No easy stroll to Triple Crown

ELMONT, N.Y. – The Belmont Park barns housing Big Brown and Casino Drive are six furlongs apart, give or take a furlong or two.

They might just as well be continents from each other.

Big Brown is the star attraction of Belmont Stakes week. His bid to become the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978 has generated such media interest that a rail has been installed to separate the media throng from the rest of the barn area. A cadre of security guards and local police officers keeps law and order. OK, just order.

Over at the Casino Drive barn, there was a lot less commotion Tuesday. As the Japanese-owned colt ate grass at an area adjacent to the structure, one of his handlers was talking to several Japanese reporters, with two English-speaking peers waiting their turn. Casino Drive’s handlers seemed more concerned with when Big Brown was working out than with the condition of their horse.

Don’t be misled, however. As much as Big Brown trainer Rick Dutrow Jr., who never knows when to keep quiet, would like us to believe that the Belmont will be nothing more than a leisurely jog for his horse, there are two potential X-factors in Saturday’s race.

One is the five-eighths-inch quarter crack on Big Brown’s left hoof, which didn’t seem to bother the colt, as he looked impressive in his final breeze before the race.

The other is Casino Drive, the Kentucky-bred horse. He should be the second betting choice in a field that lacks star power after its main attraction.

He’s the curiosity horse in the race. He’s raced only twice, an 11 1/2 -length victory in Japan and a 5 1/4 -length win in the Peter Pan Stakes at Belmont the week after the Kentucky Derby.

Kent Desormeaux will be in Big Brown’s saddle, but he was on Casino Drive in the Peter Pan. When he got off in the winner’s circle, the jockey turned to his agent and said, “Here’s our competition in the Belmont.”

He just might be. Casino Drive, whose Beyer Speed Figure of 101 in the Peter Pan was better than Big Brown’s 100 in the Preakness, has the pedigree. He’s a half-brother to Jazil, the 2006 Belmont champ, and a three-quarter brother to last year’s winner, Rags to Riches. Better Than Honour is only the second mare to produce United States classic winners in back-to-back years. No broodmare has produced three American classic winners.

If Casino Drive is to produce a classic, he’ll do it on his terms. His handlers may be in the U.S., but they’re sticking to their non-conventional Japanese training procedures.

That means a lot of grazing and power-walking next to his barn and less demanding breezes.

He went five furlongs in a slow 1:12 in his first Belmont workout, and then was timed in 1:10 on Sunday.

“We don’t worry about time,” said Nobutaka Tada, a spokesman for Casino Drive’s handlers. “We look at how they run. And did you see him finish (Monday)? Beautiful.”

Dutrow was feeling the same about his colt after Big Brown was timed in 1:00.03 seconds for five-eighths of a mile Tuesday. More important, Big Brown, with protective wraps on all four hoofs, showed no ill effects from a crack on his left hoof that has raised a lot of red flags.

“We’re in good shape,” said Dutrow. “I’m as confident as I’ve ever been. He’s right on target. He couldn’t be any better.”

Or any more respected.

As Dutrow led Big Brown to his workout, a woman security guard stopping traffic yelled, “Here comes Big Brown, el presidente.”

On Big Brown’s way back to the barn, traffic again was stopped, right in the middle of a chain of trucks delivering portable toilets, with the snappy company name of Call-A-Head.

Dutrow seemingly was so impressed by Big Brown’s breeze that he couldn’t resist a couple of more shots at the field, especially Casino Drive.

“There are no issues with our horse,” he said. “I’ve seen the horses he’s in with and I’ve seen our horse, so I expect him to win. Those horses just cannot run with Big Brown.”

Standing not far from where Dutrow was speaking, Tada was amused.

“We never speak about opponents,” said Tada. “That’s the Japanese way.”

If only Dutrow was Japanese.