Racing is full of "What ifs" and there were probably echoing off Casino Drive's stall walls when Big Brown failed to fire a week ago in the Belmont Stakes.
Casino Drive was visiting from Japan with the sole purpose of stealing the Belmont from Big Brown. He certainly stole the Peter Pan in a very dramatic run for the finish line a few weeks earlier, but a bruised foot caused his connections to be cautious and skip the Belmont instead of poking and prodding and poulticing and patching the colt's foot.
Meanwhile, my friend Sarah Andrew (a.k.a. "Rock and Racehorses") tracked the poor horse down to take photos of his feet for this blog. I wonder what the Japanese team thought of her pointing the camera not at his handsome head but at his feet and knees?
Casino Drive is out of the same mare who foaled the winners of the 2006 and 2007 Belmont Stakes. What if....
(Casino drive and his long feet have gone back to Japan, promising to return for November's Breeders Cup, which will be raced on an artificial track surface for the first time. I hope he can stay sound and healthy and show up with his race face--and feet--on.)
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Another Country Heard From: Meet the Hooves of Japan's Casino Drive
