The little horses that could -Seabiscuit and Mine That Bird

There are two horses that are well known, that were not the average size of a racehorse, but could run just as fast as their much larger competitors. These little ponies, as I call them, showed that being the largest does not mean you are the fastest, and that size does not matter as long as they have the heart for running. Let me introduce Seabiscuit- who beat the historic War Admiral, and his counter part Mine That Bird- 2009 Kentucky Derby 50-1 longshot.

Seabiscuit


Remember the story about the little engine that could? Seabiscuit was one of those horses who few thought would be as successful as he was, mainly because of his size. Seabiscuit was born on May 23, 1933 out of the sire Hardtack ( by Man O War) and dam Swing On. Hardtack was known for his bad temper that hampered his racing career. Hard Tack, in one race refused to run and stood still while the other horses broke out the gate.

Hard Tack photo

Seabiscuit's name came from a type of cracker that sailors used to eat, and also named after his father- (the cracker sailors ate used to be hard to eat , hince the name works for both his sire and the cracker ) Owned by Gladys Phipps, the bay colt grew up on Clairborne Farm in Kentucky. While he was residing at the farm, the colt was undersized, knobby -kneed, and spent most of his time sleeping. His first trainer was Sunny Fitzsimmons who had recently trained Gallant Fox to his successful career as a racehorse. Fitzsimmons saw some potential in him as a racehorse but also thought he was lazy. Seabiscuit's racing career started off badly, with him losing his first 10 starts , and training him became an afterthought. Seabiscuit had a very long 2 year campaign, with him running 35 times- most of these were claiming races, which the biscuit was not claimed in any of them. After failing to please Fitzsimmons, the colt was sold to Mr Howard for $8000, which would be a bargain in today's racing world.

Heres a picture of the biscuit as a colt- he wasnt the prettiest to look at, didnt have the perfect stature, but he proved to be successful later on!

After his awful and highly unsuccessful 2 year old campaign, the colt was transferred to Tom Smith, who was known for his unorthodox training methods, and some viewed him as the horse whisperer. He saw that the colt was lazy but was determined to break him of his laziness. He gave Seabiscuit a new jockey by the name of Red Pollard, who was a successful rider in Mexico and in the West. Pollardwas not the average size jockey , being 5'7 but was successful in his career. In Seabiscuit's first race with the new trainer and jockey, he failed to impress anyone, and he lost. Smith did not give up and the colt continued to improve race by race and won several races including the Detroit Governor's handicap. In 1937, Smith entered Seabiscuit into the Santa Anita Handicap, where he lost by a nose to Rosemont. Over his 3 year old campaign, he won 11 out of 15 races but was given Horse Of The Year ( War Admiral won the award because he was the triple crown winner of 1937)

As a 5 year old , he proved he could still win, but unfortunately his jockey suffered a horrific injury after falling off another of Howard's horses in a race.

Red Pollard suffered a crushed chest, broken arm, broken ribs and broken legs and asked his friend George Woolf to become the rider of Seabiscuit. With Woolf aboard he placed 2nd again by a nose in the Santa Anita Handicap and won a match race against Ligaroti.

Seabiscuit's biggest race and most well known race came on November 1, 1938 against War Admiral. War Admiral was the triple crown winner and heavily favored to win the match race against Seabiscuit because of his long stride, and fast break from the gate. War Admiral was also bigger than Seabiscuit- being 16.5 hands, Seabiscuit was 15. 2 hands. Seabiscuit won this race by an astounding 4 1/2 lengths with Woolf riding him. As a result of the victory and the margin of victory in this race, Seabiscuit finally received the much deserved Horse of The Year title for 1938.

As a six year old, Seabiscuit suffered an injury that was thought to be career ending but he made a come back and won a few races before being retired to stud in April of 1939. What makes this horse so special is the fact that he won so many races, against some of the top horses of the 1930s, including War Admiral. He proved that size did not matter and sometimes being the biggest does not mean you are the best.

We had a "Seabiscuit" in 2009, and his name was Mine that Bird- the horse who pulled a 50-1 longshot in the Kentucky Derby.

In 2009 , the world saw a historic Kentucky Derby upset given by 50-1 longshot Mine that Bird. Like Seabiscuit, Mine that bird was smaller than his competitors, being around 15 hands tall.

His sire was Birdstone who upset 2003 Kentucky Derby winner and triple crown hopeful Smarty Jones, and his dam was Mining my own ( out of Smart Strike). In his two year old campaign , he was trained by Canadien trainer David Cotey, and was ridden by Chantelle Sutherland. He won 4 of 6 starts and went to the BC Juvenile , placing last. At age 3, he was transferred to trainer Chip Woolley, who trained horses in New Mexico and in his first two starts as a 3 year old he placed 2nd and 4th. Because he had enough graded earnings to make the derby field, Mr Woolley attached a horse trailer to his truck, loaded the colt , and headed to Louisville Ky.
On derby day 2009, it was a cloudy , rainy day, with a very sloppy track. One of the favorites in the derby ( I Want Revenge) , was scratched after a hot spot on his foot was found. Mine that Bird was given odds of 50-1 and most betters and handicappers overlooked him as having no shot on winning the derby. In the derby, Mine that Bird ended up being so far back that the announcer, Tom Durkin failed to even mention him. I remember watching this on tv and thinking , who the heck is that?. Ridden by Calvin Borel ( or BORAIL) , Mine that Bird made his way through horses and broke on the rail winning the race. It was such a shocking win, that Tom Durkin failed to realize Mine that Bird winning by 6 1/2 lengths, he was too focused on the other horses vying for the lead. He later went on to place 2nd in the Preakness by Horse of The Year, Rachel Alexandra and 3rd in the Belmont Stakes. He was retired in 2010 after failing to win in his 4 yr old campaign and currently resides in New Mexico.
It wasnt the fact that he won the derby that made this horse so special, it was how he won and how much he won by. Calvin rode this horse perfectly, and was very patient with him. If you look at Mine that Bird's pedigree, it speaks possibility of winning . His sire was Birdstone, the same horse who upset Smarty Jones, and he has several notable horses in his bloodline such as Smart Strike( sire of Curlin ( Preakness winner and 2 time horse of year) , Looking at Lucky ( Preakness winner) , Papa Clem,) Storm Bird ( sire of Storm Cat, Thunder Gulch ( who won the derby) , Northern and Native Dancer, and Mr Prospector.

What I learned from Mine That Bird, is any horse can win the derby and maybe if you see some big names such as Native Dancer, Smart Strike etc, you should pick him on that and not just his size. Both Seabiscuit and Mine that Bird taught us that size really doesnt matter in horse racing or in life.