Madeline Rockwell wrote:
>
> There was considerable mention of the spread shoe the day after the
> race. I'm waiting for Mr. Stovall's response to the second independent
> photo set.
The second photo suggests the original wasn't doctored, but raises more
questions than it answers.
There was no mention of a sprung shoe in the media (ESPN, CNN, NBC, CBS,
ABC, Fox, etc.)immediately after the Belmont, neither did Dutrow make
any mention of it in any of the post race interviews I saw. Presumably,
a beaten favorite was sent to the test barn and was closely inspected
there by the state vet, test barn personnel, as well as representatives
from Dutrow's barn, so one can only wonder why *none* of the horse's
connections made any mention of the sprung shoe immediately on leaving
the test barn. The plate sure a hell didn't "spring back" to its fitted
shape during the race and it undoubtedly affected Big Brown's
performance. When a trainer has a built-in excuse for running back and
fails to take advantage of it, one can only surmise he was unaware of it
- which does not speak highly of the communication within his barn.
Personally, I'm kinda wondering why he was wearing a sticker on a dry
track, but it was probably a prophylactic measure to widen him out so he
wouldn't snatch off the plastic in front.
--
Tom Stovall, CJF
stovall@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
(Remove REMOVE)
http://www.katyforge.com
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