'Big' letdown
'Brown' denied Triple Crown by Da' Tara
NEW YORK - Not this time. Not in the Belmont Stakes. Not in a race in which Nick Zito has a horse entered.
Proving that history can repeat itself, Big Brown's run at becoming the first horse in 30 years to win the Triple Crown came to a disappointing end yesterday.
Similar to four years ago when Birdstone, trained by Zito, spoiled the Triple Crown hopes of Smarty Jones with a dramatic Belmont win, Da' Tara, a 38-1 shot trained by Zito, went wire to wire for the 5 1/4-length victory. Big Brown became the 11th horse to win the first two legs but not the third since Affirmed won the Triple Crown in 1978.
Not only was Big Brown defeated, the 1-4 favorite was routed, so much so that jockey Kent Desormeaux, sensing something was wrong, pulled up his horse.
"He was keen to go on early," said Desormeaux. "He broke so hard, I got him out early and just cantered down the back side. A couple of times, he thought it was time to go and jumped into the bridle a couple of times. But I had no horse. This is the best horse I've ever ridden, and something was wrong with him. I took care of him."
Unlike in impressive wins in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, Desormeaux really didn't have a horse, as Big Brown eased up and finished last, while Da' Tara romped.
Da' Tara paid $79, $28, and 14.80. Denis of Cork was second and returned $5.80 and $4.10, and Anak Nakal (another Zito horse) and Ready's Echo finished in a dead heat for third.
Unlike Affirmed, which had to deal with Alydar in his chase for the Triple Crown, Big Brown had no real competition. Or so many believed.
Big Brown made his debut on turf in a 1 1/16-mile maiden special weights race at Saratoga last September. He broke out of the No. 1 post, as he did yesterday, and cruised to an 11 1/4-length victory.
But that was it for racing until the spring, as a series of hoof problems, which have plagued him for the last six months, kept him sidelined until he won an allowance race at Gulfstream Park March 5.
Big Brown won that one by 12 3/4 lengths and never looked back. He breezed to victory in the Florida Derby, which was followed by impressive tallies in the Derby and Preakness.
All of that was accompanied by the brash predictions and downright cockiness of trainer Rick Dutrow, who made each race Big Brown ran a "mortal lock."
Before yesterday's race, Dutrow continued to talk. "I envision he will win by daylight, easily," said Dutrow. "I don't see any dogfight in this race."
It was thought that Big Brown's task was made easier by the scratch earlier in the day of Casino Drive. In early Belmont week chatter, Casino Drive was regarded as the only a legitimate contender to Big Brown, a horse that could at least challenge him down the stretch.
Smarty Jones had been the last "super horse" to challenge for the Triple Crown. Four years ago, he came to Belmont after impressive wins in the Derby and Preakness, carrying a sense of inevitability.
It lasted until the final call, when Birdstone caught him at the wire, ending the dream.
Yesterday, the fates were not with Big Brown. The temperature was in the mid-90s, and then there was the question of Big Brown's health. A quarter crack in his left front hoof was patched Friday, but Dutrow and everyone else associated with the horse maintained he was healthy.
Desormeaux said he thought it was business as usual as he tried to gauge how to run with Da' Tara.
"I was keeping an eye in front," said Desormeaux. "So I said, let's engage. When I got outside on the first turn, I said this race is over, but there was no popped tires. I was just out of gas. I was done. I had no horse."
And horse racing again had no Triple Crown winner.
"I can't imagine what kind of freaks those 11 horses [who won the Triple Crown] were," said Desormeaux.
Zito, meanwhile, knew he had caught a break. "If Big Brown is Big Brown, he's going to win," said Zito. "But he wasn't himself."
Mark Blaudschun can be reached at blaudschun@globe.com.
