NEW YORK — His first Triple Crown bid ended by a nose. This one was over way before Big Brown closed on the finish line.
Ten years apart, the pair of crushing finishes stung jockey Kent Desormeaux.
“I think I’m numb, really,” he said. “A little lost. Just feeling no emotion whatsoever. Blank.”
Desormeaux added a second Belmont Stakes heartbreaker to his Hall of Fame career. A decade after losing aboard Real Quiet, Desormeaux failed in his shot at redemption Saturday and lost the Belmont aboard Big Brown.
No Triple Crown. No shot. Worst of all, nothing left in his spectacular horse.
Desormeaux and Big Brown failed in their bid to become horse racing’s 12th Triple Crown winner and finished dead last.
“I had no horse. He was empty,” Desormeaux said. “I couldn’t be fifth. We all knew that something was wrong.”
Dr. Larry Bramlage said the bay colt was healthy. That was about the only good news for Desormeaux, trainer Rick Dutrow Jr. and the owners of the colt after he ran way behind winner Da’ Tara, the longest shot on the board at 38-1.
Desormeaux hopped off Big Brown and quickly started looking for Dutrow. The two didn’t immediately find each other on the track. They’ll be looking even longer for answers on what went wrong.
“This horse was in no way, shape or form lame or sore,” Desormeaux said. “But there’s something amiss, probably just tired. In the horse’s best interest, let’s get him back to the barn and recharge his batteries.”
Desormeaux called Big Brown the best horse he had ridden, better than Real Quiet.
He said there was no comparison between the horses in the two races.
“Any time I could be less than a length, I think there’s absolutely something I could have done different, and that one just ate me up,” Desormeaux said. “This will never eat me up.”
Big Brown wore down at the 5/8 pole — or, about 100 yards before the final turn.
