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Originally Posted by ArlJim78
those were his best performances, for sure. but what recent derby winner could not have beat that field this year, from any post? remember most horses in the field had best beyer figs of mid nineties. do you think Barbaro or Street Sense or Hard Spun would have any problem?
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Giacomo, and possibly others.
Would Street Sense or Hard Spun have had a problem? We can only guess, but probably not. I doubt either would have shown that explosive move that Big Brown demonstrated when he spurted away from the field, though.
Winning from the outside at Gulfstream was considered near impossible before this year's Florida Derby. Despite that, when Big Brown drew the outside at Churchill, many cappers (including some here) were ecstatic that they would be able to bet against him while the "clueless" would bet him regardless of post.
Here are some very good recent horses that
didn't win the Derby from better post positions than Big Brown's: Cat Thief, Point Given, Medagia d'Oro, Came Home, Empire Maker, Afleet Alex. Granted, these horses faced more solid competition than Big Brown (though Point Given finished behind Invisible Ink and Thunder Blitz), but my point is that the Derby is not a 'gimme'.
There's no question that Curlin has run against significantly better horses than Big Brown. I, too, think he is the better horse and has by far the greater accomplishments. Dutrow's comments were idiotic. But Big Brown's 3 race run from the Florida Derby through the Preakness was impressive in its own right.
--Dunbar