Admittedly, it was tough to swallow all the hype over the past several days. You're forgiven if you wondered whether Dutrow, gregarious and infectious, really knew his horse would win or he just really wanted his horse to win. As Big Brown's co-owner, Michael Iavarone, said, "Rick's word is God to me," so what Dutrow says about Big Brown's near future won't be easy to dismiss.
Put simply, Dutrow likes his horse - a whole lot - but it's too early for him to break out the bold predictions.
Big Brown now faces the same obstacle as every Derby winner before - ridiculously little prep time before the next leg of the Triple Crown series. Dutrow likes taking his time between races, and the two questions we'll hear again and again are: Will Big Brown be ready to do it again in two weeks? And will Dutrow?
"The timing is not good for me," he said. "I know he looks like he's the best horse of this crop, but still, he's got to go over there in two weeks and has to show up there the right way again.
"I don't think I'm going to feel as confident because I really love training a horse for a race. I can't do it now. My hands are tied."
When Dutrow saw his jockey, Kent Desormeaux, in the paddock after yesterday's Derby, he said there was only thing he had to tell him: "We got to go back in two weeks."
Desormeaux has ridden atop three Kentucky Derby winners. He senses something different about Big Brown. He has been cautious about predictions, coyly saying early in the week and again after the race last night that he'll let Big Brown show us how good he is.
But Desormeaux doesn't mind revealing that he thinks the big bay colt has more talent than any horse he has ridden, an impressive list that includes Real Quiet and Fusaichi Pegasus.
Desormeaux, one of the top jockeys to come out of Maryland, is the one who best captured the day's conflicting emotions. Few of the men in the barns know what it's like to take a horse to the winner's circle at the Derby. But many know what it's like to lose one with great potential.
"I think this horse, he showed you his heart," Desormeaux said of Big Brown, "and Eight Belles showed you her life."
It wasn't easy to listen to Jones talk about his lost filly. The hurt dripped off his words. It was clear he loved his filly.
It was touching, and while the different emotions were jarring, the depth of emotions was reassuring. As different as the tears were around Big Brown, there was also no denying how much Dutrow loves his horse.
"I can't express my feelings, only that it's one of the most incredible feelings I've ever felt," he said. "And I can't wait to feel it again."
rick.maese@baltsun.com
