Big Brown’s little white spot (Charles Pravata)

I think Joe Drape’s sneak peak of the Belmont under card over at The Rail is what did it. Damn, that’s one fine looking under card!

Benny the Bull, Thor’s Echo and Kelly’s landing? Bring it! Not to mention, Thor’s Echo!!! Bayou’s Lassie, Criminologist and Sharp Susan? J Be K and Majestic Warrior? Indian Blessing, Sherine and Zaftig? Einstein, Better Talk Now and pretty much the whole field of the Manhattan? I’m ready to start handicapping now!

As news of all the Belmont contenders trickles in, it’s also hard not to excited about the Belmont as well. Big Brown foot issue is a non-issue, Prado gets the mount on Casino Drive, Garcia gets the mount on Tomcito, Tale of Ekati made Tagg crabby, Denis of Cork is fresh and working incredibly well, Gomez get the mount on Macho Again, Ready’s Echo is in and Anak Nakal is working well.

Last year was my first Belmont as a fan, and as a New Yorker you know I was there! Swifty and I were marveling at how incredible it would be for our first two Belmont’s to be of the historical variety. Since Swifty is the luckiest man alive I think it’s a distinct possibility, I mean let’s forget Big Brown for a moment, it’s really all about Iavarone, Swifty!

Posted by dana on May 29 2008    
Filed Under: 2008, Benny the Bull, Thorn Song, Sharp Susan, Indian Blessing, Big Brown, Einstein, Anak Nakal, Denis of Cork, Casino Drive, Criminologist, Majestic Warrior, Barclay Tagg, Belmont, Retirement Watch, Fans, Belmont Stakes, Edgar Prado, Charles Pravata, Alan Garcia, 3yo, Racing

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Edgar Prado at Belmont (~ RAYMOND)

Prado gets the mount on Casino Drive… now if they’d just put Channing Hill on Tomcito.

Posted by dana on May 28 2008    
Filed Under: 2008, Channing Hill, Raymond Haddad, Casino Drive, Tomcito, :), Edgar Prado, Belmont, Triple Crown, Belmont Stakes, International Racing, Racing

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Casino Drive says hello to the paparazzi at Belmont (Sarah K. Andrew)

Sarah has some great shots of Casino Drive and the Japanese invasion of Belmont over at flickr.

So far, things are looking good for the Big Brown one.

And it seems like a good old fashion trash talkin’ rivalry is heating up between Dutrow and Asmussen (see the Dutrow quotes and Asmussen link… ).

Dutrow: “Well, I’ve seen Curlin get beat by a filly — so that is not impressive to me. I can’t imagine there’s a filly breathing air that could beat Big Brown.”

I’d peg Asmusssen as Crystal and Dutrow as Alexis in that battle!

Posted by dana on May 26 2008    
Filed Under: Hype, Big Brown, Casino Drive, 2008, Sarah K. Andrew, Triple Crown, Belmont Stakes, 3yo, Racing

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Big Brown in the barn prior to the Preakness (rick samuels photography)

at the real prospect of a Triple Crown winner. I was over at YouTube watching replays of Secretariat, Seattle Slew, and others when this pops up on my RSS.

Then, over at Railbird, this rumor resonated with something that seemed odd to me but I passed off as my apparently new seasonal allergy induced drowsiness (which is irritatingly impervious to caffeine).

In an(other) article about how a mount for Casino Drive hasn’t been decided upon yet:

Desormeaux’s mount for the Belmont is unbeaten Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) and Preakness Stakes (G1) winner Big Brown, who will have to outrun Casino Drive to become racing’s 12th Triple Crown winner.

Nobutaka Tada, managing director of Globe Equine Management Ltd. and spokesperson for Yamamoto and Fujisawa, expects a jockey decision to be made soon and said Take is one of the riders being considered.

…

“We will wait a few days to see how Big Brown is doing and how we are doing,” Tada said.

Desormeaux has ridden Big Brown in four straight starts, including a 5 1/4-length victory in the Preakness on May 17 at Pimlico Race Course. The Boundary colt previously scored a 4 3/4-length win under Desormeaux in the Kentucky Derby on May 3 at Churchill Downs.

Odd, right? I mean why mention that they’ll wait to see how Big Brown is doing? Perhaps I’m taking it out of context too much because the next paragraph goes on to quote Tada as saying that BB was impressive in the Derby and Preakness but that they brought Casino Drive here specifically for this race. But still.

Well, I guess I could have included a “He won’t make it to the Belmont” selection in my poll but even I wouldn’t have voted for that! I actually voted for “They’ll go after Curlin“, and I still really, really hope for that.

So, let’s hope Babe is right and that it really is no big deal… at least that’s what I hope (along with a full 3 yo campaign where he stays sound).

Posted by dana on May 25 2008    
Filed Under: Kent Desormeaux, 2008, Big Brown, Casino Drive, International Racing, Belmont Stakes, Retirement Watch, Belmont, Triple Crown, Racing

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Kent D, who’s job it IS to talk about Big Brown (~ RAYMOND)

Thus spoke Tada Nobutaka in a video interview held recently at Belmont.

I love the way he talks about Casino Drive. He characterizes the challenger as “a happy horse”, “relaxed”, with a “nice mind”, who is “very cute”… he goes on “we love him”. Awwwww! And in fact, Casino Drive does look cute in the video, no news there!

In reference to his antics in the paddock prior to the Peter Pan, Nobutaka said that he didn’t want to kick anyone, he was just ready to run. And run he did!

There’s also a clip of Dutrow of talking about Big Brown, he says something to the effect of “we don’t have to do anything special to get him ready for this race, it’s just in him”. Now there’s something I believe coming out of his mouth!

Posted by dana on May 22 2008    
Filed Under: 2008, Sportsmanship, Raymond Haddad, Big Brown, Casino Drive, 3yo, Kent Desormeaux, Belmont, Belmont Stakes, International Racing, Media, Racing

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