Big Brown Rebounds in Haskell Invitational
Horse and Rider Call on Heart While Trainer Dutrow Calls For Curlin
Aug 12, 2008 BarbaraAnne Helberg
The King is back. Long live the King. Big Brown was ready for his redemptive run, even as it looked as though he wasn't. In the Haskell Invitational August 2, the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes champ had to fight to win, something he had not yet experienced.
Trainer Richard Dutrow, Jr., pleased as punch with BB's effort, called for a competition with 2007 Horse of the Year Curlin in the October Breeders' Cup Classic. Dutrow says he would like one more start for BB before the October event. It won't be the Travers Stakes, however. Three weeks after a belly down run is too soon for his Brown, he indicated.
A Troubled Trip for BB
Jockey Kent Desormeaux helped Big Brown out of trouble early in the $1 million Haskell at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, New Jersey when BB, running from the four post, almost got pinned to the rail, a place the colt has decided he doesn't prefer. In the meantime, Nick Zito-trained Coal Play, a Robert LaPenta entry, fired out to a two-length lead.
Atoned, ridden by Edgar Prado, pinched Big Brown toward the rail, but Desormeaux quickly changed tactics to avoid the trap play.
Chasing Down Coal Play
It wasn't easy for Big Brown in this one. That, in itself, may have provided a valuable learning experience, just as Curlin learned from his Kentucky Derby run last season.
In the Haskell, Desormeaux began asking BB for gears at the top of the stretch. Discounting the failed Belmont Stakes, Big Brown had always responded well at this point in a race. This time he continued to drift wide instead and appeared to be headed for a second straight loss.
He trailed Coal Play by a long two lengths at the mile pole. With Desormeaux urging him forward, BB caught fire at the sixteenth marker and flew into that mindboggling gear to chase down Coal Play.
BB blitzed the last eighth in :12-3/5, a gigantic effort propelled by heart and courage, while Desormeaux sat chilly in the final yards, handriding the colt to the wire.
Resounding Applause Greets the King
After anxious moments, fans, jockey, trainer, and owners broke into rackus applause and smiles. Big Brown crossed the finish line 1-3/4 lengths clear of Zito's colt, covering the 1-1/8 miles in 1:48.31, as Zito's dream of a consecutive race upset vanished. His Da' Tara beat BB in the Belmont.
Bring On Curlin
Now all the Thoroughbred racing world wants to see Curlin test Big Brown in October. Will it be?
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