The real reason Big Brown lost?
DiscreetCat
Moderator
Big Brown's right rear shoe came loose shortly after the start of the Belmont Stakes (gr. I).
Mike Iavarone, co-president of IEAH Stables, had a strong reaction to a photo that appeared in the June 21 issue of The Blood-Horse that showed the back of Big Browns right hind shoe, which had been put on the morning of the Belmont Stakes (gr. I), dislodged from his hoof shortly after the start of the race.
The colt was pulled up by jockey Kent Desormeaux at the top of the stretch, ending his bid for a Triple Crown.
Someone e-mailed me the photo and everybodys all over it now, Iavarone said. When the horse came back after the race, he didnt have a separation like he had (in the photo); he just had a spread shoe. We didnt realize the shoe had dislodged the way it did. Its a very curious area. Just above the bend, it looks like a theres a loose nail. There is a possibility he could have been running on a hot nail.
"The other possibility is, if the nail broke off and came out, then he was running on a loose toe grab. I talked to Ian, and this has now moved to the top of everybodys list. How it happened is the question; its very strange.
Of all the possibilities why he ran the way he did, this is the most interesting thing weve seen yet. This could very well be the answer were looking for. You have him running on that loose bend, and you have the potential of him grabbing a nail. Thats the crazy part of it. Rick said when he came back, the shoe had spread, but it wasnt like it shows in this photo. So, the shoe re-set somehow, but not right. Thats why were thinking he might have caught a nail.
Dutrow, however, does not believe the shoe was a major issue, but said he had not seen the photo.
I told Mike (Iavarone) right after the race all I see is that hes got a little bit of a spread shoe behind, Dutrow said. When he came out of the gate, maybe he got stepped on. Ive told Mike and everybody I dont see anything whatsoever wrong with the horse. Now, I saw the spread shoe right when he came off the track, and my blacksmith took it off. If there was an issue, when you take the shoe off, the horse would flinch from it. He did not flinch, and the blacksmith had to use his tools to take it off.
"So, the shoe was on there real nice and good. I was watching this horse for any bad steps, and if Mike puts it out there that this was the reason, Im going to continue to say I do not see anything wrong with this horse. If they have a picture where the shoe is loose, it probably went right back in place when he put the foot down.
I talked to Kent (Desormeaux) yesterday, and he said the same thing he said right after the race: There is nothing wrong with this horse. I was looking for a problem and I didnt see one. I saw a little bit of a spread shoe, and when we took it off, he walked good and didnt take a single sore step. So how can it possibly be an issue?
When asked about the possibility that Big Brown might have displaced his soft palate from the stress early in the race, Dutrow said, We scoped him and he could not have scoped better. Its the only time I ever scoped the horse, because I couldnt see anything wrong. He scoped completely clean with a very good scope veterinarian. There was absolutely nothing.
"If he would have made a sound during a gallop or a breeze during the time Ive had him, we would have scoped him. We never had to, and the only reason I scoped him after the Belmont was because something clearly was not right. So I eliminated displacing and I eliminated the back shoe. I have no idea what to blame everything on.
"Was it because of the first half-mile? Its very possible. Throw that in with the back shoe, and people said he didnt sweat (which Ive seen him sweat); Ive heard all kinds of things. If you put them all together maybe it would add up. Ive only been concentrating on the horse and I have not seen anything wrong with him.
Im training forwardly, but cautiously. After the race, I talked to Ian and said, Ian, lets just strip him down, let him go barefoot for a couple of weeks unless you see a reason why you have to put the shoes right back on, and Im just gonna jog him for about three weeks just to give him a little bit of a break. So far, everything has been right on schedule, and the horse looks as happy as he can be.
So, the mystery of Big Browns performance continues, likely never to be solved.
Mike Iavarone, co-president of IEAH Stables, had a strong reaction to a photo that appeared in the June 21 issue of The Blood-Horse that showed the back of Big Browns right hind shoe, which had been put on the morning of the Belmont Stakes (gr. I), dislodged from his hoof shortly after the start of the race.
The colt was pulled up by jockey Kent Desormeaux at the top of the stretch, ending his bid for a Triple Crown.
Someone e-mailed me the photo and everybodys all over it now, Iavarone said. When the horse came back after the race, he didnt have a separation like he had (in the photo); he just had a spread shoe. We didnt realize the shoe had dislodged the way it did. Its a very curious area. Just above the bend, it looks like a theres a loose nail. There is a possibility he could have been running on a hot nail.
"The other possibility is, if the nail broke off and came out, then he was running on a loose toe grab. I talked to Ian, and this has now moved to the top of everybodys list. How it happened is the question; its very strange.
Of all the possibilities why he ran the way he did, this is the most interesting thing weve seen yet. This could very well be the answer were looking for. You have him running on that loose bend, and you have the potential of him grabbing a nail. Thats the crazy part of it. Rick said when he came back, the shoe had spread, but it wasnt like it shows in this photo. So, the shoe re-set somehow, but not right. Thats why were thinking he might have caught a nail.
Dutrow, however, does not believe the shoe was a major issue, but said he had not seen the photo.
I told Mike (Iavarone) right after the race all I see is that hes got a little bit of a spread shoe behind, Dutrow said. When he came out of the gate, maybe he got stepped on. Ive told Mike and everybody I dont see anything whatsoever wrong with the horse. Now, I saw the spread shoe right when he came off the track, and my blacksmith took it off. If there was an issue, when you take the shoe off, the horse would flinch from it. He did not flinch, and the blacksmith had to use his tools to take it off.
"So, the shoe was on there real nice and good. I was watching this horse for any bad steps, and if Mike puts it out there that this was the reason, Im going to continue to say I do not see anything wrong with this horse. If they have a picture where the shoe is loose, it probably went right back in place when he put the foot down.
I talked to Kent (Desormeaux) yesterday, and he said the same thing he said right after the race: There is nothing wrong with this horse. I was looking for a problem and I didnt see one. I saw a little bit of a spread shoe, and when we took it off, he walked good and didnt take a single sore step. So how can it possibly be an issue?
When asked about the possibility that Big Brown might have displaced his soft palate from the stress early in the race, Dutrow said, We scoped him and he could not have scoped better. Its the only time I ever scoped the horse, because I couldnt see anything wrong. He scoped completely clean with a very good scope veterinarian. There was absolutely nothing.
"If he would have made a sound during a gallop or a breeze during the time Ive had him, we would have scoped him. We never had to, and the only reason I scoped him after the Belmont was because something clearly was not right. So I eliminated displacing and I eliminated the back shoe. I have no idea what to blame everything on.
"Was it because of the first half-mile? Its very possible. Throw that in with the back shoe, and people said he didnt sweat (which Ive seen him sweat); Ive heard all kinds of things. If you put them all together maybe it would add up. Ive only been concentrating on the horse and I have not seen anything wrong with him.
Im training forwardly, but cautiously. After the race, I talked to Ian and said, Ian, lets just strip him down, let him go barefoot for a couple of weeks unless you see a reason why you have to put the shoes right back on, and Im just gonna jog him for about three weeks just to give him a little bit of a break. So far, everything has been right on schedule, and the horse looks as happy as he can be.
So, the mystery of Big Browns performance continues, likely never to be solved.
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