Three Chimneys Gets Big Brown
$50 million Deal Closed Before Preakness; BB Tries For Triple June 7
Three Chimneys Farm at Midway, Kentucky will have the stud services of unbeaten Big Brown, Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes champion. The price is reported to have been over $50 million, agreed to hours before the 133rd Preakness was run May 17.
A win at Belmont Park June 7 will give Big Brown a Triple Crown championship, the first since 1978 when Affirmed won the honor, and the twelfth in Thoroughbred history. Young, two-time starter Casino Drive stands in Big Brown's championship path, and will try to head off the triple triumph.
Everything keeps going up. In 1973, Triple Crown Champion Secretariat was syndicated in a huge agreement totalling $6 million. Then, Secretariat was the first tripler in twenty-five years. Citation had last won all three classics in 1948.
Big Brown can be the first to triple in thirty years, the longest dry spell racing fans have seen without a Triple Crown champion. There also are no living past TC champions since the death of Seattle Slew in 2002.
The $50 Million Syndication
International Equine Acquisition Holding (IEAH) Stable and Paul Pompa, Jr. own Big Brown. IEAH's co-president, Michael Iavarone, announced the syndication of Big Brown's breeding rights at the beginning of NBC's telecast of the Preakness Stakes last Saturday.
Iavarone said the deal includes the agreement that Big Brown will not race after the conclusion of this, his three-year-old season. The plans were first hinted at during May 14's Preakness post position draws.
Three Chimneys has stood Seattle Slew, 1977 Triple Crown winner, and currently has 2004 dual classic champion (Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes) Smarty Jones, 2001 dual classic winner (Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes) Point Given, and Dynaformer, sire of 2006 Kentucky Derby Champion Barbaro, among its standing stallions.
Casino Drive and Kent Desormeaux
Casino Drive raced in Japan in his first career start, a 11-1/2 length win. The chestnut colt is a three-quarter brother to Rag to Riches and a half brother to Jazil. Rags to Riches won the Belmont last year from Curlin, and Jazil took the Belmont in 2006.
Trained by Kazuo Fujisawa, Casino Drive is owned by Hidetoshi Yamamoto. The colt's sire is 2003 Horse of the Year Mineshaft. His dam is 2007 Broodmare of the Year Better Than Honour.
Nobutaka Tada handed over $950,000 for Casino Drive at the 2006 Keeneland September yearling sale, representing Global Equine Management as managing director. The colt, being an American-bred, is happy at his current residence at Belmont Park, according to his Japanese team.
In the 1-1/8 miles Peter Pan Stakes, Casino Drive menaced from a fourth place stalking position, then showed his turn of foot to shoot past stablemate Spark Candle, and the leader, Mint Lane. His time in the $200,000 grade 2 event was 1:47.87, and his jockey was Kent Desormeaux, who also rides Big Brown.
Desormeaux said Casino Drive is a runner, and the competition in the Belmont should be "fun" and "...ultimately exciting for all of the fans".
