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Tuesday, August 5, 2008

The Cock Doth Crow Once More

“Curlin couldn't win the Derby, we could," Dutrow said. "Curlin couldn't win [the Haskell], we could. Curlin got beat [by] a filly. We haven't. Our horse is undefeated on the grass. Curlin isn't. I don't know why people think Curlin is such a good horse. We're way better than Curlin.”

Oh, Rick...babe...get a grip, and back off the herbal enhancements. Paul Moran so eloquently rebuts Dutrow’s above quote here.

Those sunglasses he wore so stylishly on Sunday afternoon must be rose-colored because he obviously didn’t see the same Haskell the rest of the world did. The optimists may say he gutted it out when all looked lost to get up for the win, thus showing a different dimension. However, after reading numerous day-after reactions, many such as myself were completely underwhelmed and, in fact, greatly concerned for the Derby champ’s physical and/or mental health. This is not the same horse pre-Belmont. Trash-talking isn’t going to change that. It may make it easier to swallow the fact that Big Brown (1) is about to have a trainer change, or (2) needs to retire, and now.

As much as I may dislike the outward bravado that makes Dutrow such a buffoon and the track-record he has with illegally using drugs on his horses, I do believe that, at his core, Dutrow is an extremely talented horseman—rough around the edges, for sure, but he appears to instinctively have a way with horses even as he fails miserably with humans. In prepping for the Belmont, I criticized Dutrow’s lack of training Big Brown, but now I find it hard to believe the horse doesn’t have a serious unidentified issue that tied Dutrow’s hands. While IEAH may fruitlessly make a trainer switch, trying to eek out a BC Classic win, to what end? Probably nothing more than a couple extra dollar signs on his stud fee and an inflated ego.

Iavarone wants someone to offer a turf race in mid-September: “I know racetracks are going to make offers for us to come there. We're pretty adamant on getting that race in or around the 13th. We're hoping somebody will create a grass race for us, and I bet you somebody does. There'll be offers to get this horse. You saw yesterday the electricity in that place was awesome yesterday.”

Looks like Dutrow isn’t the only cock crowing these days.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

What's such a shame is that the horse gets lost in all the trash talk. Poor Big Brown, his people keep getting in his way.

Superfecta said...

Agree with Jessica - and as for getting beat by a filly, that's exactly what would happen if Big Brown were to take on just about anyone in the Distaff division at this point. He's no Zenyatta.