Michael Iavarone, head of IEAH Stables, said this morning that Big Brown checked out clean and the connections have no explanation for his last place finish in the Belmont.
“We’re just as confused as everybody else,” said Iavarone during a teleconference at Belmont Park.
The Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner appeared to be in good position on the back stretch Saturday, but gave nothing when asked for a move by jockey Kent Desormeaux.
When Desormeaux asked again only to receive the same result, the jockey eased Big Brown in the stretch.
“I had no horse,” said Desormeaux afterward.
Iavarone said Big Brown was “scoped” for any internal bleeding or mucous, but that nothing was found.
“We went over him good last night and this morning and there’s nothing physically that showed up,” he said. “Maybe the heat was too much for him. He just didn’t like it out there.”
Iavarone said that Big Brown’s feet were nice and cool Sunday morning, showing no signs of infection. He said the horse’s recent quarter-crack was not a problem, nor were his shoes an issue.
“I think we’ve got to chalk this one up to a question mark at this point,” he said.
Said Iavarone of the horse, “He’s just angry.”
Big Brown will ship from Belmont Park to Aqueduct, where trainer Rick Dutrow stables his horses, and, “unless something shows up in the next couple of days, he’ll return to his regular training schedule.”
Iavarone reiterated that the Travers continues to be Big Brown’s next target.
I just get a feeling that if Big Brown had come out of the gates on the outside, we would have a Triple Crown winner this morning. It was known all along that he didn’t like having dirt in his face and that’s exactly what he had breaking from the first gate. The heat probably didn’t help. But these things happen and we turn to our next “super-horse” to deliver a Triple Crown.