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2009 Belmont Stakes Results

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The Other Bird, Summer Bird, Wins 2009 Belmont Stakes

Just when it looked like Mine That Bird was going to pull a 'Big Brown' at the Belmont Stakes and end up dead last, jockey Calvin Borel did what he could to take his horse from last to...third. Dunkirk, the Todd Pletcher trained horse, took second place. But the story of the day belongs to the other bird, Summer Bird, the first horse to cross the finish line. For jockey Kent Desormeaux, who was denied the Triple Crown win last year riding Big Brown, the trophy here at Belmont Park is his first. And many would say that it is a well deserved win.

But for the man who had a triple crown of his own on the line, jockey Calvin Borel, it was just not meant to be. Everything that went right for Borel during the Kentucky Derby aboard Mine That Bird, went wrong for him today.

"He was fighting it just a little bit," jockey Calvin Borel said on Mine That Bird. "I didn't want to fight him too much."

Kent Desormeaux Finally Wins Belmont Stakes with Summer Bird

The 2009 Belmont Stakes may have been the third and final jewel of the 2009 Triple Crown, but in no way did it prove to be any less spectacular than the first two races. A first-class thriller from start to finish, the 2009 Belmont Stakes delivered big time excitement with the other bird, Summer Bird, crossing the finish line first. Dunkirk placed second and Mine That Bird took third.

Here's how it all unfolded...

Right from the gate horses and jockeys from all post positions made a valiant effort to take the lead. But with only a few hundred meters to go, jockey Kent Desormeaux (who you may remember from last year's Triple Crown run with Big Brown), held off challenges from Dunkirk and Mine That Bird to win his first Belmont Stakes.

"Last year's Belmont was like swallowing a spoon sideways," Desormeaux said. "What a tough pill to swallow."

Mine That Bird led on the backstretch but appeared to run out of gas at the very end and had to settle for third. Trainer Chip Woolley had this to say on his horse's third place finish. "He might have been a hair higher, but overall he was the same colt that ran in the Derby. He just got beat and you have to accept that."

Bred by owners Kalarikkal and Vilasini Jayaraman out of the mare Hong Kong Squall, a daughter of 1990 Preakness winner Summer Squall, Summer Bird has raced only four times in his entire career.

And on the big win, trainer Tim Ice had this to say: "If my career goes nowhere from here, I have a Belmont win and you can't take that away from me," he said.

Summer Bird paid $25.80, $9.30 and $4.70 for a $2 bet. The 2009 Belmont Stakes featured a $1 million purse, with the winner taking $620,000, second place takes home $200,000, and the third place finisher makes off with $100,000 on the day.