Summer Bird (BirdstoneñHong Kong Squall, by Summer Squall), who this year became the first horse to sweep the GI Belmont S., GI Travers S. and GI Jockey Club Gold S. since Easy Goer in 1989, was named champion three-year-old male. A maiden in March, the Jayaraman homebred was a closing third in the GII Arkansas Derby and passed tiring horses to finish sixth in the GI Kentucky Derby. He overcame early trouble to post an 11-1 upset in the Belmont, then chased home Rachel Alexandra (Medaglia d'Oro) to be runner-up in the GI Haskell Invitational. The Tim Ice trainee regained the winning thread in the Travers S. and wore down Quality Road (Elusive Quality) to take the Jockey Club Gold Cup. He concluded his sophomore season with a creditable fourth in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic.
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