As Triple Crown beckons Big Brown still not tested - The Charleston Gazette (Charleston, WV)

BALTIMORE - Rick Dutrow Jr. insisted there was no specialmotivation to wear this specific hat.

The cap was simply available for the trainer's trip to the barn.Still, the message on his hat conveyed the same thought on the mindsof all those racing fans who saw Big Brown dominate the Preakness:

Triple Crown.

Two down, Big Brown. One more to go.

No one believes the big bay colt can win the Belmont and claimracing's first Triple Crown in 30 years more than his blunt and boldtrainer.

'If he comes out of it good and trains good, I'm not going to seea problem,' Dutrow said Sunday. 'He looks like he's ready.'

Big Brown had the stakes barn at Pimlico pretty much all tohimself Sunday, a day after jockey Kent Desormeaux rode him to a 51/4-length victory at the Preakness to set himself up for a TripleCrown try in three weeks. He heads to Belmont positioned to becomethe first horse to win the Triple Crown since Affirmed in 1978.

'Everybody is going to find out where he belongs,' Dutrow said.'If he wins this next race, he's going to be up there with any goodhorse that has ever run. He'll be in the same breath as Secretariat,Affirmed, all those good ones.'

All those horses were tested. Big Brown has yet to find a coltthat can push him down the stretch.

Secretariat had Sham. Affirmed had Alydar.

Big Brown has no true rival. Dutrow has openly maligned thetalent of the rest of the 3-year-old field and no other horse hascome close to pushing Big Brown to the limit. That's just fine byDutrow.

'I don't want anybody to come out of the woodwork and start arivalry,' Dutrow said. 'I like things just the way they are.'

One colt that could derail the Triple Crown bid is Casino Drive.

Casino Drive waits at the Belmont as the wild card in Big Brown'sride toward immortality. Japan-based Casino Drive won the Peter PanStakes at Belmont by 53/4 lengths in his second career start withDesormeaux aboard. Casino Drive won his only other race in Japan by111/2 lengths.

Casino Drive is related by blood to the last two Belmont winners,Jazil and Rags to Riches.

'He's the only one that can even entertain Big Brown's stride,'said Desormeaux, who will ride Big Brown in the Belmont. 'He canrun. He's a nice horse.'

In typical Dutrow bravado, he said he'd love to own Casino Drive -but said the import can't beat Big Brown.

'What I saw of him, he doesn't have that quick turn, where hejust turns it on,' Dutrow said.

Big Brown might have to turn it on at the demanding 11/2-mileBelmont. Smarty Jones (2004), Funny Cide (2003), War Emblem (2002)and Point Given (2001) are among the more recent horses to win thefirst two jewels of the Triple Crown series, then fall short at the'Test of Champions.'

'The way he's been running his last two races, it certainlydoesn't seem like the mile-and-a-half is an obstacle, but you neverknow,' Dutrow said. 'But I'm not afraid of the distance.'

Don't bet the stable on this, but winning the 12th Triple Crownin history might end Big Brown's career.

IEAH Stables co-owner Michael Iavarone has said Big Brown won'trace as a 4-year-old, and Saturday's multimillion dollar deal withThree Chimneys Farm in Midway, Ky., for the colt to stand at studcould possibly lead to his retirement after the Belmont.

Dutrow, however, expects Big Brown to race in the Travers Stakesand the Breeders' Cup Classic. Dutrow would love a showdown withCurlin, last year's Preakness winner, at the Breeders' Cup, whichoffers hope for fans to enjoy Big Brown for at least a few moremonths.

Then again, Smarty Jones' owners wanted their red chestnut coltto keep racing as a 4-year-old until a bruised left front hoof madePat and Roy Chapman retire him two months after he lost the Belmont.

No sense in jeopardizing the horse's health - or a big bucks deal- with a horrific misstep.

Big Brown deftly has avoided any rough spots. Desormeaux didn'teven need his whip Saturday and twice sneaked a peek down thestretch to see if anyone was gaining on Big Brown. The victory wasnearly as easy as the 43/4-length margin two weeks earlier at theKentucky Derby.

'It almost looked like a replay of the Kentucky Derby,'Desormeaux said.

Dutrow slept for only a couple of hours because of a Saturdaynight spent celebrating. Those extra winks can wait. Dutrow opted tohit Pimlico early Sunday morning to visit his prized colt instead ofsleeping in.

Big Brown will be shipped Monday morning to New York.

Then the real fun - and big city pressure - begins.

'I'm ready for anything,' Dutrow said. 'As long as the horse isOK, nothing else matters.'

Dutrow will wait about two weeks before Big Brown gets a lightworkout again and will stick to the same plan of letting the colthit the track for a short run through the stretch the morning of therace.

Every move Dutrow made so far has worked to perfection. No sensechanging direction now.

'Everybody wants to see something great,' Dutrow said. 'Maybewe're going to see that. It would be a lot of fun.'

AP-ES-05-18-08 1713EDT