Big Brown won the $1 million Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park on Sunday but the victory was not impressive. Big Brown had to rally twice to win the race and jockey Kent Desormeaux had to really get on him in the stretch.

A crowd of 45,132 saw Big Brown rally in the stretch to finally overtake Coal Play and win by 1 3/4 lengths. Cool Coal Man finished third. Horse betting odds on Big Brown paid $2.40 to win, $2.10 to place and $2.10 to show as the heavy horse betting favorite.

Although Big Brown won the race he did not dominate a very weak Haskell field. That didn’t seem to matter to trainer Rick Dutrow Jr. though.

"He ran a big race," Dutrow said, "They ran a mile and an eighth in [1:48.31], he ran down a lone speed, was chasing the whole way....Big Brown, I’m as happy as I can be with him. It was his first race after pulling up in a race, so how can I not be as thrilled as I am? He could have pulled up again. He showed that he’s a true racehorse; he got done what he had to do. I’m very proud of him."

Co-owner Michael Iavarone was also happy with the result saying, "I saw a dimension in Big Brown today that I didn’t know existed. He showed more than just his ability, he showed his heart, and that, to me, is a sign of a great racehorse."

Big Brown went right to the lead in the Haskell but Coal Play quickly overtook him and led the rest of the way until the final 70 yards. Big Brown was expected to have little trouble reeling in Coal Play but that is not what happened. Desormeaux had to urge Big Brown and for a little bit the horse did not respond.

"I thought we were beat turning for home," Dutrow said. Desormeaux went hard to the whip and Big Brown finally responded and ran down Coal Play. "He showed a new gear when he switched leads at the three-sixteenths; at the eighth pole he took off again," Desormeaux said.

"It’s almost like he took a deep breath and kept going for more. That courage I had never seen in him. I didn’t know he had it, because he always annihilated the competition. Today he showed me he’s a warrior. He’s got some courage."

The question now becomes what is next for Big Brown. The original thought was that Big Brown would race in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita on Oct. 25, but rumors are starting to circulate that Big Brown may be retired and never race again.