TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Triple Frown: Big Brown Comes Up Short

AP Photo

Big Brown owners Rich Schiavo (glasses), Christine (hat) and Michael Iavarone (hand on face) react as their horse loses the 140th Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York.

ADVERTISEMENT

By SCOTT CARTER

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 8, 2008

ELMONT, N.Y. - The stunning climax, certainly not the "foregone conclusion" Big Brown trainer Rick Dutrow Jr. envisioned, was already buried in jockey Kent Desormeaux's rearview mirror as he sat numbly in the jocks room early Saturday evening talking to his fellow riders.

In undefeated and unchallenged Big Brown, the towering favorite in Saturday's 140th running of the Belmont Stakes, Desormeaux was confident he had the horse that would finally snap the 30-year Triple Crown drought primarily responsible for drawing the fourth-largest crowd (94,476) in Belmont Stakes history on a sweat-soaked 93-degree day.

Finally, in the aftermath of Big Brown's shocking finish - last in the nine-horse field, pulled up by Desormeaux around the final turn when he didn't respond to Desormeaux's urging to catch front-runner and 51/4-length winner Da' Tara - the magnitude of Saturday's disappointment hit Desormeaux.

"I can't fathom what kind of freaks those 11 Triple Crown winners were," Desormeaux said. "It's unfathomable to me. These occasions for me have only made me realize how awesome those 11 horses were."

Rather than taking his place among those members of the sport's most celebrated fraternity, Big Brown became the 11th horse since Affirmed's Triple Crown sprint in 1978 to win the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes but fall short in the 11/2-mile Belmont, known as "The Test of a Champion."

Big Brown showed no interest in answering all the questions Saturday, leaving the crowd stunned and confused when Desormeaux pulled up the 3-year-old colt, prompting flashbacks to Barbaro's breakdown in the 2006 Preakness and the tragic end Eight Belles met in the Derby five weeks ago.

Fortunately, Big Brown's handlers say he appears healthy, although they still don't know what happened to Big Brown on a day everyone expected to be his Triple Crown coronation.

"The horse looks fine to me," said Dutrow, who boasted in the weeks leading up to the Belmont how superior Big Brown was to the field. "I watched him cool out, and he doesn't seem to be off in any kind of way. I don't see a problem, and I am looking for one."

Dutrow plans to give Big Brown a day off, and then test him on the track Monday if an internal scope and re-evaluation of a quarter-crack on his front left foot come back clear. Dutrow downplayed the quarter-crack injury playing a significant role in Saturday's outcome, which marked the first time a Triple Crown contender finished last in the Belmont.

There also remain questions about whether Dutrow's controversial admission that he provides Big Brown with legal doses of steroids once a month - but stopping before the Kentucky Derby - played a factor.

"It certainly seems that Kent did the right thing in pulling him up," Dutrow said after returning Big Brown to his barn. "When they turned for home, something wasn't right. He didn't get the Triple Crown, but he got the Derby and Preakness, and that was great."

Overshadowed by Big Brown's loss, the Nick Zito-trained Da' Tara ran the race of his life, becoming the first Belmont winner since Swale in 1984 to win wire-to-wire. Da' Tara broke for the lead early and at one point, jammed up Big Brown on the rail until Desormeaux guided his mount to the outside around the first turn.

As Da' Tara and Tale of Ekati set the pace around the turn and into the backstretch, Big Brown remained third into the final turn. That's when Da' Tara jockey Alan Garcia checked for Big Brown pushing for the lead, only to see him fade.

"He wasn't in the race," said Garcia, who won in his first Belmont ride.

"Before we went through the final turn, I had no horse," said Desormeaux, who said losing by a nose aboard Real Quiet's bid at the Triple Crown in 1998 hurts more than Big Brown's strikeout. "This horse is the best horse I've ever rode. Something was wrong. There was no popped tires. He was just out of gas. I took care of him."

Da' Tara, a 38-to-1 long shot, paid $79, the largest winning payoff since Sarava paid $142.50 in 2002 when he spoiled War Emblem's bid at a Triple Crown. Florida-bred Denis of Cork finished second, and Anak Nakal and Ready's Echo finished third in a dead heat.

For Zito, it marked the second time in four years he has spoiled a Triple Crown party. In 2004, the Zito-trained Birdstone edged Smarty Jones by a length. Making Da' Tara's win more satisfying is that he lost to Big Brown by 23 lengths in late March in the Florida Derby.

"If Big Brown was himself, he's going to win," Zito said. "He just wasn't himself, and we took advantage of it."

Reporter Scott Carter can be reached at (850) 294-3088 or scarter@tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT