Rob Carr / AP

Jockey Gabriel Saez exercises Preakness entry Friesan Fire around the track at Pimlico Race Course, Tuesday, May 12, 2009, in Baltimore. The 134th running of the Preakness horse race will be held Saturday. (AP Photo/Rob Carr)

Mine That Bird arrived in Baltimore on Tuesday evening via the same humble way he traveled to the Derby from New Mexico — in a trailer hitched to trainer Bennie Woolley Jr.’s pickup truck.

The trip took about 10 hours, with Woolley driving despite a broken right leg. His only stops were for the restroom and food.

Mine That Bird came off the trailer, got washed off and then posed for photos with the police officers who escorted him on the last part of the trip into Pimlico.

“He’s a good shipper,” Woolley said. “Nothing bothers him.”

Most of the other the Preakness runners were flying into Baltimore.

Mine That Bird likely won't even have the same jockey on his back Saturday. Calvin Borel, whose rail-hugging ride in the Derby was credited for the victory, has committed to being aboard Rachel Alexandra, whom he rides regularly.

If she becomes just the fourth filly to run since 1939, Woolley will go with Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith on Mine That Bird. Smith won the 1993 Preakness with Prairie Bayou.

"It's getting exciting. Things are starting to build and I am eager to run again," Woolley said before leaving Churchill Downs. "I came here as the underdog with no pressure. Things have changed slightly."

Jones figures the betting public will make Rachel Alexandra the heavy favorite, followed by Pioneerof the Nile, Mine That Bird and possibly Friesan Fire, who staggered home next-to-last in the Derby after a rough trip in the mud.

"This filly is something that we haven't seen in horse racing in a while," he said. "It's not that there hasn't been great fillies — Zenyatta is very nice — but this filly might go down in the record books as one of the nicest to ever wear a tack."

Jones decided to enter Louisiana Derby winner Friesan Fire after a five-furlong workout Tuesday. He's convinced the colt has healed from cuts to his left front hoof and all four legs sustained when he was bumped after the start of the Derby.

"All is well," he said. "We're ready to go."

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