MINE THAT BIRD...IS SUNLAND PARK AN ADVANTAGE

[jim10366]

IN reading some articles on Mine that Bird one in particular mentioned the obscurity of sunland park. something that stood out is that this location is 4000 feet above sea level.

this fact stood out a little. the physician in me says this might offer some advantages physiologically in increasing red blood cell mass. Essentially it would be a natural EPO shot.

The positive benefits and competitive advantages of high altitude training of been well documented in humans.

Could this explain the burst of energy this tiny horse seemed to display?

it might explain the fact that this horse did nothing when shipping from canada to sunland as it takes time for this physiological advantage to develop.


this is just a theory. i have no idea whether 3000 feet is high enough.

i am not a gambler and don't have any numbers.

but an easy way to prove or disprove this it would seem to be to look at data of sunland park horses shipping out to other racetracks to see if they "outperform others. "

[ratherrapid]

are you discounting Calvin Borel's ride?

[mightyhijames]

after reading the extensive discussion on another forum, i think the altitude was part of a perfect storm that came togther on derby day for this horse - high-altitude conditioning, the track surface, borel's ride, MTB's ability for a sustained run, his size - just my opinion. whether it will repeat in the preakness remains to be seen.

[ct2346]

...would think that if the prescription of altitude training was overarching, that Arapahoe Park would have reached greater prominence as a training center in years past?

[majxmom]

For years I had horses broke and trained in the Sierra foothills thinking the same things about the oxygen fitness. I never noticed anything particularly successful about that experiment.

Personally, I think Calvin Borel and the wet-fast conditions are the two principle factors in this form reversal. However, I would also like to point out that this horse was the Canadian 2yo champion, and then returned to form on a fairly cool day in KY. Maybe he didn't take to the warm conditions of Southern California and New Mexico, and like Funny Cide, ran well when he finally caught a cool day.

[Diane]

I'll go along with the NM altitude theory and add that racing in a hypoallergenic climate might be a benefit for some horses. My husband worked around Albuquerque for 3 months, came home to our own high desert and had an allergy+arthritis flare up. His doc joked that we should retire there. No thanks but having had vet bills and training delays from minor respiratory inflammation with mucous for horses at HP and SA makes me wonder.
Majxm, I've wondered if training in Tehachapi would be of any benefit b/c of that altitude but never heard anyone say a thing. Agree though that MTB had the stars aligned +.
Did anyone else note how calm he was while CB was getting interviewed? Like he was out in the park for a hack, what a cool little horse

[oliverstoned]

Haskin's article mentions the high altitude angle in an article at bloodhorse.com. The article says the red bood cell effect wears off after 14 days (when did MTB ship to CD?). Sounds like it may have been a factor to me.

[JimbleBrimble]

sunland park... is 4000 feet above sea level.

Dude, Sunland Park has always been 4000 feet above sea level.

Where have you been?

[zinn21]

I'm glad Sunland is getting some exposure for the part they played in this year's Derby. They have thrown tons of money into racing and up until, I believe, this year the Sunland Derby wasn't even Graded.

[Timber]

Yes, absolutely the Sunland Park Derby should be graded. It is a dirt track, the best in New Mexico, an $800,000 to $900,000 purse, great for a Derby prep. But old school politics and race tracks stand to lose, so there is resistance. As far as training at elevation, Mine That Bird who had been racing and training at Sunland Park was off the board in the Sunland Derby (4th) and some horses that shipped in from sea level (So. CA) beat him.

[jellac]

Diane said:

Did anyone else note how calm he was while CB was getting interviewed? Like he was out in the park for a hack, what a cool little horse

My thoughts exactly - what a 'cool dude' he was amidst the crowd and Bo-rail's over the top excitement after his amazing and historic accomplishment! Don't ya' jus' love a gelding

On the subject of a Sunland Park advantage b/c of his having trained at that altitude before coming to C.D. I heard in an interview that his trainer hauled him to Lone Star where he was overnighted and galloped before being loaded up and hauled on to C.D. I think a more likely aspect in this horse's success was Calvin Borel's very thoughtful ride after he got bumped and squeezed out at the start + the fact that in in MTB's prior starts I understand he'd pretty much been at/near the front from the get go. Maybe he's really more of a stalker/come from behind horse and circumstances set up to let him do what 'comes naturally' with the perfect navigator aboard to steer him through the crowd.