Allen In As Jockey For Mine That Bird

The ongoing sage of the pilot of Mine That Bird appears to have been rectified, if only for two races.

Mike Smith, who narrowly was edged out by Calvin Borel and Rachel Alexandra while riding Mine That Bird in the Preakness Stakes has agreed to take the mount for the Kentucky Derby winner for the $750,000 West Virginia Derby at Mountaineer Park on August 1 and the $1 million Shadwell Travers on August 29.

Calvin Borel rode Mine That Bird to victory in the Kentucky Derby, but jumped to Rachel Alexandra for the second leg of the Triple Crown. It marked the first time that a winning jockey in the Kentucky Derby chose to spurn the winning horse in favor of a challenger.

Borel had a history with the filly, riding her to an incredible victory in the Kentucky Oaks which preceded the Kentucky Derby by one day.

As Rachel Alexandra’s owners mulled over her running in the Belmont, Borel hedged his bet and only committed to Mine That Bird after the filly had pulled out. Borel firmly grasped his recurring role as jockey of Mine That Bird to predict victory in the Belmont, but he came in third.

Borel’s bet hedging caused the ire of Mine That Bird’s co-owner who instituted a deadline for Borel to commit prior to the Belmont and later backtracked from it. But he decided not to go down that road again and announced last week that Borel would not ride Mine That Bird in any subsequent races.

Mike Smith also spurned Mine That Bird, but because of a commitment he made to race a horse across the country on the same day as the Belmont before agreeing to pinch hit for Borel in the Preakness.

Allen has stated that he hopes Smith can make a commitment through the BC Classic, but the Hall-of-Fame jockey has not yet committed because he may have a shot to race the undefeated Zenyatta in the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic in November.

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