Kentucky Derby 2011: Borel To Ride Twice The Appeal

Added on Apr 28, 2011 by Jack Thurman in

Horse Racing

As of yesterday morning, jockey Calvin Borel was without a mount for the 2011 Kentucky Derby. This might be a concern to most riders but not in Borel’s case as he knew a call would be coming–you can have that confidence when you’ve been aboard 3 of the last 4 Kentucky Derby winners. Late Wednesday, it was announced that Borel will ride longshot Twice the Appeal in the ‘Run for the Roses’ looking for an unprecedented four wins in five years.

Borel’s agent, Jerry Hissam, confirmed that his client would be atop Twice the Appeal on May 7 at Churchill Downs:

“They offered him to me earlier this week. We were talking with the people from Master of Hounds too, but they were waiting on Ryan Moore. There were also a couple of others we were talking to, but I decided it was time to make a decision.”

Twice the Appeal has been off the Kentucky Derby contender radar for most of the year, but earned his way into the field with an upset win in the March 27 Sunland Park Derby as a 25-1 longshot. He doesn’t have the resume of a classic Derby contender–it took him seven races to break his maiden but he’s won three of his last four races–all with different riders. Borel has done well with longshots, including a winning Kentucky Derby run with 50-1 outsider Mine That Bird–Hissam actually joked about forgetting the name of the horse his client rode in his career defining victory:

“Calvin has won with a couple of (Derby) longshots before. One of them was from the same part of the country—I forget his name.”

Mine That Bird also won the Sunland Derby in his final prep race in 2009. Borel’s other Kentucky Derby winners were Super Saver in 2010 and Street Sense in 2007. Hissam said that Borel is excited about the opportunity to ride Twice the Appeal in the 2011 Kentucky Derby:

“Calvin watched replays of (Twice the Appeal’s) races the other day. He was impressed. The horse can lay off and finish strong. He’s excited about the opportunity.”

Twice the Appeal is expected to work out on Friday or Saturday with Borel aboard. Assuming his workouts are strong, the presence of Borel alone will attract a good deal of Kentucky Derby 2011 betting interest.