START SPREADING THE NEWS - BIG BROWN BIDS FOR THE CROWN

Dominate Preakness Victory Sends Big Brown to New York

 Are you excited?  I know I am.  Big Brown is the 4th horse of the new millennium, joining War Emblem, Funny Cide and Smarty Jones, who have won the first two legs of the elusive Triple Crown.  He seems to have the best shot to do it.

Being trackside, one does not have a good perspective of how the race is unfolding, I just know Big Brown won with the greatest of ease.  It was not until I returned home, and watched the race that I became a believer in Big Brown. I believe we are looking at the 12th Triple Crown winner.  Big Brown actually slipped in the break, but still managed to get out of the gate quickly, and settle in along the rail behind pace setters Gayego and Riley Tucker.  Kent Desormeaux was patient, waiting to move Big Brown off the rail, and out of trouble, in third, never more than 2 lengths off the leaders.

Desormeaux began moving Big Brown around the far turn, past the tiring pacesetters.  At the top of the stretch, Kent shook his reins, and Big Brown showed a burst of acceleration that took my breath away, and left the other contenders in the dust.  He galloped for most of the Preakness. He actually raced for maybe 3 furlongs, and he won by 5 ¼ lengths, and was gearing down at the finish.  Desormeaux was leaving plenty in the tank for the Belmont.

On now to New York, and the Belmont Stakes, where racing destiny awaits Big Brown.  Also awaiting him will be Casino Drive, winner of the Peter Pan Stakes at Belmont on May 10th.

Casino Drive is an interesting story - an American-bred son of Mineshaft, out of the broodmare Better Than Honor, was purchased by Japanese businessman Hidetoshi Yamamoto for $950,000. He is ¾ brother to 2007 Belmont winner Rags To Riches, and ½ brother to the 2006 Belmont winner Jazil. His owner and his trainer, Kazuo Fujisawa, decided to bring Casino Drive to New York for the specific purpose of running in the Belmont.

They decided to prep him by running him, in his second start, in the Peter Pan Stakes.  Casino Drive was impressive and professional, finishing under a hand ride the 1 1/8 in 1:47.87. What made his win impressive is he did it not only in his second career start, but off a two-month layoff, long trip, and quarantine. 

Casino Drive winning the Peter Pan

Interestingly enough, Kent Desormeaux piloted the colt, and said afterwards, “Yeah, he can run a lot.  It’s going to be fun.  He’s a phenomenal talent, and we’ve got our hands full with this one.  It’s going to be exciting for all of the fans.  He’s got that stride.” 

Question is does Kent believe all of that, or is he just being, shall we say, diplomatic?  My guess is a little bit of both.  The colt obviously has talent, but who did he beat really?  And is a  1½ race too much for the colt’s 3rd start?  Maybe not, he has the breeding to do it.  And it would be unprecedented for a broodmare, Better Than Honour, to have 3 consecutive winners in the same classic race.  I believe someone put the odds at 40 trillion to 1.

Now, come Belmont Stakes day, Casino Drive will have better odds than that, but I don’t think it will matter.  I think Big Brown will inhale him, just like he did with other 31 rivals in the last two legs of the Triple Crown.

I have become a believer in Big Brown.  I have come to believe that Big Brown will be the 12th Triple Crown winner.  I know he will probably never set foot on the racetrack again if he wins on June 7th, but I don’t care. This is a special animal - he is a freak.  And racing needs this horse to win the Triple Crown.  It would be tremendous for racing’s PR, which has been hurting as of late.  It would also prove that it can still be done, that the formula doesn’t need to bee changed.  That D. Wayne Lukas and others were wrong for calling for the shortening of the distances of the Triple Crown races, and spacing the running dates further apart, all to accommodate commercially bred horses that only gasp to the finish line in 1 1/8 route races.

 

 

I want Big Brown to end the drought.  I want to see another Triple Crown winner - I saw Affirmed do it 30 years, I want to see Big Brown do it.  I want the chance to photograph a Triple Crown winner.  But mostly, for the sport, I want a Triple Crown winner.