Ravens

NEW YORK (CBS) ― Summer Bird has won the Belmont Stakes, rallying past Mine That Bird to spoil jockey Calvin Borel's attempt at winning all three legs of the Triple Crown.

Mine That Bird, with Borel aboard, came from last to take the lead right before the final turn. But Summer Bird galloped to the front and pulled away Saturday.

Borel won the Kentucky Derby aboard Mine That Bird, then made the unprecedented jump to superstar filly Rachel Alexandra for the Preakness.

Summer Bird beat Dunkirk by 2 3/4 lengths, with Mine That Bird third.

Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird arrived at Belmont Park on Wednesday after a plane ride from Louisville, hours after being made the 2-1 favorite in a field of 10 3-year-olds for the 1 1/2-mile Belmont. The Derby winner drew the No. 7 post position for the longest and most grueling the Triple Crown races.

Charitable Man, who missed the Derby and the Preakness but won the Peter Pan Stakes at Belmont on May 9, had been the second choice at 3-1. He drew the No. 6 post, and will be ridden by Alan Garcia, winner of last year's Belmont with 38-1 long shot Da' Tara.

 "I thought I was home free," he said, "but the other horses galloped by."

They sure did.

With the crowd of 52,861 cheering on the leaders in the stretch, Mine That Bird passed Dunkirk. But it was Summer Bird who pulled away from them both for a 2 3/4-length victory, with Dunkirk second and Mine That Bird a neck back in third in the field of 10 3-year-olds

The upset ended Borel's bid to become the first jockey to win a personal Triple Crown, and he failed to deliver on a guarantee of victory in the Belmont Stakes. Borel won the Kentucky Derby aboard Mine That Bird, then took the Preakness with the filly Rachel Alexandra.

Summer Bird, sent off at 11-1 odds, gave jockey Kent Desormeaux a Belmont victory he desperately wanted.

"I hope from now on we'll talk about winning one," Desormeaux said.

Last year, he won the Derby and Preakness aboard Big Brown, only to have to pull up the colt in the Belmont. And in 1998, he brought Real Quiet into the Belmont for a Triple try only to get beat by Victory Gallop by a nose in a heartbreaking defeat.

Charitable Man was fourth Saturday, followed by Luv Gov, Flying Private, Brave Victory, Mr. Hot Stuff, Chocolate Candy and Miner's Escape.

There was an inquiry filed by Charitable Man's jockey Alan Garcia against Dunkirk for interference, but it was disallowed by the racing stewards.

The winning time for the 1 1/2 miles was 2:27.54.

The Triple Crown season ended the way it started -- with an upset. Mine That Bird was all but discounted in the Derby, but won at 50-1 odds -- and his 6 3/4-length winning margin was the largest in 63 years. Two weeks later, Borel was obligated to ride Rachel Alexandra in the Preakness for new owner Jess Jackson, and the filly beat Mine That Bird by a length. Jackson said last week Rachel Alexandra would be given a rest and not run in the Belmont.

In the Belmont, Mine That Bird was sent off as the 6-5 favorite, but he seemed a bit more frisky than usual in the paddock and on the walk through the tunnel to the track. And he was a little too eager in the race, pulling Borel into contention sooner than anyone expected.

"He might have been a hair higher today coming in here, just a little more amped up," Mine That Bird trainer Chip Woolley said, "but overall he was the same horse I led up in the Derby. He ran a great race and just got beat, and you have to accept that and go on."

Summer Bird, meanwhile, looked almost regal before the start. The chestnut son of 2004 Belmont winner Birdstone -- yes, the same sire as Mine That Bird -- took the rail route usually the trademark of a Borel ride before breaking outside and into the clear.

"The colt broke like a rocket," Desormeaux said. "He absolutely dragged me around the race track. I had an armchair ride until I found some room. I found room."

Summer Bird won the Belmont in just his fifth career start. Owned by Drs. Kalarikkal and Vilasini Jayaraman, the colt did not run as a 2-year-old. In his third start, he was a closing third in the Arkansas Derby and came back and was a closing sixth in the Derby -- 13 lengths behind Mine That Bird.

Summer Bird, trained by the recently licensed Tim Ice, returned $25.80. $9.30 and $4.70. Dunkirk paid $5.40 and $3.60, and Mine That Bird returned $2.60 to show.

Ice seemed stunned by his colt's accomplishment, which came on the trainer's 35th birthday. As he walked into the postrace news conference, he was serenaded with a rendition of "Happy Birthday."

"Right now it's just unexplainable," he said. "If my career goes nowhere from here, I've got a Belmont win."

Once again, the "Test of the Champion," prevented a little Triple Crown history. While a Triple Crown wasn't on the line for a horse, Borel was certain he'd pull off an unprecedented Triple of his own.

But for now, the Belmont remains a race usually reserved for long shots. The favorite has won only six of the last 30 runnings of the longest and most grueling of the Triple Crown races.

"He was tired. He was used, but he looked all right," Woolley said. "We're a little down, disappointed right now. He ran a great race. It's been a lot of fun. We'll give him a good eight weeks off and let him freshen up."

(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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