Saturday's inaugural running of the $500,000 Monmouth S. already had BIG BROWN's (Boundary) name on it, in that the turf event was scripted just for the dual classic hero. But after a power-packed nine furlongs in 1:47 2/5 on the good going, Big Brown took possession of the trophy by right of conquest, holding off Proudinsky (Ger) (Silvano [Ger]) by a neck at the wire. With this custom-made, grassy tune-up under his belt, the Richard Dutrow trainee has now taken aim on the October 25 Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) at Santa Anita.
Racing on turf for the first time since his 11 1/4-length demolition job at Saratoga as a juvenile, Big Brown sprinted to the early lead. The only rival who attempted to go with him was Get Serious (City Zip), who could not muster the same level of speed, went wide on the clubhouse turn, and settled for the stalking role. As Big Brown rattled off fractions of :23 2/5 and :46 4/5, the tracking Get Serious was himself about four lengths ahead of the remainder of the field. Big Brown got a bit of a breather through six furlongs in 1:11 1/5, Get Serious drew closer, and the field, spearheaded by Proudinsky, soon closed the gap nearing the far turn.
Big Brown lengthened stride as he set sail for home, but Proudinsky covered his move and emerged as his principal threat in the stretch. One length adrift at the eighth-pole, Proudinsky kept clawing back the yards inside the final furlong. Despite the apparent danger, Kent Desormeaux did not go into an all-out drive on Big Brown, instead conveying a sense of urgency with the whip turned down. Proudinsky never quite got there, and Big Brown kept pulling out more to capture his first start against older horses. The 3-5 choice gave back $3.20, $2.60 and $2.20 while keying $1 exotics worth $5.70 (exacta), $15.20 (trifecta) and $44.60 (4-6-3-11 superfecta).
"Except for his last race, the Haskell (Invitational [G1]), I've never asked him to break," Desormeaux said. "Today when the gates opened, I chirped at him and he responded. It made a huge difference going into that first turn when that other horse (Get Serious) left his side. When that happened, he focused and calmed down.
"I think he showed you what kind of heart he's got," the rider added. "When Proudinsky did get to his neck, I knew we had him. My horse just resurged and kept digging all the way to the wire."
"I thought they were going to pass him," Dutrow admitted. "He put in so much effort early on. He's got a lot of heart and determination. Everything good about the racing game we saw today."
Proudinsky's rider, Ramon Dominguez, also believed that he would catch Big Brown.
"I thought I was going to get to him in the lane," Dominguez said. "But once he felt me to his side, he just dug in. We got up to his head and he just fought right back."
Proudinsky, the 5-2 second choice, returned $3 and $2.40 for finishing a half-length ahead of Shakis (Ire) (Machiavellian). The third-placer yielded $2.80 as the third choice at 6-1. Silver Tree (Hennessy) checked in fourth, followed by Fagedaboudit Sal (Yarrow Brae), Hotstufanthensome (Awesome Again), Get Serious, Nightscape (Mojave Moon) and Kiss the Kid (Lemon Drop Kid). Ballonenostrikes (Lost Soldier) and Drum Major (Dynaformer) were scratched in favor of Saturday's PTHA President's Cup S., where they finished second and fourth, respectively.
Campaigned by IEAH Stables, Paul Pompa Jr. et al, Big Brown has now won seven of eight career starts and amassed $3,614,500. After his smashing debut score for trainer Patrick Reynolds at Saratoga last year, IEAH snapped up the colt and transferred him to Richard Dutrow. He took an off-the-turf allowance by 12 3/4 lengths in his sophomore bow, then the Florida Derby (G1) by five lengths, the Kentucky Derby by 4 3/4 lengths, and the Preakness by 5 1/4 lengths. Big Brown suffered his only loss to date when going for the Triple Crown in the Belmont S. (G1), where he was eased. The bay rebounded last time out in the Haskell at Monmouth, getting up late to win by 1 3/4 lengths.
Bred in Kentucky by Monticule, Big Brown brought the gavel down at $190,000 at the 2007 Keeneland April Two-Year-Olds in Training sale. He is out of the winning Mien (Nureyev) and counts the unraced two-year-old filly My Chestnut Girl (Horse Chestnut [SAf]), an unnamed yearling filly by Touch Gold and a weanling filly by Belong to Me as half-siblings. This is the same female family as 1997 champion older mare Hidden Lake (Quiet American), who captured that year's Hempstead H. (G1), Go for Wand S. (G1), Beldame S. (G1) and Shuvee H. (G2).
Team Big Brown is looking ahead to the Classic, and a tilt at Horse of the Year honors.
"I think he's ready today," Desormeaux said. "If the Breeders' Cup were today, he would be ready. He's come full circle since whatever happened in the Belmont Stakes."
"This race was not the end of the world for us, but we needed it for timing for the next race," Dutrow noted. "To win it was great. Now we can go to the next race with confidence. All he needs to do is like that track (Santa Anita's newly installed synthetic Pro-Ride surface)."
