So Big Brown is back or is he? Pundits are praising his latest victory on Saturday in the Monmouth Stakes, a 1 1/8 turf race created just for him. He broke well, went wire to wire and got a great ride from Kent Desormeaux.
So is he a great horse or one just strategically trained and raced to look like one?
It's a fascinating question and one that I will not pretend to answer. Certainly the fact that he is seven for eight is impressive--with two of those victories coming in the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness--and certainly he has demonstrated versatility now over two surfaces, dirt and turf, but somehow I'm finding it hard to jump on the bandwagon.
Maybe its his connections, owners and trainer, that leave a bad taste in my mouth or maybe its the common knowledge about the fragility of his feet, but something does not scream legend the way Secretariat did. (Yes I am old enough to remember when he won the Triple Crown, especially the goose-bump inspiring performance at the Belmont).
I can't put my finger on the elusive quality that to me, at least, is missing--that je ne sais quoi that is often translated as "charisma" because it's not "heart" or speed or determination or even intelligence. I believe Big Brown has all those--he just doesn't have the star quality that puts him in the same category as Secretariat, Man O'War or even Barbaro.
Now, if he squares off against Curlin in the Breeder's Cup Classic and not just wins, but blows away the entire field--and I mean blows away--then I might change my mind. I guess I am looking for that definitive win that establishes with certitude and domination that he is a superstar.
What about you?
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2 comments:
I think that his connections, meaning his obnoxious traner and RICH organizational owner, take so much of the spotlight, that Big Brown's "star" appeal is unable to shine through. He's a great horse!
In the ESPN SportsCentury program on Secretariat, Mike Battaglia said
regarding Secretariat's win at Belmont, "There's no horse in the history of horse racing that could have ever beaten Secretariat on that day.
You can never say anything like that about Big Brown.
In any of his races, any number of other horses from the past, and maybe the present, could have beaten him.
I believe you're right. If Bg Brown is to be remembered as anything but a good horse in a bad year, the Cup needs to be a blow out.
TvNB
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