MINE THAT BIRD - Blessed and Honored by fans in Roswell
Roswell,
NM - Thursday, September 10, 2009
Mine That Bird gazed at the priest dressed in a white and murmuring a prayer in front of him. “I’ve never blessed a Kentucky Derby winner before,” the priest said. “They never taught me how to do this in the seminary.”
After a short invocation and a few quick splashes of holy water on his mane, Mine That Bird was finally ready to accept the city of Roswell’s gift to him.
Several thousand people visited Double Eagle Ranch during the five hour open house in Roswell, NM, to catch a glimpse of their home-town hero "Mine That Bird". As part of the celebration City Councilor Art Sandoval announced to the crowd that May 2 would from now on officially be known as Mine That Bird Day.
“It’s a privilege to train a horse like him, you know,” Chip Woolley said. “They come along so very seldom that it’s truly a blessing to have one and get the opportunity to go the places he has taken us, and be involved in the kind of racing that he gets to run in.”
Woolley said Mine That Bird has always stood out in a crowded stable. He showed signs of being special long before he won the Kentucky Derby.
“He had already won four in a row up in Canada before we bought him, so we knew he was something special when we bought him, but as time went on, he proved to be even more special than we really thought,” Woolley said.
Mine That Bird is owned by Dr. Leonard Blach and Mark Allen. Both men agreed that if memorabilia such as hats, posters, shirts and pictures were sold to commemorate the event and that the proceeds from the sale would go to local charities.
Allen said that he and Blach care deeply about protecting New Mexico’s children and wanted to contribute to the cause.
“We had a few ideas but Doc (Blach) came up with the domestic violence one,” Allen said. “... We try to do we all we can. One portion (of the proceeds) will go to fight breast cancer and we’ll donate all we can to domestic violence (charities).”
Allen said that Mine That Bird has many fans that range in age from adults who appreciate his beauty and speed, to children who name their stick horses after him. Public attention and appreciation for the gelding has increased immensely since the day he made history on the Kentucky Derby racetrack, however, most people still aren’t aware of just how rare a horse he is, Allen said.
“You get one, maybe two of these a lifetime,” Allen said. “It takes a lot to find one.”