Dutrow openly criticizing Kent Desormeaux

[Sandy_M]

[QUOTE=KatherineC;3278035]
You need to win gracefully and lose gracefully. Dutrow did neither. Michael Matz did both. They replayed the video of Matz after Barbaro won the Derby and he was greatful, humble and so happy. His reaction was heartwarming to watch. The trainer of Street Sense was very similar in how he handled himself last year (Carl…can’t remember his last name). Remember years ago when he called the race for the eldery owner of Unbridled because she couldn’t see the race (she was visually impaired). Another truly touching moment.

This is called sportmanship and it is something Mr Dutrow should become more familiar with.[/QUOTE]

Ah, the blame game. Well, Mr. Dutrow feels like a loser? He IS a loser - and he would have been a loser even if BB had won the Triple Crown. Probably won’t happen, but one would hope Mr. Iavarone might be considering a new trainer for BB…

[YankeeLawyer]

[QUOTE=imissvixen;3279018]
I have been waiting for the fingerpointing to start. I have probably watched far fewer of these races than the rest of you, but if I were the jockey in a predicament coming out of that gate, I would not look to be in the front of the field. It is so rare to see the Belmont won leading gate to wire. I can’t name one where it happened. I would have tried to sit in third place or thereabouts and let the race develop. That seemed to be what Kent was doing though inelegantly. [/QUOTE]

First of all, that was not what he was instructed to do, apparently. He was told to get out in front early and stay there. With Casino Drive out of the race, there should not have been anyone out there that could have kept up with BBs speed, and he was bred for the distance. Given that everyone knew BB does not break very well, and that he had a target on his back, their biggest concern should have been (and apparently was) getting boxed and shutout. Although it happens that Da’Tara pretty much did lead the whole way (there was a split second when he was not in front), his time was slow. BB should have been able to beat that time. At least, based on the information the trainer and jockey had going into the race. Note that it happens that KD was criticized for his Belmont ride on Real Quiet and blamed for making his move to early in that race, in which he lost by a nose. He may have been replaying that race, instead of riding the one he was in.

Second, you are incorrect wrt wire-to-wire winners of the Belmont. Something like 6 of the past Triple Crown winners DID lead wire-to-wire, including, I believe, Citation and Secretariat.

In any event, I certainly don’t mean to beat up on anyone. I am sure no one feels worse about the race than BBs connections. And I am disgusted by some of the remarks made about BB’s trainer, many of which have nothing to do with his training ability.

[YankeeLawyer]

[QUOTE=xc4fun;3278300]
He didn’t get to where he is by making poor decisions during a race. . [/QUOTE]

Actually, KD has not only been criticized wrt other races for falling apart when things start going wrong, but in fact was criticized for a previous Belmont ride (Real Quiet).

[hitchinmygetalong]

@YankeeLawyer;3279112

Second, you are incorrect wrt wire-to-wire winners of the Belmont. Something like 6 of the past Triple Crown winners DID lead wire-to-wire, including, I believe, Citation and Secretariat.

Incorrect.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cS4f6wiQJh4

[grayarabs]

Well a lot of things went wrong that day. Heat and humidity. BB off his regular routine.
I think badly ridden by KD - who I still say rode as if in a panic - not thinking - wonder if BB picked up on that?
What was the condition of the track? I remember hearing them talk earlier before the race that the track was drying up - was worried about that - but then later saw water trucks.
Was the track watered before his race? And Belmont track has a lot of sand, right?
We all know the difference in riding on perfectly watered sand vs dried out, deep sand.
Perhaps RK changed things too much - BB was hot and frustrated - on a track he did not like - with a rider he did not like. Nothing about the Belmont resembled the other TC races - which went so smoothly. The Belmont for KD and BB was very frantic.
Wonder how things would have gone if he had drawn the outside post again?

[MintHillFarm]

Yes, I agree with you Paintjumper, the jockey did the safe thing…Kent was on a horse that didn’t fire upon asking; completely not the same horse as he ridden before. In those split seconds a swift decision had to be made. I can only imagine what was running through his mind. Tired horses take bad steps and I am sure Kent was concerned that something would happen on the track if he rode him out to the finish. The horse had a rough break, in tight quarters initially and was climbing his way for the first 150>ft. That takes a lot out of a horse. It wasn’t BB’s day. As for the trainer, he’s certainly no Michael Matz, that we can all agree on.

[DownYonder]

The deck was stacked against BB.

1 – Lousy post position (BB doesn’t like the inside position).
2 – Track was deep sand.
3 – Track was DRY deep sand.
4 – Horse is not a fast breaker.
5 – Lack of proper conditioning due to ongoing hoof problems.
6 – Lack of customary pre-race electrolyte jug.
7 – Possible lack of monthly steroid hit.
8 – Uncommonly high heat and humidity.
9 – Horse broke a bit right, then was yanked hard left by KD just out of the gate.
10 – Got boxed in.
11 – Got yanked back hard to avoid running up the rump of the front runner.
12 – Got yanked hard to go outside.

At that point, BB just said “To he** with it, I’m done. Call me when conditions improve.” :lol:

I’m glad he lost. I didn’t want to have to listen to that loudmouth Dutrow crow about having the first TC winner in 30 years.

[YankeeLawyer]

[QUOTE=hitchinmygetalong;3279127]
Incorrect.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cS4f6wiQJh4[/QUOTE]

Whatever - a significant number of TC winners DID lead wire-to-wire. I will figure out which ones if it is so important to you.

The fact of the matter is that the field looked fairly mediocre compared to BB going into the race, when they were strategizing, and in fact the winning time reflected that (Beyer speed score of 99). BB should have been able to beat them going wire-to-wire, esp. given that Casino Drive scratched.

[YankeeLawyer]

@DownYonder;3279236

At that point, BB just said “To he** with it, I’m done. Call me when conditions improve.” :lol:

LOL.

DY, Have you read the “interview” with BB? That was my favorite article.

[cloudyandcallie]

absolutely

[QUOTE=Auventera Two;3278821]
BB is a good horse, I’ve enjoyed hearing about his successes and wins. He looks like a sweet boy who deserves every bit of good publicity he gets. But it takes a TRULY GREAT horse to win the TC. And a truly great horse overcomes adversity to get there. Track is a little deep and dry, no steroids, not enough elytes, got dirt in his face, got boxed in, had a bad attitude…I think all those little things are what separates a good horse from a truly great one. No, I don’t understand the electrolytes thing because to me it was just plain stupid to withhold elytes from a working athlete on a 90 degree day. WTF?! Running on bad feet sure can’t help him any either, sheesh. But some of the other things I think are what make BB a really, really nice horse versus a Triple Crown Great.

On a different day with a different rider under different circumstances maybe he could have become that Triple Crown Great. But it is what it is. I’m so happy that he’s healthy and sound! Who knows why KD did what he did? It was an ugly fight with the horse, to be sure. But it’s over and again, at least the horse is safe and sound and that’s the MAIN THING.[/QUOTE]

absolutely. and I was reading last night about the Spectacular Bid Belmont and his jockey and what Bud Delp had said about that jockey in other races. and Bid’s jockey had cocaine issues also.

[Glimmerglass]

Dutrow isn’t alone in laying blame on Kent …

Idaho Statesman June 10, 2008 “Stevens blames Big Brown’s jockey”

Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens, an Idaho native who got his start at Les Bois Park, blamed jockey Kent Desormeaux for Big Brown’s poor performance in the Belmont Stakes.

Desormeaux should not have held Big Brown back early in the race and instead taken him right to the front, Stevens said on KTIK’s “Idaho Sports Talk” with Jeff Caves and Statesman sports columnist Brian Murphy on Monday.

Stevens said he told his son that Big Brown would lose as soon as he saw him hung up early in the race. Stevens attended the race.

“It’s the first time I have wanted to have had my boots on since I retired,” said Stevens, who won eight Triple Crown races during his storied career and now serves as a race analyst.

[Beezer]

From all reports, the horse was severely out of sorts loooooong before the break; he was very unsettled in the receiving barn and not acting at all like himself.

He broke badly; some observers believe he spooked at one of the gatemen who was standing in front of the gate and to the inside of BB. I couldn’t believe it when I saw the start live, then still couldn’t believe it when I watched the replay(s). That put him right into the path of Guadalcanal and left him crooked for several strides.

Then all the fighting began. And it was a knockdown fight. The horse was finished before he hit the turn, and that’s not even counting his being parked so wide that he should have qualified for another ZIP code.

It was a badly ridden race. It was a roughly ridden one. The horse was pi$$ed and he deserved to be.

I’m not a Dutrow fan; having seen KD ride for years out here, I’m not a fan of his, either. (There’s a reason he no longer rides the circuit out here. Just ask the trainers;) ) But I am a fan of the horse, and truly believe that, for whatever reason, the monster we saw repeatedly before the Belmont didn’t come out to play. Maybe he had a headache. Maybe he hated the heat. Clearly he hated the track and the ride.

If only racing had do-overs. :sigh:

[YankeeLawyer]

I guess Gary Stevens and I are in agreement on that. Not surprising since he is one of my all-time favorite jockeys.

[hessy35]

[QUOTE=DownYonder;3279236]
The deck was stacked against BB.

1 – Lousy post position (BB doesn’t like the inside position).
2 – Track was deep sand.
3 – Track was DRY deep sand.
4 – Horse is not a fast breaker.
5 – Lack of proper conditioning due to ongoing hoof problems.
6 – Lack of customary pre-race electrolyte jug.
7 – Possible lack of monthly steroid hit.
8 – Uncommonly high heat and humidity.
9 – Horse broke a bit right, then was yanked hard left by KD just out of the gate.
10 – Got boxed in.
11 – Got yanked back hard to avoid running up the rump of the front runner.
12 – Got yanked hard to go outside.

At that point, BB just said “To he** with it, I’m done. Call me when conditions improve.” :lol:[/QUOTE]

I’d have to agree that after BB got bumped jumping to the outside he gave up. He seemed totally pissed and confused at that point. He’s a smart horse… and as stated early in this thread after all that yanking and bumping he told KD to “hoof off” and that was that…

[Coral]

[QUOTE=YankeeLawyer;3279253]
LOL.

DY, Have you read the “interview” with BB? That was my favorite article.[/QUOTE]

Where’s that one? I’d love to read that!

[YankeeLawyer]

[QUOTE=Coral;3279361]
Where’s that one? I’d love to read that![/QUOTE]

I will try to find the link and post it for you. It was funny.

[caffeinated]

this one?

http://community.foxsports.com/blogs/Dudski/2008/06/07/Big_BrownThe_Interview

[harvestmoon]

[QUOTE=Beezer;3279284]

If only racing had do-overs. :sigh:[/QUOTE]

Yes, do-over, please!

Naw, really, here’s hoping that Brownie comes back and does well later this year.

[YankeeLawyer]

Yes, Caffeinated. Thanks for the link!

[hitchinmygetalong]

@YankeeLawyer;3279245

Whatever - a significant number of TC winners DID lead wire-to-wire. I will figure out which ones if it is so important to you.

Not to bother. I just knew that Secretariat’s Belmont, as singularly historic as it was, was not won “wire to wire”. I thought I might correct that misconception, that’s all.