Say It Ain't So, Mike

So the latest news in ``As The Triple Crown Turns'' has jockey Mike Smith following the lead of Calvin Borel _ ride Mine That Bird in a Classic and say `See ya, got another horse to ride.'' You guys got something against geldings? Well, anyway, shame on you Mikey, you Hall of Fame nogoodnick. While Borel had a semi-legit case for jilting Mine That Bird for super filly Rachel Alexandra after he won the Kentucky Derby aboard the gritty, little gelding (she's a better horse, proved it by winning the Preakness, plus he was her regular rider and she didn't run in the Derby), Smith gets absolutely no support here. And what a lame excuse: I already made a commitment to ride a horse named Madeo in the Charles Whittingham Memorial Handicap at Hollywood Park on Belmont day (June 6) before agreeing to take over for Borel and ride Mine That Bird in the Preakness. A commitment? In racing? Balderdash. Smith said that he's being loyal to Madeo's trainer John Shirreffs and owners Jerry and Ann Moss. Yes, they were responsible for him getting to ride 50-1 shot Giacomo to a Derby win in 2005, and he is the regular rider for the Mosses' Zenyatta but c'mon! I certainly can't believe Sheriffs _ one of the most laid-back dudes in the game _ or the Mr. A&M Record founder Moss _ would have a problem if Smith asked to stick with Mine That Bird, who is certain to be the favorite to win the Belmont and earn $600,000 (Smith gets about 10 percent of that). Who knows? Sherriffs may have even given him that option.
Mine That Bird's trainer Chip Woolley _ a New Mexico-based trainer heretofore virtually unknown outside the Land of Enchantment _ has to be wondering what the heck is going on? His horse wins the Derby and Borel vamooses and beats him aboard Rachel Alexandra; now Smith is ditching the horse to ride at home in some nondescript race in California. Hey Edgar Prado, looking for a nice horse in the Belmont?