Desormeaux's triple crown quest foiled again
ELMONT, New York (Reuters) - For the second time in a decade Kent Desormeaux's date with destiny collapsed in the stretch at Belmont Park.
The jockey with the soft hands and steely nerves urged Big Brown to perform his magic but the colt showed no fire and finished last in the Belmont Stakes on Saturday.
In an instant, Desormeaux lost the triple crown, just like he had in the 1998 Belmont when 36-1 longshot Victory Gallop stunned Real Quiet at the wire.
There have been only 11 triple crown winners and none in the last 30 years and Desormeaux can fully appreciate just how difficult it is to achieve.
Big Brown had won his five previous races by a combined 39 lengths. Saturday's mile-and-a-half affair before 94,000 at steamy Belmont Park was expected to be a coronation.
"I can't fathom what kind of freaks those 11 Triple Crown winners were," he told reporters. "It's unfathomable to me. I mean I won the Derby with some pressure.
"I won the Preakness in an armchair ride. And for whatever reason, he wasn't resilient enough today. This is unknown to me because he's actually supposed to be a mile and a half horse.
"He's supposed to be a distance horse."
"These occasions have only made me realize how awesome those horses were."
STIFLING HEAT
Desormeaux was not sure if the stifling heat in New York took its toll on Big Brown or whether the son of Boundary was feeling the effects of a quarter crack in his hoof.
He said, however, that Big Brown's last-place finish would not hurt as much as Real Quiet's loss by a nose a decade ago. With Big Brown struggling in the stretch, Desormeaux had no second thoughts about pulling him up.
"I think there's absolutely something I could have done different (with Real Quiet)," he said. "That one just ate me up. This will never eat me up.
"This horse was in no way, shape or form lame or sore but there's something amiss. He's probably just tired.
"I thought in this horse's best interests, let's just get him back to the barn and recharge his batteries."
The Louisiana native said his desire to win each time out would remain the same with or without a Triple Crown on his resume.
"This obviously would have been a life-changing experience if I win, but it's life as usual," he said. "Nothing's going to change."
(Editing by Ed Osmond)
