BIRDSTONE

Horsephotos

Breeding: Grindstone - Dear Birdie (Trempolino)
Breeder: Marylou Whitney Stables
State: Kentucky
Owner: Marylou Whitney Stables
Trainer: Nick Zito
Jockey: Edgar Prado
2004 Record: 3 1-0-0 $36,600
Career Record: 6 3-0-0 $375,600
3-year-old wins: AllowNw2x (Gulfstream).
2-year-old wins: Champagne-G1 (Belmont); MSW (Saratoga).
Best Beyer: 99 (sprint)
Most Recent Races: 5/1 - 8th in Kentucky Derby-G1 (Churchill Downs); 3/20 - 5th in Lane's End-G2 (Turfway); 2/14 - 1st in AllowNW2X (Gulfstream); 10/4 - 1st in Champagne-G1 (Belmont).
Next Race: 6/5 - Belmont Stakes-G1 (Belmont).
Dosage Profile: 3-4-9-0-2
Dosage Index: 1.77
Center of Distribution: 0.33
Homebred

The Skinny
He was one of Zito's big Derby hopes after his Champagne win at Belmont last year, but the little colt hasn't shown the necessary Beyer improvement as a three-year-old. Zito and Bailey complained long and loud about the track condition at Turfway before and after Birdstone's disappointing fifth-place finish in the Lane's End, and the son of Grindstone caught another sticky substance in Louisville. He was pinched back at the start of the Derby, and was bounced around for the first eighth of a mile or so while getting tons of mud kicked into his face. Never really threatened, but has been given time to regroup while Smarty Jones and others went to work in the Preakness. Doesn't seem to have the build of a mile-and-a-half runner, and he has yet to match his debut Beyer (earned as a two-year-old at Saratoga). Still, he is only one of two Grade 1 winners in the Belmont lineup (we all know who the other is). Needs improvement in order to crash the Smarty Party.

- Dan Illman
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