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Secretariat was, quite literally, a freak of nature (his autopsy revealed that his heart was twice as big as normal), and I don’t think any of us will so another like him in our lifetime.
If I was the chief bookie at the Nugget sportsbook, Myles, I’d go 1-4 BB and 7/1 the Jap challenger. You could name your stake. I’m no jolly backer but if I was, I’d hammer your 2/5 until you started to weep.
Have you ever seen Secretariat’s Belmont back in 73? A performance which defied the physics of traditional dirt racing and, alongside Sea Bird’s Derby, perhaps the most jaw dropping thoroughbred triumph of the last fifty years.
I think Dutrow is setting BB up for something similar. Don’t say you weren’t warned.
With all due respect here, right now Big Brown does not even reside in the same galaxy as Secterariat. Studying the times and fractionals of his triple crown races will tell you that and Big Brown has to attempt to scale the unscaleable and that is the mountain called Secretariat’s Belmont race. I’d go one step further to call it the singular greatest performance by a thoroughbred post world war II possibly even longer than that.
Willoughby did a very thoughtful piece on tv several years back on the 30th anniversary of the race and it is simply mindboggling what he achieved in that race. His first 6 furlong time would have crushed grp.1 six furlong sprinters and while he was tearing down the Belmont backstretch he was actually accelerating into a fierce headwind. Andrew Beyer has many times attempted to assign a speed figure to this race but the great man has given up simply because the numbers he kept coming up with did not compute. I read an interview once where he stated that he simply gave it a +130, which is simply otherworldly.
Big Brown might still be sitting on a huge effort but Secretariat he is not and will never be.
Secretariat lost his next race after the Belmont at 1/10 on.
Gambling Only Pays When You're Winning
Forgive my enthusiasm – tis a dull 3-yo scene in these Isles this year.
Of course I’m not saying BB will be another Secretariat. Or anywhere near. On the other hand, I’m not rulling out the possibility either.
Brendan, what was the famous observation about the final furlong of the 73 Belmont and the time Secretariat took to pull up? I can’t find my reference…
Forgive my enthusiasm – tis a dull 3-yo scene in these Isles this year.
Of course I’m not saying BB will be another Secretariat. Or anywhere near. On the other hand, I’m not rulling out the possibility either.
Brendan, what was the famous observation about the final furlong of the 73 Belmont and the time Secretariat took to pull up? I can’t find my reference…
Maxilion, you might be referring to this one: "Secretariat’s stride at the finish was so powerful that it took jockey Ron Turcotte nearly two furlongs to pull him up. In fact, after Secretariat galloped out for 1/8 mile after the race his time for 1 and 5/8 miles including the cool down is alleged to be 2 minutes 37.6 seconds, which would have broken a world record set by the great Swaps in 1956 by three lengths".
Himself, Secretariat won his next race the Arlington International by approx. 10 lengths as a 1/20 shot. It was the Whitney where he lost as a 1/10 shot reputedly with a fever
brendanr >>>
Himself, Secretariat won his next race the Arlington International by approx. 10 lengths as a 1/20 shot. It was the Whitney where he lost as a 1/10 shot reputedly with a feverMy memory is not my strong point.
Secretariat was a indeed superb racehorse – though some of the old timers are adamant that Citation and Man O’ War were superior.Gambling Only Pays When You're Winning
The disappointment of course would be…
if Big Brown wins the Triple Crown, then retires immediately to stud.
For the sake of the sport (and if BB remains sound),
I hope he will continue to race… but I seriously doubt that will happen.————————————————————————————————–
Trainer Dutrow on Big Brown’s planned schedule:“Our plan is the Belmont, Travers, and Breeders’ Cup,â€
Secretariat’s Belmont preformance was simply staggering…Charlie Hatton (former editor of Daily Racing Form) summed it up for posterity when he said…’He could not have moved faster if he had fallen off the grandstand roof.’
Of course I’m not saying BB will be another Secretariat. Or anywhere near. On the other hand, I’m not rulling out the possibility either.
I am. Big Brown may be an outstanding animal (he isn’t at the moment, just a very good one) but he could stay up all night with a map and a compass and never get anywhere near Secretariat.
Secretariat was Horse of the Year at two and the envy of the world at three. Other horses have won the Triple Crown and not been in the Secretariat class. Plenty of horses haven’t won the Triple Crown and been better than Big Brown.
Big Brown is not the second coming. He’s just a very good horse.
The one truly great thing about Big Brown winning, as far as I can see, is the effective match race against Curlin which would surely ensue – it would be rather reminiscent of Seabiscuit and War Admiral.
After Secretariat was being pulled up from the Belmont Stakes, his time after he had covered 1 5/8 miles would have been a world record. That’s what I think is the story.
Interestingly,Timeform gave Secretariat a rating of 144, still one behind the daddy of them all.
Gambling Only Pays When You're Winning
Thanks Brendan (and Myles). The final furlong story is what I remember. I was fortunate enough to buy a coffee table book with accompanying DVD called “The Most Glorious Crown” by Marvin Drager when I was over the pond and it has footage of quite a few of the TC winners – and of course, the 73 Belmont. It’s one of my favourite possessions.
(Did you know that the ownership of Somethingroyal, the dam of Secretariat, was, like the naming of the Blue Riband of the turf, decided on the toss of a coin? Fortune, huh!)
LD, Big Brown is unbeaten, (Secretariat lost his first race, unluckily). He wins most of his races by good distances. He has already demonstrated a turn of foot unlike anything we’ve seen for a while – a quite breathtaking swooosh – where the change of gears from cruise to overdrive is almost imperceptible like a top quality sports car. And the eulogies from Dutrow’s peers in yesterday’s Post (some hefty luminaries, including the sage Bill Mott), suggest that we could be witnessing something very, very good indeed. I feel my optimism is at least partially justified here.
Interestingly, Secretariat himself was the first TC winner for twenty five years and many railbirds were saying they would never see another before Big Red’s famous treble.
PS: Himself, would that be Sea Bird, by any chance? (I genuinely don’t know)
PS: Himself, would that be Sea Bird, by any chance? (I genuinely don’t know)
Yes indeed – the very colt.
Incidentally, Secretariat ( great as he was ) lost five races during his twenty-one race career (his big rival, Sham, beat him prior to the Kentucky Derby).
In 1973, American magazine, "The Thoroughbred Record" asked its readers to list, in order of merit, the ten greatest horses of all time. The result was published on 17th November that year. Undefeated Italian trained colt, Ribot (16/16), was the only European horse to make the top ten (
).1) Man O’ War 1,487 votes
2) Citation 1,021 votes
3) Secretariat 923 votes
4) Kelso 780 votes
5) Native Dancer 520 votes
6) Count Fleet 455 votes
7) Buckpasser 357 votes
8 Ribot 320 votes
9) Dr. Fager 259 votes
10) Tom Fool 241 votesGambling Only Pays When You're Winning
Man o’ War to this generation and last is what Eclipse was to this generation and last: recognised as freaks of nature, but can we really ever know this?
Citation would win on turf, dirt, sand, broken glass, eggshells, water and cement, over 5 furlongs, 8 furlongs or 2 mile. Nothing seemed to phase him.
Why this worshipping of Big Brown if US racing in general and this horse especially are not "clean":
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/more_ … frown.html
http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/art … /805090372
Let’s hope European racing is and remains clean.
Secretariat was a indeed superb racehorse – though some of the old timers are adamant that Citation and Man O’ War were superior.
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