Big Brown Finishes Last at Belmont

Associated Press
Published: June 7, 2008

      NEW YORK (AP) - Big Brown jockey Kent Desormeaux (deh-SOR’-moh)
said he “had no horse” and decided not to press the colt unduly
as he failed to become the 12th horse to win the third jewel of the
Triple Crown, the Belmont Stakes.
    Big Brown is the latest horse to win the Kentucky Derby and
Preakness only to fail in the race that is called the “Test of a
Champion.“
    Desormeaux, who also lost a 1998 Triple Crown bid by a nose
aboard Real Quiet, said it’s unclear whether Big Brown’s cracked
hoof played a role in his last-place finish.
    The jockey said he knew Big Brown was doomed five-eighths of a
mile from the end of the mile and a-half Belmont.
    “There is something amiss,“ Desormeaux said. “He’s probably
just tired.“
    Da’ Tara went wire to wire to beat eight other thoroughbreds for
the Belmont, the longest and toughest of the three classics.
    Winning trainer Nick Zito (ZEE’-toh) said of Big Brown: “He
wasn’t himself.“