Tragic end for Eight Belles

Filly put down after second-place finish

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - In a moment of triumph, tragedy struck suddenly for Eight Belles, the only filly in yesterday's Kentucky Derby, who finished second to Big Brown.

As Big Brown was making history by living up to his reputation as a super horse, Eight Belles broke down after finishing 4 3/4 lengths back.

Eight Belles, who was attempting to become the fourth filly to win the Derby, fractured both front ankles, injuries so severe that she was put down.

"She didn't have a front leg to stand on to be splinted and hauled off in the ambulance, so she was immediately euthanized," said track veterinarian Larry Bramlage. "Catastrophic injuries are something that we occasionally see in one [ankle] - it's not terribly unheard of. But in all my years of racing I've never seen it happen at the end of the race or during the race."

Trainer Larry Jones, whose other filly, Proud Spell, won the Kentucky Oaks Friday, expressed dismay and sadness.

"I watched her gallop around the turn," said Jones. "Her ears her up. So we went back toward the barn. We were ecstatic. We had won the Oaks and finished second in the Derby. We thought we just had a remarkable weekend."

Jones said his first indication that there might be a problem came when he saw jockey Kent Desormeaux, who had ridden Big Brown. "He was kind of solemn, which I thought was kind of odd for someone who had just won the Derby," said Jones.

"Then I heard that a horse broke down, but I thought it was one of the horses who had finished back in the pack, and then I saw my guy [Eight Belles jockey Gabriel Saez] riding a pony and I said, 'What's up,' and he said, 'Mr. Larry, they put her down.' "

Saez also had no idea that anything was wrong until the moment Eight Belles went down.

"After we passed the wire, I stood up," he said. "She started galloping funny and I tried to pull her up, but she went down."

Jones, trying to keep his emotions in check, said, "She had just run the race of her life. She was so calm in the paddock and she had run the race of her life. If she had been under any stress, I would have second-guessed myself [about entering her in the Derby].

"It's just one of those things, it's unexplainable. There are reasons for things happening, but I see no reason for this. But she was never in any pain. It was something that just had to be done. She went out as a champion."

It was the second time in three years that a Triple Crown race has been marred by tragedy, reminiscent of the injuries Barbaro sustained in the 2006 Preakness. Barbaro survived for months but the injuries eventually proved fatal.

Luck of the Irish
Getting into the Derby sometimes is more a case of luck than skill. Take Denis of Cork, who ran out of Gate 16. Until last Monday, trainer David Carroll's colt had not compiled enough graded-stakes earnings to qualify for the Derby. Then trainer Todd Pletcher decided to pull one of his horses, Behindthebar.

That made an opening, which Denis of Cork quickly filled.

"It was only Monday that we found out, then we started enjoying it," said Carroll. "You work your whole life for this experience and now it's here. It's all it's made out to be."

Denis of Cork made it even more special by finishing third.

Favorite topic
Being the favorite is not always a good thing. Going into the race, only three Derby favorites had won since Spectacular Bid in 1979: Fusaichi Pegasus in 2000, Smarty Jones in 2004, and Street Sense last year . . . Big Brown was the only unbeaten starter in the 20-horse field. In the modern era, 21 Derby horses had entered the race unbeaten and only six won, with Barbaro being the last . . . Good news on Chelokee, who broke down in the Alysheba Stakes Friday and suffered what was thought to be a life-threatening injury to his right front leg. "He tore ligaments in the bottom of his right front ankle," said Bramlage. "Amazingly, the injury didn't go through the skin." Bramlage said Chelokee's racing career is over, and his chances of a complete recovery are 50-50. "His attitude couldn't be better," he said. "He's eating well, moving around his stall. He's in a special type of cast for this particular injury. His progress is good. He has to have a good surgical procedure and he has to come through it well." . . . Suffolk Downs-based Awesome Chic, who finished ninth in Friday's Kentucky Oaks, will spend the next 10 days in Kentucky before being shipped back to Massachusetts. "She came out of the race good," said trainer Rafael Ramos. "She bled a little and [jockey] Robby Albarado said she didn't like the sloppy track." . . . The crowd of 157,770 was the second largest in Derby history, trailing the 163,628 in 1974.