If Big Brown Had Been Let Out

Posted by BarbaraAnne Helberg Jun 11, 2008

Just a shallow thought from a disappointed, bleeding mind -- Did Big Brown have a Secretariat-like Belmont in him if the game plan from the get-go from trainer Richard Dutrow, Jr. had been to give BB his head if there was no early killer pace (there wasn't)?

Hindsight, of course. Wishful thinking. Boo-hoo after thought.

Certainly not the usual way to approach the Belmont Stakes' grueling "test of a champion" 1-1/2 miles. But wouldn't it have been awesome if it had worked? BB by 20 lengths!

The Belmont is generally considered in the hands of the jockey -- remember Ron Turcotte (on Secretariat) saying, (the horse) "...did it himself" -- to rate his horse through the early going and wait for a last burst after his mount has passed through the final sweeping turn. Three-year-olds don't run 1-1/2 miles before the Belmont Stakes, nor seldom do they see the distance again.

Inexplicably, BB wouldn't rate in the Belmont. He shook his head at Kent Desormeaux the first several furlongs, but Desormeaux got him to a good spot despite the antics. However, when KD wanted to plug in, BB's circuitry was dead.

Big Brown's exercise rider, Michelle Nevin, told us all week how BB did things his way. It was no secret that BB's best had been saved in the Preakness. So, if Dutrow, who was so sure of a Belmont victory, had let him run like a loose freight train to prove his point...?

Ah...well. Interesting speculation. A BB-Curlin matchup in the fall Breeders' Cup Classic? (Curlin, the older and wiser, since you asked.)