Nail
May 27th 2008 07:47
Twelve days before the Belmont Stakes, and with the distinct possibility of joining the list of racing immortals as a winner of the (US) Triple Crown, Big Brown has been sidelined with a quarter crack to his left front hoof.
The timing is interesting. Not too close to the date to cause catastrophe, but still meaning great concern that Big Brown will not be able to work for part of this week, or until they are confident of the repair and treatment and no residual hint of infection.
Big Brown has a history of hoof problems (trainers everywhere now nodding in recognition of the same common racehorse affliction) and did miss a lot of racing in his two year old year with the greater affliction of a hoof abscess. Trainer Rick Dutrow has brought in the same 'hoof specialist', Ian McKinlay, who treated him on those other occasions.
Of course a quarter crack to the hoof is (almost) the same as a human splitting a fingernail that goes right to the cuticle. Sore for us - but we don't place our weight on our nails and attempt to run - real fast. Painful enough just typing.
Big Brown hasn't worked since last Friday, but may (may) return to the track today. I think they might not be in any hurry to place pressure on him just yet and will probably walk him until (they are) more comfortable.
Normal convention with a horse rising to a staying trip (especially without the pedigree to recommend) is that any missed work will detract from the necessary fitness levels. In combination with this, Big Brown will race with glue-on shoes. Many professional punters in Australia would put a line right through the name of any horse wearing glue-on shoes.
Here is the situation: we have a freak racehorse looking to run a distance greater than any tackled previously; who has missed trackwork and conditioning; and who will also run on the maligned glue-on shoes. If any horse other than Big Brown was subject to this mishap I would be seriously looking to the Japanese horse Casino Drive (bred for the trip and trained for the trip) to be the one to beat in the Belmont Stakes. But Big Brown is exceptional. Big Brown is a freak. This drama gives the Belmont Stakes an extra dimension that was missing before the set back he has suffered.
(photo: AP images)
The crowd to watch the Belmont Stakes varies with the results of the two preceding races of the Triple Crown. If no horse has won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, then the Belmont Stakes day crowd is moderate. But if there is a possible Triple Crown winner the crowd hangs from the rafters. This Belmont will prove to be a dream, or a nightmare for US horse racing, and all dependent upon the 'split fingernail' of Big Brown. Whatever the outcome, US racing needs a larger than life hero. US racing needs a new (another) Triple Crown Champion.
Go Big Brown! (watch out for that Japanese horse and look after those cuticles).
Here is a video of the glue-on shoe process as performed by Ian McKinlay:
The timing is interesting. Not too close to the date to cause catastrophe, but still meaning great concern that Big Brown will not be able to work for part of this week, or until they are confident of the repair and treatment and no residual hint of infection.
Big Brown has a history of hoof problems (trainers everywhere now nodding in recognition of the same common racehorse affliction) and did miss a lot of racing in his two year old year with the greater affliction of a hoof abscess. Trainer Rick Dutrow has brought in the same 'hoof specialist', Ian McKinlay, who treated him on those other occasions.
Of course a quarter crack to the hoof is (almost) the same as a human splitting a fingernail that goes right to the cuticle. Sore for us - but we don't place our weight on our nails and attempt to run - real fast. Painful enough just typing.
Big Brown hasn't worked since last Friday, but may (may) return to the track today. I think they might not be in any hurry to place pressure on him just yet and will probably walk him until (they are) more comfortable.
Normal convention with a horse rising to a staying trip (especially without the pedigree to recommend) is that any missed work will detract from the necessary fitness levels. In combination with this, Big Brown will race with glue-on shoes. Many professional punters in Australia would put a line right through the name of any horse wearing glue-on shoes.
Here is the situation: we have a freak racehorse looking to run a distance greater than any tackled previously; who has missed trackwork and conditioning; and who will also run on the maligned glue-on shoes. If any horse other than Big Brown was subject to this mishap I would be seriously looking to the Japanese horse Casino Drive (bred for the trip and trained for the trip) to be the one to beat in the Belmont Stakes. But Big Brown is exceptional. Big Brown is a freak. This drama gives the Belmont Stakes an extra dimension that was missing before the set back he has suffered.
Casino Drive on target for the Belmont
(photo: AP images)
The crowd to watch the Belmont Stakes varies with the results of the two preceding races of the Triple Crown. If no horse has won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, then the Belmont Stakes day crowd is moderate. But if there is a possible Triple Crown winner the crowd hangs from the rafters. This Belmont will prove to be a dream, or a nightmare for US horse racing, and all dependent upon the 'split fingernail' of Big Brown. Whatever the outcome, US racing needs a larger than life hero. US racing needs a new (another) Triple Crown Champion.
Go Big Brown! (watch out for that Japanese horse and look after those cuticles).
Here is a video of the glue-on shoe process as performed by Ian McKinlay:
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Comment by Leonard Marlborough
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The mile and a half on dirt tests these young horses to their maximum. It does take a freak racehorse to achieve this feat in the modern era. The emphasis is on the mile and middle distance horse in breeding and training. If not Big Brown on this occasion I do wonder who could achieve it. The list of Triple Crown winners is full of freak performers. Very very good does not seem qualified enough.
Hard to tell from one crop of 2yo's to the next if they will step up as 3yo's. Immature bones and brains and no guarantee from one campaign to the next. Brilliant and resilient are usually not qualities found in combination in (especially) young racehorses. I think the past 30 years have been indicative of the degree of difficulty in achieving the Triple Crown. Doubtful if we will have a wave of freak horses one following the other. But horse racing is a mystery, so...