ascot aug08
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Sunday, May 04, 2008

SENSATIONAL



THE VERY BEST OF HORSE RACING - THE VERY WORST


BIG BROWN - 109 BEYER FIGURE,courtesy DAILY RACING FORM


And after all that - the favourite won. But what a favourite. BIG BROWN (Boundary-Mien by Nureyev) can be called the next BARBARO, the next SMARTY JONES, perhaps he is even better.
Maybe, just maybe, he is the next TRIPLE CROWN WINNER.

His trainer was right. His jockey was right. Rick Dutrow Jr. and Kent Desmormeaux and the gang at IEAH plus Paul Pompa...celevrating the Derby win of a superstar.

Very hard for some to celebrate though when a horse goes down. It happens a lot in big races.

EIGHT BELLES ran so hard to try and catch Big Brown. She was almost as good. Her owner and trainer were right.

Rick Porter and Larry Jones at the Fox Hill team report on its website that the filyl will be cremated and buried with a memorial dedicated to her.


"She had her ears up as she crossed the wire. We were high- fiving. I told everyone if we run 4th, 5th, or 6th, we've had a great weekend as long as she comes back to the barn good.
It was a 1/4 mile after the race.
(Breakdowns) just don't happen there. There's always a reason things happen, but right now I see no reason for this.
She ran the race of her life; she put it out there.
She went out in glory.
She went out a champion to us.
She was our family. I saw my son yesterday and my daughter today, but I saw Eight Belles every day.
She had been with us for a year.
Losing animals like this isn't fun. We're heartbroken. We're going to miss her."
Jockey Gabriel Saez added, "After we passed the wire I stood up. She started galloping funny and I tried to pull her up. But she went down."
Veterinarian Dr. Larry Bramlage said, "That is an injury that is painful. There was no way to save her. It was a catastrophic injury. One of the outriders saw both ankles collapse as she was running out."



**THOROUGHBLOG WILL TAKE TODAY OFF AND RETURN TOMORROW**




8 Comments:

  • At 8:30 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    So sad after such a great race. Who was the lovely gray who broke down in the 8th at Woodbine.Any word on his fate?

     
  • At 9:58 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I was at Woodbine yesterday to watch the Derby. I was so excited after the race, standing in line while I cashed my exactor ticket. I had no idea that anything had happened. I did actually breathe a small sigh of relief when I saw all the horses cross the wire safely. I left on a high of watching what I thought was a great race; maybe I had just seen the next TC winner, but I was sure I had just seen fantastic performance from what was undoubtedly a super filly. It wasn't until I got home that I heard what had happened to Eight Belles. I was shocked and stunned. She looked fine crossing the wire. Nothing from the simulcast indicated anything had been wrong. Now this Derby is tarnished for me. I'm a huge racing fan and have been for most of my life, but at times like this it can almost turn me off the sport. It is such a game of highs and lows. And we will never know how great she could have been.

    The gray that broke down in the 8th at Woodbine was Sargeant Silver. He looked to be off behind. I would like to know his fate as well.

     
  • At 9:58 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I was at Woodbine yesterday to watch the Derby. I was so excited after the race, standing in line while I cashed my exactor ticket. I had no idea that anything had happened. I did actually breathe a small sigh of relief when I saw all the horses cross the wire safely. I left on a high of watching what I thought was a great race; maybe I had just seen the next TC winner, but I was sure I had just seen fantastic performance from what was undoubtedly a super filly. It wasn't until I got home that I heard what had happened to Eight Belles. I was shocked and stunned. She looked fine crossing the wire. Nothing from the simulcast indicated anything had been wrong. Now this Derby is tarnished for me. I'm a huge racing fan and have been for most of my life, but at times like this it can almost turn me off the sport. It is such a game of highs and lows. And we will never know how great she could have been.

    The gray that broke down in the 8th at Woodbine was Sargeant Silver. He looked to be off behind. I would like to know his fate as well.

     
  • At 11:35 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Big horse,Big race, how many will appose Big Brown in the preakness ?? Bad to see the filly go down, it is the sad part of racing !!

     
  • At 12:57 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Did anyone else watch the the NBC Derby coverage with disgust? I rather wish I had stayed in the barn until post time for the Derby...seemed like an long NBC commercial for it's programming and certainly not much about the Derby. I couldn't believe some of those interviews, nor the poor commentary on horses other than the favourites. Thumbs down to NBC for that poor portrayal of the Kentucky Derby!

     
  • At 6:51 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Lois, I couldn't agree with you more. That bit with the guys from the NBC show "The Office" was a waste of time.

     
  • At 8:41 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    God bless Eight Belles ... RIP beautiful...

     
  • At 7:19 PM, Blogger halski said…

    Lois, 100% agreement on the poor coverage by NBC on the Derby.
    The red carpet interviews were just plain awful along with that "office skit"

     

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