Summer Bird turns in 'great' workout

Summer Bird, the 3-year-old son of Birdstone who is one of the most improving horses in the country, worked five furlongs over Santa Anita's synthetic Pro-Ride surface in 1:00.45 between the thrd and fourth races Sunday in preparation for a start in the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic on Nov. 7.

The winner of the Belmont, Travers and Jockey Club Gold Cup is a top candidate to win an Eclipse Award as top 3-year-old male, and trainer Tim Ice believes he should receive Horse of the Year support if he wins the Classic.

Kent Desormeaux, Summer Bird's regular rider, flew in from New York for the workout and guided the colt through splits of 24.42 and 48.56. Summer Bird galloped out six furlongs in 1:13.03 and Desormeanx was pleased with the work.

"He enjoyed it and he galloped out super," he said.

"The work was great," Ice said. "This was exactly what we wanted. He looked super getting over the track and he's been getting over it very well ever since we got here.

"Kent had a ton of horse under him and he just let him work on his own, within himself. I'm super-happy with how he's trained here and how he's handled everything. We'll walk tomorrow and he'll go back to the track Tuesday morning."

Ice said Summer Bird will have one more work before the Breeders' Cup.

"He'll work five-eighths next Saturday," he said.