Matthew Stockman / Getty Images

Jockey Calvin Borel and Mine That Bird cross the finish line to win the 135th Kentucky Derby.

First they sent Mine That Bird to trainer Richard Mandella to run in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile against the toughest 2-year-olds in the U.S. That didn’t work out so well, as Mine That Bird finished 12th in the 12-horse field, beaten by 9¾ lengths.

That was excusable, given the level of competition, but the results in his next two races at Sunland Park in New Mexico confounded the owners and Woolley, who had assumed training duties.

“I was really disappointed in both our races this summer,” he said. “He ran well, but he didn’t run up to  snuff, not for the kind of colt he is.”

Despite the disappointing results, owners and trainer decided to press on to Louisville to take a flyer at the biggest dream in horse racing — the Kentucky Derby.

Woolley packed Mine That Bird into a van and drove himself and his horse to Kentucky, stopping at Lone Star Park in Texas to allow the gelding to stretch his legs on the track before setting off again. Once they arrived, the run of adversity began to shift.

For starters, Mine That Bird really seemed to like the racing surface at Churchill, particularly when the rain began to fall.

“The horse had never been in the mud at all until we got here, but … it was like it was born to run here when it was dry,” Woolley said. “And when it was wet, it looked even better. The horse just really skipped over the top of it.”

Borel said that was instrumental in Saturday’s victory, as Mine That Bird’s diminutive stature turned into a plus on the sloppy track that was becoming tiring as it dried out.

“He’s such a little horse, he just skipped across the track, where I thought some of the other horses were digging into it,” Borel said.

The advantage of being the little guy on campus was even bigger when it came time to make the bold move up the rail that won the race.

When Borel asked the question, Mine That Bird responded and shot through the narrowest of gaps along the fence, actually hitting the rail at least twice as he slipped through inside of stunned opponents.

Asked if he had any doubts that his mount could thread those needles, Borel said he did not.

“He had enough room,” he said. “He’s a small horse.”

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