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ESPN 100: No. 26 -- Incredible Run

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This story appears in the Dec. 14 issue of ESPN The Magazine.

Mine That Bird was a huge long shot in the Kentucky Derby. But as jockey Calvin Borel tells us, he knew he had a winner soon after the race started.

"Riding a 50-1 shot like Mine That Bird gives you a lot of freedom. You can ride him with confidence because there's no pressure. I knew this colt could run, and I rode him like a winner. At the start of the race, we got bumped out of the gate and got farther back than I wanted. We were dead last, seven or eight lengths behind the next horse, but only 15 or 20 behind the lead. I had 18 horses to pass, but from knowing those other horses, I was looking at only the top four. Bad horses will run for a piece and then stop about the 5/8 pole. Mediocre horses will stop about the 3/8 pole. Good horses will stop about the 1/4 pole. So even though I had 18 horses to pass, by the 3/8 pole, you've culled about 12 of them. Then you've got to find a way to deal with the top horses.

If jockeys aren't a little crazy, they won't be very good riders. Calvin has no fear, and you have to be a little crazy not to have any fear. And I mean that in the best way possible.

-- Mine That Bird Trainer Chip Woolley

"I knew my horse had a strong 3/8 in him, so I waited. And when it started happening, I had so much horse under me that wherever I put him, he got there. I started the race thinking third or fourth, but when I felt what he had, I got excited. I took him to the inside and blew past about 14 horses. Once I got through that hole, I knew there was no other horse running as fast. There were three horses on the inside and another one on the outside. I could have split them, but I knew he could get there on the rail. There wasn't much space, but he was moving too fast to get cut off.

"I made my reputation on the rail with Street Sense, and here's what I know: If you can sit and wait, 80 percent of the horses are going to start drifting to the right when they get to about the 1/8 pole. That's when the rider goes to the whip on the right, and it's just natural for horses to drift that way. That opens up the rail for the guy who keeps his horse straight. That's what happened for us. And once we got out in front, I thought, Oh, my god, this is amazing. When we won, I thought, Oh, lord, this is another fairy tale."

NEXT: No. 27 -- DeWayne Wise's catch saves Mark Buehrle's perfect game »