett will reexamine him. Under normal conditions Birdbird could return to training in about 90 days but Team Bird have decided to give him at least 120 days off and return to training in the fall and plan for an exciting four-year old campaign for Birdbird.

The colt will convalesce at Kenny McPeek's Magdelena Farm in Lexington and Team Bird wants to thank everybody for all their support and we'll see Birdbird back at the races when he is fully recovered.

Birdbird Out with Undetermined Injury

Apparently Birdbirdistheword injured himself during the running of the Crown Royal American on Kentucky Oaks day. Birdbird was closing on the outside coming into the stretch when he lost his action and started acting like he could not get his air. He was scoped after the race but it came back clean. On Saturday the colt was in obvious discomfort when walking. A back injury of some sort is suspected and Birdbird has been shipped to the Lexington clinic of Dr. Bramblett for a complete examination.

When more is known about Birdbird’s condition I will let you know.

Birdbird On Track For The Crown Royal American Turf

Birdbird worked five furlongs at Keeneland in :59 2/5 in preparation for his next start in the Crown Royal American Turf on May 4 at Churchill Downs. Irish import, Whatsthescript, a winner of three turf stakes in the last six months is also being pointed for the Crown Royal American Turf.
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Birdbird Bled In The Florida Derby

Birdbird’s connections are reporting that Birdbird bled while finishing seventh in the Florida Derby at Gulfstream on Saturday. The colt usually runs with lasix. Otherwise Birdbird came out of the race in good condition but the timing of this setback makes a start in the Kentucky Derby a more remote possibility at the moment. Birdbird was flown to Keeneland yesterday arriving in Lexington in early afternoon.

If Birdbird does not start in the Kentucky Derby, he may return to the turf for his next start. Birdbird has already won on the turf (winning the Harrahs Juvenile in September at Louisiana Downs). The Crown Royal American Turf on Kentucky Oaks day is now under consideration, the 1-1/16 mile race is a grade three. Should Birdbird make a good account of himself in the Crown Royal, a return to the Triple Crown trail is very much a possibility and a start in the Preakness is a definite possibility.

Mr. Popularity And The Derby Shuffle

Robby Albarado has ridden some pretty good horses in his career, among them Mineshaft, Banshee Breeze and Chulukki, and Albarado’s services are always in demand. 2007 is no different, Albarado is off to another strong start this year, he currently ranks fourth in the nation in money won. Albarado also finds himself in the enviable position of having to juggle mounts on three possible Derby starters. With Cory Nakatani in Dubai to ride Lava Man in the Dubai Duty Free on March 31; Albarado gets the mount on Notional in the Florida Derby. It appears that Albarado has committed to ride Curlin in his next start, the Arkansas Derby on Aprii 14.

Albarado’s popularity presents some unforeseen logistical challenges for Ken McPeek and the connections of Birdbirdistheword. The colt was being pointed for the Blue Grass which will also be run on April 14 but if they do they run in the Blue Grass they will have have to find another rider or wait for Albarado to free up and aim for another prep race. Add to the mix that the Blue Grass is coming up as a super tough race with Street Sense, Great Hunter, Any Given Saturday and possibly Circular Quay all aiming for it. One has to think about what benefit would be gained by going up against the top colts on April 14 and then going up against them again (and a field of 20) in the Derby three weeks later. So right now Team Bird is mulling over the advantages of waiting for Albarado to free up and aiming Birdbird for the Illinois Derby on April 7 at Hawthorne, where he would meet among others Cobalt Blue recent winner of the San Felipe.

Birdbird will have his last breeze at Palm Meadows this morning and will ship to Kentucky to train for a probable start in the Illinois Derby in the next day or two.

Six or Seven Lengths Is All We Need ~ Ken McPeek

After the race Team Birdbird gathered at a monitor near the paddock to watch the replay, Kenny like the rest of us was disappointed, we had all been hoping for a win or a top three finish, Birdbird was fifth beaten just over seven lengths. Robby Albarado reported that Birdbird was struggling with the surface throughout the race, for a horse coming off a 97 day layoff, I think we can say he needed the race. In defeat Birdbird joins some illustrious company, don't forget that both Funny Cide(who lost to Peace Rules) and War Emblem did not like the Fair Grounds surface either.

Can Birdbird improve off this effort; can he move up six or seven lengths, I think he can. Keep the faith Birdbird fans!

Room For One More. . . At Least !

The Courier Journal has a story on Birdbird's owner, Ray Cottrell Sr.

Hopes are high here at Birdbirdblog that Ray will be collecting another trophy in New Orleans this Saturday afternoon.

Hurry Up Roberto, I Got A Plane To Catch!

Birdbird and Roberto will be up extra early today so they can catch a 7AM flight bound for New Orleans where Birdbird returns to competition in the Louisiana Derby. Birdbird had his final breeze yesterday at Palm Meadows, going four furlongs in .48 and galloping out five furlongs in 1:00. Afterwards he was scoped and everything came back clean; all systems are GO for the Derby Trail.

Trainer Ken McPeek will be participating in an NTRA conference call today. Birdbird has been added as a separate betting interest at 18-1 in Pool 2 of the Derby Futures Pool. Bodog.com has Birdbird at 50-1 on their site. Birdbird got some ink in a Bloodhorse article too.

Meanwhile, Birdbirdistheword, trained by Kenneth McPeek, will go up against the recently impressive colt Imawildandcrazyguy in the March 10 Louisiana Derby (gr. II) at Fair Grounds.

According to McPeek, his contender "has been a piece of cake--he's a very special horse. The most difficult thing has been the people calling to buy him." McPeek said he has received several offers for the strapping dark bay son of Pure Prize in recent weeks.

"He's easy to handle, a total pro," continued McPeek, who saddled Birdbirdistheword for three victories last year, including the $1 million Boyd Gaming's Delta Jackpot (gr. III) at Delta Downs. The Louisiana Derby will mark the colt's 2007 debut.

"Since (the Delta Jackpot), he's done everything perfectly and on schedule," said McPeek.

With the pressure off his back of getting enough graded stakes earnings for Birdbirdistheword's ticket to the Run for the Roses, the trainer said, "I can take my time and develop the horse. We were able to back off and gave him 30 days off (after the Delta Jackpot). Now we've got a nice little work pattern set up."

McPeek said he was even impressed with Birdbirdistheword's fourth-place effort in the Breeders' Futurity (gr. I) at Keeneland last fall, considering the colt had been scoped for a lung infection after the race.

Birdbird Wins the Harrah's Juvenile

I finally found a video of Birdbird's win in the Harrah's Juvenile on the turf at Louisiana Downs. Birdbird swallows the competition with a sweeping move at the 1/2 mile pole, the same move he made weeks later in the Delta Jackpot. This horse has what the Europeans call " a turn of foot" and versatility on both dirt and turf that minds me of Barbaro.

Thanks to Travis Stone of the Daily Dispatch for posting this video.

Birdbird Among 115 Nominated for 94th Louisiana Derby

Birdbirdistheword makes his long awaited return to the Derby trail on March 10th. It is likely a full field of 14 will contest the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby at the Fair Grounds. Tentative plans call for Birdbird to ship to Fair Grounds from Palm Meadows about five days ahead of the race and the colt may work over the track in New Orleans.

Steve Haskin mentions Birdbird today in his weekly update, reporting on his three recent works, details of which are listed on the sidebar of this blog.

Birdbird Speaks !

It's almost 10 AM and Birdbird has been cooled out, snacked on some hay and is back in his stall staring at me, staring at him. It's time to go but before I say goodbye, Birdbird and I have a little heart to heart.

Funny You Should Mention That

Heading back to the barn after the gallop Kenny makes a point to mention that Birdbird is stabled in the same barn that Funny Cide was four years ago. I hadn’t noticed a plaque that is on the barn wall commemorating this obviously the significance of this is not lost on him. As we drive back to the the barn I get a chance to ask him a question or two. McPeek is obviously a top tier trainer and I always wondered if he solicits owners to get business. He said he doesn’t have to but one problem he faces more these days is that owners in general seem to be more skeptical and talking them into spending money at the sales is more of an effort. I also asked if he thought that the breed as a whole is more fragile than it was say twenty years ago, his answer to this question was an unequivocal no. McPeek thinks the modern tendency to train up to races, rather than race up to them, in order for trainers to maintain higher winning percentages, makes for fewer starts and gives a false impression that the breed is more delicate than it really is.



Back at the barn, as Birdbird gets his bath I get a chance to ask some mundane questions about running the place. Behind the scenes an administrative staff of nine keeps McPeek Racing running in addition to asst trainers, grooms hotwalkers and exercise riders. One thing I did notice is that a computer was nowhere to be found.

There are three horses racing today and they must be ready for the shuttle van to Gulfstream by 9 AM. Kenny goes off to tend to those details, Birdbird is cooling out, Brad goes in search of a light for his cigarette, David goes in search of Invasor, who he has heard is stabled nearby and I wander next store to Barn 6 to meet another prominent three year named Street Sense

Kenny's Bright Spot

One of the brightest spots in Kenny McPeek’s life these days is stabled in a corner stall at Palm Meadows with a view, his name is Birdbirdistheword. . McPeek has trained some very good three-year olds during his career but rumor around the barn is that Kenny thinks Birdbird is as good or better than all of them. Better than Harlan’s Holiday? Sarava proved that Kenny McPeek doesn’t really care what other people think; he knows what he knows.

Why isn’t Birdbird getting more respect from the racing press? In Kenny’s mind Birdbird is a victim of what you might call “the Midwest bias” Every year it’s the big colts on the East and West coast that get all the attention and colts like Birdbird, whose biggest career win was the Delta Jackpot (G3) at Delta Downs, are thought to be second tier but his graded stakes earnings are definitely not second tier and it’s those earnings that guarantee Birdbird a berth at Churchill .

It’s Thursday morning and dawn is still a few minutes away; Kenny’s bright spot is happily gazing out of his stall watching his groom Roberto doing his morning chores. Roberto smiles easily but speaks little English but language is no barrier here, Birdbird knows the drill and looks just plain bored as Roberto prepares him for his morning gallop.


ROBERTO ABAMBRIZ

Down at the other end of the barn, Kenny’s day hasn’t started so well, three execise riders haven’t showed up yet and schedules may need to be shuffled. Attention to detail is the name of the game and no detail is overlooked from a loose bandage to a loose bowel movement.


BRAD EDWARDS, KENNY MCPEEK AND DAVID RUBIN

Kenny’s assistant Jesse Caudill minds the details as Birdbird is saddled and walked around the barn to stretch his legs.


JESSE CAUDILL

Birdibird is the big horse in this barn and his training takes priority; these days he works every six days. A few minutes later, Birdbird heads to the track for a gallop and a couple of groggy bloggers who are not used to being up at this hour follow behind.

Breakfast of Champions

I made a visit to Palm Meadows yesterday morning to meet Birdbirdistheword and his trainer Kenny McPeek and the Birdbird crew. Kenny and his entire staff went out of their way to accommodate us(David Rubin of Your Average Horse Player and Brad Edwards of Brad Buys a Yearling came along with me to visit).

Birdbird is a very kind horse who didn't mind us interupting his day. I have some video of Birdbird galloping and a rare interview with Birdbird himself. So please stay tuned for some interesting posts and videos here on Birdbirdblog.

There Was Something About Alan

Lucy and Randy Edwards (pictured here with Bertcha dam of Birdbirdistheword) are the breeders of Birdbirdistheword.

Birdbird did not always have such a long name. When being raised on the Edward's farm, which they call The Gambol, he was called Alan. The Gambol and sits on 17 1/2 acres about 20 miles northwest of Ocala and 5 miles south of Williston, Florida.

Lucy and Randy Edwards both work full-time jobs, Randy at Ocala Breeders Sales (OBS) while Lucy is a medical technologist with Florida's Blood Centers in Ocala. They have no employees and the work at The Gambol is split with Randy feeding in the morning and Lucy in the afternoon. When the foals arrive, they work together to handle them every evening. During breeding season their vet accommodates their schedules by coming early before Randy goes to work at OBS. A very dependable neighbor takes the mares to be bred.

Alan (center) and Bertcha (right)

The Edwards have eleven mares, up from nine last year as they bought two in October. One has foaled and there are eight more to go. They sold five foals in the October OBS sale and have just two yearling colts aimed for the August sale. They still own (with Sharon Biamonte) Berchta's two-year-old by Drewman who is going to OBS' April 2YO sale. Sharon preps and sells all their horses. While the amount of work isn't great (except when a horse(s) is sick or injured) it is relentless and tends to keep them home most of the time. When they travel, a another very dependable neighbor helps out.

The Edwards were kind enough to answer a few questions posed by Larry Green of Team Bird about themselves and life with Alan.

Q: Where did the nickname Alan come from?

A: The first thing that came to mind was Alan. Because he was so mild mannered and such a smart guy. Randy said: He seemed very intelligent and so the name.

Q: Did Alan stand out as a baby?

A: He really did stand out on the farm. He was long legged, graceful and moved so well.

Q: Was Alan independent or did he stay by his mares side?

A:: He was fairly independent and very inquisitive.

Q: How many horses do you have?

A: 11 broodmares.

Q: How long have you been in the horse business?

A: We bought 1/3 interest in a broodmare at the sale in 1996. Then in 1997 I bought some property and it took a while to clear it off. In 1999 we started buying our own brood mares.

Q: How did you pick Pure Prize to breed your mare to?

A: We bought the Berchta already in foal.

Q: What made you pick this mare?

A: We always look for mares that have raced and won or who are closely related to them. Berchta was a bonus as she was full sister to a G3 winner. I really did not know much about Pure Prize until I researched him prior to the sale and I really was impressed by his breeding. So we really felt that we had something special even before Alan was born. And Berchta was the only mare in the sale in foal to Pure Prize.

Q: Do you still own Berchta?

A: Yes. She is currently in foal to Lido Palace and is due any day now.

Q: What are your future plans with Berchta?

A: We definitely plan to breed her back to Pure Prize.

Q: Who are your all time favorite race horses?

A: Definitely Birdbirdistheword and I would say Secretariat.

Q: Do you race horses?

A: No we do not but may in the near future.