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Big Brown should win Triple Crown Tuesday, May 20, 2008 By Harry King LITTLE ROCK - None of the four non-athletes at "Dear N-L-R-H-S" could stay with their cigarette-smoking friend in a race of any distance, and they all believed he could have run track for the Wildcats if he had cared about competing. Such circumstances leads to idle talk, and somebody came up with the bright idea of a relay race - the foursome vs. the fast one. Somehow, we talked "Jackie" into a pre-school showdown. Four opponents were one too many and, after he caught his breath, he headed for the "hole" to take a deep drag. That's the sort of group effort it will take to prevent Big Brown from becoming the first Triple Crown winner in 30 years, and even a relay of sorts might not be enough. There are those who believe jockeys Jerry Bailey and Alex Solis ganged up on Smarty Jones in the 2004 Belmont and cost the Arkansas Derby winner the Triple Crown. The late Roy Chapman, Smarty Jones' owner, was convinced that Bailey rode Eddington that day to defeat his colt and not to win the race. The difference between Smarty Jones and Big Brown is that the former would chase after a horse in front of him and Big Brown will relax. Trainer Jack Van Berg once told jockey Chris McCarron that 1987 Kentucky Derby-Preakness winner Alysheba could gallop faster than the competition could run. Big Brown seems to be just as capable. Whether the riders teamed up to beat Smarty Jones, the colt's own jockey didn't help any when he was aggressive to the wire with a big lead in the Preakness. The winning margin of 11 1-2 lengths was a record, but winning by half that would have saved something for the Belmont. Smarty only needed another stride or two to hold off Birdstone in New York. Cognizant of the demands of the Belmont, jockey Kent Desormeaux geared down Big Brown in the Preakness on Saturday and won by 5 1-4 lengths. "I know we have horse left," trainer Rick Dutrow said. If not for the presence of the Japanese-owned Casino Drive, the only question about the Belmont would be margin of victory. "It looks like Big Brown might win the Belmont farther than Secretariat," said trainer Paddy Gallagher, referring to the 31-length victory that punctuated the Triple Crown romp of 1973. Even if Casino Drive is a freak, winning at 1 1-2-miles in the third race of his career is a monumental assignment. Big Brown is faster than any of the others being mentioned for the June 7 race and the possible competitors identified so far share a hang-back running style. If Desormeaux so desires, Big Brown can effortlessly open daylight and then expand the margin. Presuming he wins, Big Brown's undistinguished rivals will make it difficult to assign him a proper place on the list of all-time greats. Big Brown won the Derby with a 109 speed figure, better than Smarty Jones, Giacomo in 2005 and Fusaichi Pegasus in 2000, but below the number registered by Street Sense last year, Barbaro in 2006, War Emblem in 2002 and Monarchos in 2001. In the Preakness, Big Brown's best speed figure was 10 points or more above all of the others except for Arkansas Derby winner Gayego, who pitched in the towel after leading through a solid six furlongs. The field was suspect, but that doesn't matter, said trainer Bob Baffert, who trained Derby-Preakness winners in 1997, 98 and 2002. He's right. Winning at three distances at three racetracks in five weeks is the task. ------- Harry King is sports columnist for Stephens Media's Arkansas News Bureau. His e-mail address is hking@arkansasnews.com. |
