Watchmaker: Big Brown a long way from Big Red

[Scurlogue Champ]

It doesn't hold a candle to The Boatmen's Call by Nick Cave...

Sorry Dew

[Dunbar]

Originally Posted by RolloTomasi

Just for argument's sake, as far as the field goes at the time of the Marlboro Cup:

Key To The Mint was probably toast well before the race. He hadn't started in a couple of months and failed to establish his customary stalking position winding up last by many. He started 12 days later on turf and got trounced and was never heard from again. To say he was in good form at the time would have been dubious.

Kennedy Road and Riva Ridge dueled through ridiculous fractions and probably burned each other up. Cougar, a 7yo making his 48th career start off a brief layoff, was arguably a better grass horse than he was on the main track.

In addition, flanking this race was Secretariat's two monumental defeats in the Whitney and Woodward. To present it as though his Marlboro Cup was the definitive moment in Secretariat's career that somehow validated his greatness above all other Thoroughbred's is as ridiculous as having After Market at the top of your Turf Division leader board for 2008, even though he was retired in 2007...

Good stuff.

--Dunbar

[Thunder Gulch]

At this stage of the Triple Crown, Big Brown has won twice in very impressive fashion. At this stage of the Triple Crown in 1973, Secretariat had set two stakes records (Pimlico disputed), and he was about to run the race by which all others are measured.

[johnny pinwheel]

Originally Posted by Cannon Shell

It is like writing that Eli Manning isn't as good as Joe montana....no kidding.

i know the writer took a real chance with that proclaimation

[ateamstupid]

LOL @ Dew using an Oasis album as a parallel for one of the greatest thoroughbreds who ever lived. Seriously? **** Oasis..

[justindew]

Originally Posted by ateamstupid

LOL @ Dew using an Oasis album as a parallel for one of the greatest thoroughbreds who ever lived. Seriously? **** Oasis..

The list of people on this board who have no concept of irony continues to grow by the hour.

[Pedigree Ann]

Originally Posted by RolloTomasi

Just for argument's sake, as far as the field goes at the time of the Marlboro Cup:

Cougar, a 7yo making his 48th career start off a brief layoff, was arguably a better grass horse than he was on the main track.

...

Actually, he was only 6 - his birthday was October 16, 1966; a just turned 7yo back home in Chile. He had won 3 G1 races earlier in the year and placed in 4 other G1s, a slightly better year than he had at 6 (although he missed the summer due to an infection on a hind leg that year.)

Did the Coug really like turf better? He won the Californian twice, coming close to Swaps' track record one time; had a first and two seconds (one to HotY Ack Ack, the other by a nose, giving weight) in the Santa Anita H; he galloped in the Woodward by 5 lengths over the best the East Coast could gather, but had to give it back for crowding the tiring leader as he swept to the lead. He RAN on turf more often than on dirt, but its not clear he was better on one than on the other. The only things he didn't like were a wet track - dirt or turf - and races under a mile.

In the Marlboro, His Felinity knocked into the gate at the start, did some fancy broken-field running to get through the field, and was rapidly getting to Riva Ridge for second. Considering he was coming off of a layoff against race-fit competitors at a distance less than his best, he ran up to par, IMHO.

[blackthroatedwind]

Originally Posted by Pedigree Ann

Actually, he was only 6 - his birthday was October 16, 1966; a just turned 7yo back home in Chile. He had won 3 G1 races earlier in the year and placed in 4 other G1s, a slightly better year than he had at 6 (although he missed the summer due to an infection on a hind leg that year.)

No, actually he was 7.

This is lame even for you.

[ceejay]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cS4f6wiQJh4
Still gives me goosebumps after 35 years........

[hoovesupsideyourhead]

watchmaker gets one call right in 20 years ..=

[King Glorious]

This is why Watchmaker is the professional writer and insider and the rest of us are mere mortals. I honestly hadn't even considered the fact that Big Brown wasn't better than Secretariat.

[CSC]

OK I give in I have to make a comment...to be fair to Big Brown also. At the same point of Seattle Slew's career couldn't you substitute his name for Big Brown's in the title of his column.

Not many compare to Big Red. Oh well why not report the grass is green and the sky is blue.