The Big Brown camp: The blame game begins
Big Brown’s trainer Richard Dutrow Jr. showed no class throughout the Triple Crown series. Mr. Dutrow guaranteed victory in the Belmont Stakes, and he was hardly shy in his pre-race statements, but shortly after his prized colt ran last in the Test of Champions, the outspoken conditioner was nowhere to be seen.
A battery of tests did not produce a reason for his poor effort, and now Mr. Dutrow has decided to blame jockey Kent Desormeaux.
Mr. Dutrow is wondering why Kent D essentially pulled Big Brown up turning for home, and the trainer is also questioning his antics around the first turn.
Granted, Big Brown did have minor early troubles in the Belmont Stakes, but based on past performances, Kent D must have felt that he was sitting on a far superior animal, so when initial plans to seize the early lead failed to materialize, he worked his way to an outside stalking position. There was no response when Kent pulled the trigger on the backside.
Also, I wrote in my Belmont Stakes previews that the main quarter crack problem facing Big Brown was not the injury itself, rather the down-time he was facing because of his injury. Horses are high-strung animals with a need to burn off energy, and if they cannot do that in training sessions, they are frequently too aggressive in their actual races. Sure enough, Big Brown seemed rank and wanting to do too much in the early going, not something you want to see in a twelve furlong race.
Anyone associated with horse racing could tell that Big Brown was done on the backstetch…and probably way before that! For whatever reason, this was not the same horse that ran away with the Florida Derby, Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes. If he were the same animal, he would have cantered past Da’ Tara, a horse he beat by 23-1/2 lengths in Florida.
Horses are not machines, and I understand Kent’s decision to ease Big Brown. Why persevere with a horse with nothing left in the tank?
Mr. Dutrow obviously cares less what other people think, and to blame his rider is par for this course with this guy. Thanks to Kent Desormeaux, Big Brown came back in one piece and will live to fight another day…get over it Rick!
Photo Credit: Newscom
Tags: Belmont Stakes, Big Brown, Kent Desormeaux, Richard Dutrow, Triple CrownRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Horses, Jockeys, Trainers, Triple Crown
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