On Monday, Mine That Bird
worked for the first time since his fifth-place finish in the Grade 1 Whitney
Handicap. With the new addition of blinkers, last year’s Kentucky Derby winner
handled five furlongs in 1:00.40, handily.
“We put a set of blinkers on
him to get him more focused,” said Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas. “We
want to get him in the races a little quicker. He can’t drop way out of it and
make a run at the end because these horses don’t come back. They stay out
there.
“Blinkers on a horse usually
make them think more forwardly,” he added. “It usually makes a horse a little
more aggressive. He should get into his races a little quicker. I thought the
work was good being that he came home in 23 seconds flat.”
Lukas said that the 4-year-old
gelding is still being pointed for the Grade 1, $750,000 Woodward for older
horses going 1 1/8th miles on September 4.