The horse was hitting on all four when Kent pulled him out of the race. It was clear the horse was p*ssed at being pulled up. And again, had he not discouraged him harshly, checked off heels, went 7 wide, he likely would have had some horse when they turned for home. He is a lightly raced colt. That’s a whole lot to overcome! And even after all of that the horse is fighting the rider all of the way down the lane wanting to do what he knows to do.
It’s common place for trainer’s to blame jock’s. After all they are the one on he horse’s back making the right or wrong call. It’s like a target on their backs, a convenient one as well! BUT I do agree that Kent is a part of the reason this horse did not succeed in his quest
[QUOTE=Arado*TB;3280137]
I have not read through this entire thread so I do not know if some one has raised this issue.I am curious to know if Dutrow would be so quick to bash Kent had we had another Eight Belles or Barbaro on our hands. I am not a racehorse tainer nor do I plan to be one.I just think that if Kent honestly thought there was an issue[NQR] then pulling up BB should be a non issue.[/QUOTE]
Of course it would have been a non-issue, and I think a big part of why people held their tongues for the most part until yesterday and today is that no one was really sure at first if the horse was okay, given his rider’s drama show.
I think the best analysis so far was Turner’s interview regarding the race. A lot of factors likely contributed to the result, including the jockey’s performance.
Agreed. I respect his analysis.It was a good article from someone who knows which is why now, many questions are not only raised but, raging
Exactly. Most horses are going to spit the bit after what happened in the first turn. Only Secretariat would have won with that ride. I’ve rode races and as I watched I told my husband he’s done before he got to the backside. He had a chance to get to the lead. Garcia didn’t close the hole till the turn, but Kent was panicking the first jump. Maybe he would have hit a wall anyways, but if he had gotten an easy lead or ran head and head with D’Tara we could be having a very different discussion.
Did anyone see this pre-Belmont AP press release?
Owners To Donate Any Big Brown Belmont Earnings To Policeman’s FamilyPosted: May 23, 2008 05:30 PM EDT
Updated: June 2, 2008 10:15 AM EDT
NEW YORK (AP) - The owners of Big Brown will donate a portion of the colt’s earnings from the Belmont Stakes to start a college fund for the son of a New York policeman seriously injured in a car crash.
Michael Iavarone and Richard Schiavo, co-presidents of IEAH Stables, the majority owners of Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Big Brown, attended a news conference Friday in the paddock of Belmont Park on Friday, along with Nassau County officials and the officer’s family.
Officer Kenneth Baribault was seriously injured Tuesday after police said a drunken driver with a suspended license crashed into his cruiser. Baribault, 30, remains hospitalized after the crash on the Long Island Expressway.
“In times like this, it’s imperative we come together,” Iavarone said. “It’s time to stand up and make something good happen.”
Big Brown jockey Kent Desormeaux, who had a serious spill in the 1990s during a race, said his family was praying for Baribault.
“This hits close to home for us,” Desormeaux said. “I want to thank the family for their strength in being here today because through the exposure of this situation they are going to open the doors to a lot of prayer.”
I was so happy to see the Turner article. I am so sick of all the people saying “thank god he pulled him up” Whatever!
If Big Brown runs again, I will be shocked to see Dutrow, IEAH, and Kent back together again. Then again, maybe they deserve each other.
Secretariat took the lead after about the first furlong. He did not break first in any of his races as I recall. He was not a fast breaker, but he sure made up for it later <g>.
You are right, Secretariat was generally a closer
thanks
[QUOTE=hitchinmygetalong;3279127]
Incorrect.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cS4f6wiQJh4[/QUOTE]
kinda off topic. thanks for posting that link. i was 12 when he won the triple crown. i dont think i have seen the entire race since then. what a horse!
My bet is that he won’t run again.
Looked to me like the horse said, “F— ruitbat it!” and quit after things went wrong/not his way in the early running. Whether it was conditioning, the ride, the weather, the meds, or whatever, who knows? We can only speculate. I do think a truly great horse would have overcome the early problems, but that was only his 6th start, so I cut BB some slack on that.
Aren’t there rules against pulling up just because you are losing? 
[QUOTE=canticle;3280677]
Aren’t there rules against pulling up just because you are losing? [/QUOTE]
Yes.
[QUOTE=Kyzteke;3280598]
Secretariat took the lead after about the first furlong. He did not break first in any of his races as I recall. He was not a fast breaker, but he sure made up for it later <g>.[/QUOTE]
If you reread my post the point was that a significant number of TC winners have led wire-to-wire in the Belmont. As I was writing quickly I didn’t have time to look up which ones, exactly, and said I believe the list included Citation and Secretariat. I was already abruptly corrected twice. But thanks for the input. :rolleyes:
Looks like IEAH and Dutrow continue to disagree:
Iavarone, the co-president of the syndicate that owns Big Brown, said Tuesday that no changes would be made before Big Brown’s next race, which will either be the Haskell Invitational at Monmouth on Aug. 3 or the Travers Stakes at Saratoga on Aug. 23.
“As far as I am concerned, there will be no changes,” Iavarone said. “I don’t think anybody was happy with the ride, including Kent. But I’m not going to sit here and say that’s the reason why we couldn’t keep up with those horses. It had to be one element of many. Unless we find something wrong with the horse over the next few days, everything else is speculation.”
The big if, of course, is IF the horse runs again.
I can certainly believe that, in that moment on the far turn, KD truly believed something was wrong with his horse. I don’t think that should preclude a visit with the stewards, though. Nor do I fully understand why IEAH chose to go with KD in the first place, when Edgar Prado is their (and Dutrow’s) regular rider.
You might want to google the spat between Prado and BB’s connections. Prado says he was promised the ride by one of them, then they renigged after KD had dinner with another of them.
[QUOTE=I’m EBO;3280907]
You might want to google the spat between Prado and BB’s connections. Prado says he was promised the ride by one of them, then they renigged after KD had dinner with another of them.[/QUOTE]
NYT June 6, 2008 “Prado Gets to Play the Spoiler Once Again”
excerpt
[Prado] was scheduled to ride Big Brown in his career debut last September for Pat Reynolds, the trainer at the time, but Prado broke his right ankle in a spill at Saratoga two days before Big Brown ran. That was the beginning of a bumpy relationship among Prado; Big Brown’s co-owner, Michael Iavarone; and the colt’s current trainer, Rick Dutrow.
Prado said he thought he was going to be given a second chance earlier this year when Big Brown was ready to make his 3-year-old debut for Dutrow. Prado rides regularly for Dutrow and, he said, he rode Big Brown three times this year during morning training sessions. Prado said he was told he would have the mount when Big Brown made his 3-year-old debut. But the assignment went to Kent Desormeaux.
“I still ask myself that same question,” Prado said when asked why he was not given the riding assignment on Big Brown for a March 5 allowance race at Gulfstream Park. “The owner gave me the call and everything was all set. Something happened. The owner went to dinner with Desormeaux. He gave him the mount.”
Well, whatever. Hardly the only time jockey/trainer/owner spats have resulted in rider changes and not the first time a jock has been blamed or the suggestion made the horse would have won with another rider. Personally, I don’t think so, think that horse was just exhausted and the only way to bring him home would have been on a skateboard or something. Likewise, bad ride or not early on, he was in striking position when he folded. We could say a better horse or better conditioned one would easily have overcome any early errors.
Hey, Glimmer, remember the Shoe on Gallant Man-least I think it was GM? Mistook the wire at the Derby and stood up in the irons, cost the horse the race. Won the next two. Always speculation he threw the race as there will be here. Didn’t hurt his overall career a bit.
Gallant Man won the Belmont, but not the Preakness. Bold Ruler won the Preakness that year.
But yeah, talk about a mistake. I can’t see that one as throwing the race, though. I’ve always admired the owner’s reaction, full of class. Shoe developed a (owner’s name, I forget it) Sportsmanship Award for the biggest sport each year in racing in honor of the owner who accepted a mistake as a mistake but then let it go and did not rake him over the coals on it.
Course, Iron Liege might have won anyway. Shoe’s error on GM was very brief and immediately corrected. Who knows?
Nobody knows or will ever.
Bold Ruler heh? That is going back some.
No, I don’t think either the young Shoemaker or KD threw the races. But those that grasp at straws to support themselves will be looking to place blame.
