Summer Bird went out for another run this past weekend and wasn’t really pushed at all with Kent Desormeaux piloting him to a 1:02.37 five furlongs. Bird had been clocked at 59.99 earlier over five furlongs and that was apparently a bit fast for for Ice, whom ESPN quoted as saying “WE just wanted to slow him down… Today was more getting him to relax and let him finish.”

Quality Road has been training in Elmont as well and looks set to take a spot in the race, which should feature a total of six horses. This will be Summer Bird’s first go at older colts and we’ll see if he can match up against Woodward runner-up Macho Again- who put in a hell of a late charge against Rachel Alexandra.

Macho Again is owned by West Point Thoroughbreds and is a really quality runner.

Trainer Chip Woolley declared “It’s a perfect situation for us… Hopefully, it’ll be the pairing we’re looking for.” Borel is currently training with Mine That Bird and took him for a 51.16 four-furlong workout this morning on the main track at Saratoga. Borel had opted out of Mine That Bird during the West Virginia Derby where he opted to ride Warrior’s Reward in the Jim Dandy Stakes, finishing second. Had Mine That Bird run in the Travers Stakes, Mike Smith would have been piloting.

Mine That Bird and Summer Bird bare some real similarities beyond just the lineage (both come from Birdstone) but Mine That Bird’s explosive pushes down the stretch are his defining feature. Summer Bird is an excellent stretch horse as well, although maybe a notch below Mine- who I find is a bit better in heavy traffic. However, I’m positive that Summer Bird is the better all-around horse who can dictate a race, as opposed to Mine That Bird who requires a specific set of circumstances to be successful.

Either way, it’s going to be an incredible few months in the build-up to the $5,000,000 Breeders Cup Classic. There will be so many big-name superstars running in that race, but I have a feeling it really could come down to these two plucky three year-olds.

As we get closer and closer to the 2009 Travers Stakes at Saratoga, it’s becoming more and more clear that this race is absolutely wide open. Summer Bird is attracting lots of attention and his trainer Tim Ice spoke to the media earlier today declaring that “He looks like the same horse that I had before the Belmont; he’s been training very strong.” Despite losing to Superfilly Rachel Alexandra in the August 2nd Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park, Ice declared that “he has no quit in him.”

Summer Bird is current listed as the 3-1 second choice behind former Kentucky Derby favourite Quality Road. From this perspective, you would have to say that the early favourite is Quality Road, but Summer Bird’s ability to go hard over a distance could prove to be his saving grace in the Travers.

Mine That Bird has been officially pulled out due to some swelling following his surgery for an entrapped epiglottis. Chip Woolley decided to error on the side of caution and not risk the horses future by running in the 10 furlong dash at Saratoga.

As it currently stands, Quality Road is the current 8/5 favourite in a field of seven vying for their share of the $1,000,000 purse. My main issue with Quality Road is that he has only run once in nearly five months- his last outing being a win in the Grade 2 Amsterdam Stakes which was a 6.5 furlong contest. For his previous race, you’d need to go back to March 28 when he won the Florida Derby.

Kensei, a stablemate of Rachel Alexandra will attempt to bring some more excitement to Stonestreet Stables and she’s currently 7/2 and will be coming out of the sixth spot.

Calvin Borel will be piloting Warrior’s Reward and he’s an interesting bet at 8/1- the same price as Charitable Man. The odds are propped up by Hold Me Back and Our Edge, who both trade at 15/1.

Interestingly enough, should Rachel pull off another astounding victory, many think this could be her all-time greatest triumph. A filly has never won the Grade 1 Woodward and it will be Rachel’s first time running against older colts. While she has successfully taken on the boys in the Haskell Invitational and the Preakness, she has only run against 3 year-olds.

Her latest training session had her pulling a very impressive 1:11.84 over six furlongs. She pulled up a mile in 1:41.89.

The stable has opted to place Jim Dandy and Dwyer winner Kensei in the Travers in lieu of Rachel Alexandra. Edgar Prado is confirmed to ride.

There’s a bit of friction from some horseracing fans that Rachel is being pointed to the Woodward. Frankly, some of them think her Preakness victory flattered to deceive and that the Travers would be a proper test of this filly’s true skill. Personally, I think this is the right option for Rachel at the right time. It’s not like they’re going to retire her at the end of the year, and she has already beaten a number of the runners in the Travers already. I am confiden that she will be listed as the odds-on favourite for the Woodward and she will be the top end of nearly all my exotics on the day.

There have been rumours circulating that Rachel Alexandra is being prepped for an appearance here ahead of a possible showdown with Zenyatta in October. Either way, this looks to be one of the strongest races we will likely see outside of the Triple Crown or the 2009 Breeders at Santa Anita.

In a training session on August 16th, Quality Road put in a very solid-looking 1:12:76 over six furlongs over Saratoga’s main track. Quality Road picked up the Grade 2 Amsterdam Stakes over a field of six that included Captain Candyman Can. We all remember Quality Road making headlines on Derby day with a morning scratch seemingly undoing all of his momentum he’d gained earlier in the year when he triumphed in the Grade 1 Florida Derby and the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth Stakes- both run at Gulfstream. The only splotch on his record came in January, also at Gulfstream, where he finished 2nd in an allowance race to Theregoesjojo. He got his revenge over Theregoesjojo in the Fountain of Youth.

Quality Road looked like he didn’t miss a beat, and with some higher profile names soaking up much of the parimutuel action, I could see him being a very juicy shot come post-time.

Mine That Bird doesn’t need an introduction. The Derby champ produced the miracle in the mud at Churchill Downs, shocking the world with a 50-1 victory. However, he remains winless the rest of the year with his most recent disappointment at the West Virginia Derby at Mountaineer where he finished 3rd to Soul Warrior. This is the type of horse that needs a bit of help to win- he needs a clear path and the absence of another good closer, but when the stars aline- there’s no finer gelding over the final 1.5 furlongs. He came out of surgery today for an entrapped epiglottis and his trainer Chip Wooley says he won’t miss a beat. I’m tempted to believe him.

Charitable Man had a lot of press behind him at one point heading into the Belmont Stakes, where he was expected to produce a real performance. He’d just struck in the Grade 2 Peter Pan Stakes over the same surface just a month beforehand, but he was undone by the finishing power of Summer Bird. That race would have been Rachel’s for breakfast had she lined up for it.

Summer Bird put in as good a shift as you could ask for during the Haskell Invitational at Monmouth, a race where I not only hit the winner, but the straight triactor. It was a fairly predictable race, but not many put the Belmont winner ahead of the Preakness winner that day. It was Rachel’s show and Summer Bird knew it. I think the distance for the Travers suits Summer Bird’s style, although he may have wanted an extra furlong or so. I think he’s a contender.

And that leaves us with Rachel. Not many of us are unfamiliar with this powerhouse filly and we all know that it’s hard to handicap this race until we get a line on whether she’ll make an appearance or not. Her record shows that she’s beatable, but on this surface at this point in the season… God, this one is anyone’s guess.