By Howard Koplowitz
Jason Goldberg was confident as to which horse was going to win the Belmont Stakes about two hours before racetime.
The bird is gonna fly again! Goldberg proclaimed, referring to Mine That Bird, the pre-race favorite ridden by Calvin Borel, who had a shot to become the first jockey to win the Triple Crown by saddling two different horses.
Borel made his move on Mine That Bird, with about 1/4 mile to go in the 1 1/2-mile race and was in front of the 11-horse field, but came up short and finished third behind Dunkirk and 11-to-1 longshot Summer Bird — the half-brother of Mine That Bird.
Mine That Bird and Summer Bird were both sired by the Belmont Stakes-winning longshot Birdstone, trained by Ozone Park resident Nick Zito.
Borel rode Mine That Bird to victory as a 60-to-1 longshot at the Kentucky Derby. He then saddled Rachel Alexandra in the Preakness Stakes to a win as the favorite. Rachel Alexandras owners chose to sit her out of the Belmont, leading Borel to get back on Mine That Bird.
The Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes, along with the Belmont Stakes, comprise the three jewels in horse racings Triple Crown.
Dressed in seersucker suits, sundresses and straw hats, the crowd was on their feet as Summer Bird made the final push toward the finish line.
My heart was racing a bit, said Rob Yavor, who drove to the track from Cleveland, just to hear [the horses] coming around the final turn.
Yavor, who made a bet on Mine That Bird, said he did not let the disappointing loss ruin his enthusiasm.
My winning comes from the excitement and the experience, he said. I lost monetarily, I won in life.
Summerbirds finish shocked the crowd, but not a Brooklyn resident who asked to be identified as G-Speed and put down $100 on the longshot for a $1,100 profit.
His fathers Birdstone, G-Speed said as his friends chanted his name.
I told all these guys, I dont know whos gonna win the Derby, but Im telling you, Summerbird is gonna win the Belmont. No doubt, he said.
He attributed his winning pick to what he called the G-Speed formula.
Its a mathematical formula that I invented right before War Emblem won the Preakness, he said, referring to the .
The atmosphere was laid back in the hours leading up to the race as groups of friends, some of whom had arrived at the track as early as 8 a.m., lounged on grassy areas outside Belmont Park
Betting strategies ranged from using in-depth analysis to picking the horse with the most interesting name.
Im Scottish, the name is Scottish, I picked it, said Caroline Hamilton on her choice of Dunkirk.
Flying Private because eight is my favorite number, said Lake Grove, L.I., resident Patrick Toro.
Lindsey Brown of Levittown, L.I., said she was drawn to Chocolate Candy.
Its got a fabulous name and its sponsored by Jenny Craig, which is hilarious, she said.
Spectators were mixed as to whether Borel should have been considered a Triple Crown champion if Mine That Bird was victorious.
One jockey, one horse. Just like in [the movie] Seabiscuit, said Long Island City resident Kyle Trodden.
Charlie Renfro of Brooklyn, decked out in an all-white suit and tie and a black top hat, said he would not have considered Borel a Triple Crown winner if he had gone on to be successful.
Its kind of like a faux Triple Crown, he said.
Im pulling for the horse, not the jockey, Brown said before the Belmont Stakes was underway. He abandoned ship and then when Rachel Alexandra dropped out, he was on Mine That Bird.
Reach reporter Howard Koplowitz by e-mail at hkoplowitz@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 173.
