08 June 2008

espn columnist pat forde excoriates big brown trainer rick dutrow

wow. this guy must have lost a bundle on big brown.


By Pat Forde
ELMONT, N.Y. -- How now, Brown Crown?

How now, Rick Dutrow, do you explain the biggest bust since Morganna the Kissing Bandit?

How now does it feel to be the freshly humbled fool of thoroughbred racing, after your waltz to the Triple Crown turned into a disaster, a last-place finish, a Brownout? How now do you justify all the obnoxious bragging about your horse, Big Brown? How now do you possibly answer for having flagrantly disrespected the difficulty of the task before you?

You remember, babe: Winning the Belmont and the first Triple Crown in 30 years was a "foregone conclusion." You dismissed the field by saying, "These horses just cannot run with Big Brown." You envisioned winning this race "by daylight, easily. I just don't see no dogfight in this race."

It might not have been a dogfight. But there was one dog in the race: the Brown Bomber. This was the worst performance by a Brown since W. told Mike he was doing a heck of a job handling Katrina.

When it was over and Big Brown had been eased by jockey Kent Desormeaux while long shot Da' Tara won wire-to-wire, the disbelief at the mammoth old track was palpable. Dutrow walked with the colt back to the stable area with his blue shirt plastered to his skin. It was the definition of flop sweat.

The cocky trainer, who had all the answers for five weeks, had none. If bettors had a dollar for every time Dutrow said, "I don't know" when he finally talked to the media Saturday evening, they might have won back everything they lost on Big Brown. ~ read more