Big Brown displayed his championship form on Saturday, September 13, at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, NJ, as he dug in to win by a neck over hard-charging Proudinsky, in the inaugural running of the Monmouth Stakes. The 1 1/8 miles turf race, Big Brown’s first against older horses, served as a prep for his next challenge, the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita, on October 25.
“Except for his last race, the Haskell, I’ve never asked him to break,” said Kent Desormeaux, who was aboard Big Brown for wins in the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Haskell Invitational. “Today when the gates opened, I chirped at him and he responded. “I think he showed you what kind of heart he’s got. 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.”
The Monmouth winner’s purse of $300,000 increased Big Brown’s career earnings to $3,576,700 and despite his last place finish in the Belmont Stakes, attributed to a loose shoe, he goes into the Breeders’ Cup Classic with an almost certain lock on the year end 3-year-old championship title.
“This race was not the end of the world for us, but we needed it for timing for the next race and to win it was great,” said the colt’s trainer Rick Dutrow. “Now we can go to the next race with confidence. All he needs to do is like that track (synthetic surface at Santa Anita).”
Michael Iavarone, a partner in the ownership of Big Brown, was also impressed with the horse’s performance. “I got a little worried after the quick early fractions, especially with that horse (Get Serious) rating in just behind him,” he admitted. “But in the lane, I watched the way Kent was riding and when I saw he was still riding with confidence, I was able to relax. The way he dug down this afternoon showed his true heart and courage. There is nothing he can do that will surprise me any more.”
Ramon Dominguez, who rode Proudinsky, said, “We got a good trip and I thought I was going to get to him in the lane. But once he felt me to his side, he just dug in. We got up to his head and he just fought right back.”
Joe Bravo, who rode Shakis, also thought he had a shot at victory. “At the top of the lane, I thought I was going to get Big Brown. When the horse got to him, he just fought right back. He didn’t care that he was tired, he just wanted to beat the horses to his outside.
“I underestimated Big Brown,” Bravo said. “Until today, when he showed what kind of horse he is.”