By ED FOUNTAINE
June 11, 2008
Three days after Big Brown's mysterious disappearing act in Saturday's Belmont Stakes, when the runaway winner of the Kentucky Derby and Preakness was pulled up by Kent Desormeaux on the far turn and eased down the stretch to finish dead last, trainer Rick Dutrow Jr. continued to lay his colt's defeat in Desormeaux's lap.
"The jockey gave him a horrible ride," Dutrow told The Post yesterday, saying that so far Big Brown has shown no physical signs that could explain the shocking defeat.
"None that I could find," said Dutrow, who has yet to talk to Desormeaux or watch a replay of the race. "We're still trying to put things together."
Dutrow was asked about photos taken soon after the start that show Big Brown's head cocked sharply to the left, with Desormeaux standing up in the saddle, which suggest Brown was startled by something he saw in the infield, perhaps by a cluster of cameras.
"That's just Desormeaux taking a hold of him," Dutrow said. "He did the same thing in the Preakness. If that did happen to the horse, why isn't the jockey saying anything about it? He's trying to find something to blame beside himself."
Heading into the first turn, Big Brown already appeared to be in trouble, as he was boxed in along the rail with Da' Tara in front of him and Tale of Ekati to his outside. Was Dutrow concerned?
"No, I didn't worry at that point," Dutrow said. "The jockey got him in trouble in the Preakness, too, and Big Brown got out of it. I figured he was by far the best horse, and he'd be able to overcome it."
Michael Iavarone, co-president of the IEAH Stable that owns Big Brown, speculated that the colt did not handle the deep track at Belmont that day. Dutrow isn't buying that excuse.
"Every track he's run over, he impressed the (heck) out of everbody," he said. "(So) I'm not going to follow that lead."
