Birdstone’s success continues to celebrate Marylou Whitney
By Stan Hudy
The Birdstone celebrates just its ninth-running on Friday at 1 and ¾-miles on the dirt.
Owned by Marylou Whitney Stables, LLC the 2004 Travers winner, bringing the late Marylou Whitney back to the winner’s circle, a month after her traditional entry as the host of this weekend’s Whitney.
Birdstone knew how to win, winning five times in nine starts, earning more than $1.5 million in his career, finishing his career at the Breeder’s Cup Classic at Lone Star in 2004.
Prior to his retirement, Birdstone captured the Belmont Stakes with Edgar Prado up after a sixthplace finish in the Kentucky Derby after throwing a shoe during the race. Birdstone broke his maiden at Saratoga Race Course, capturing a 2003 Maiden Special Weight and finishing fourth in that year’s Hopeful Stakes (G1) and won his first stakes race in October, the Champagne Stakes (G3) at Belmont.
Birdstone currently stands at Gainesway Farm after a bone chip was detected in his ankle in 2004. To date he has sired two classic winners in his first crop: 2009 Kentucky Derby long shot winner Mine That Bird who earned more than $2.2 million in his 18 starts and 2009 Belmont Stakes, Travers and Jockey Cup Gold Stakes winner Summer Bird who earned more than $2.3 million in just nine starts. BANKROLL: $1,003.50 Some of my favorite days in the racing business came leading up to the 2016 Breeders’ Cup. I was on-site at Santa Anita handling social media for TVG, and even though that often meant I was rolling into the parking lot at about 5 a.m., I loved every second of it. This was largely due to the people who were there with me (ask me about when a private clocker went off on Neil Drysdale; that’s a great story for another time and place). The most respected member of that group, without question, was Richard Hazelton, who was there with his son Scott (the longtime HRTV and TVG reporter). It was a blast watching horses work while picking the brain of someone who won nearly 5,000 races over the course of a long career as a trainer. Richard Hazelton passed away Tuesday. He was 88 years old, and there’s no question he lived a full life. He was a credit to the sport, and the racing world is a lesser place without him in it. My sympathies go out to Scott, the entire Hazelton family, and to everyone who had the pleasure of spending some time with Richard over the years. WEDNESDAY’S RESULTS: Wednesday was the best day of the season for me in this section. We hit the eighth race exacta for $3, and the double connecting the seventh and eighth races for $4. In total, our $30 investment returned $253.50 and got us back in black for the meet. THURSDAY’S PLAY: I’m going to try to extract value from my best bet of the day with $10 doubles that start in the fifth. I’ll use #3 LUNE LAKE (my longshot of the day) and #7 GALADRIEL’S LIGHT to start, and I’ll finish by singling #3 GRAY NILE in the sixth. Additionally, because she’ll likely be a crazy price, I’ll put $2 across the board on Lune Lake as well. TOTAL WAGERED: $26