Desormeaux swoops late to win battle of the 'Birds'

ELMONT, New York (Reuters) - Jockey Kent Desormeaux and Summer Bird proved that timing is everything when they capitalized on an early move by favorite Mine That Bird with a late charge to win Saturday's Belmont Stakes.

Summer Bird, the race's unheralded other offspring of 2004 Belmont winner Birdsong, beat Kentucky Derby champion Mine That Bird at his own game by roaring down the stretch to overtake the gelding.

Running his third race in five weeks, 6/5 favorite Mine That Bird may have shown the effects of the Triple Crown grind when he began his charge early, heading into the turn for home, and took the lead before fading to third at the wire.

"I thought I had it won when I got to the quarter pole," said rider Calvin Borel, who was denied a unique jockey Triple Crown sweep after hopping off Mine That Bird to steer filly Rachel Alexandra to victory in the Preakness.

"He took me a little earlier," Borel conceded after the mile and a half test. "He ran a good race. I don't think he got tired.

"I might have let him get up earlier but I wasn't going to take the race out of him. Turning for home, I thought he was home-free. He ran his heart out. I put him in position to win, and we just got out-run."

MOVED EARLY

Mine That Bird trainer Chip Woolley conceded: "We're a little down, disappointed right now. I thought he might have moved a hair early."

The time was right at last for Desormeaux, who had Triple Crown hopes dashed twice before in the final leg and was 0-for-6 in the Belmont.

Last year with Big Brown and in 1998 with Real Quiet, Desormeaux came to Belmont hoping to complete a classic sweep but came away disappointed.

This time when he called on 11/1 shot Summer Bird, who had won once in four career starts for India-born owners doctors Kalarikkal and Vilasini Jayaraman, the colt responded.

"I was like, 'How am I going to catch him?'" Desormeaux said about becoming aware of Mine That Bird's early move. "He's already in front of me.

"But when I did get that opportunity, this colt just laid down and took off. He really exploded the last 500 yards and there was never any doubt... he had dead aim on the leaders."

Dunkirk, the co-second choice at 9/2, ran from the front throughout the race.

After being overtaken down the stretch, he edged ahead by a neck for second place ahead of Mine That Bird, who had charged from last to first to win the Derby as a 50/1 outsider and finished a fast-closing second by one length in the Preakness.

(Editing by John O'Brien; To query or comment on this story emailsportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)