Smarty Jones

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Smarty Jones
Smarty jones.jpg
Smarty Jones working out at Philadelphia Park in 2004
Sire Elusive Quality
Grandsire Gone West
Dam I'll Get Along
Damsire Smile
Sex Stallion
Foaled 2001
Country United States
Colour Chestnut
Breeder Someday Farm
Owner Roy and Patricia Chapman
Trainer John Servis
Record 9: 8-1-0
Earnings $7,613,155
Major wins

Count Fleet Stakes (2004)
Southwest Stakes (2004)
Rebel Stakes (2004)
Arkansas Derby (2004)

American Classic Race wins:
Kentucky Derby (2004)
Preakness Stakes (2004)
Awards
U.S. Champion 3-Yr-Old Colt (2004)
Honours
Smarty Jones Stakes at Oaklawn Park
Smarty Jones Stakes at Parx Racing and Casino
Horse (Equus ferus caballus)

Smarty Jones (February 28, 2001) is a thoroughbred race horse, and winner of the 2004 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes. He finished second in the Belmont Stakes that took place on June 5th, 2004.[1]

He is a third-generation descendant of Mr. Prospector, and as such Smarty Jones is related to many recent Triple Crown hopefuls including Funny Cide, Afleet Alex and Fusaichi Pegasus. Also included in Smarty Jones' pedigree are Triple Crown winners Secretariat and Count Fleet, and such other Triple Crown race winners as Northern Dancer, Foolish Pleasure and the mighty Man o' War, who is considered #1 on the list of Blood-Horse magazine List of the Top 100 U.S. Racehorses of the 20th Century. His dam was I'll Get Along. Only eleven horses have won all three races for the Triple Crown. The last winner was Affirmed in 1978.[2]

Contents

[edit] History

Born at Fairthorne Farm in Chester County, Pennsylvania, the horse was named after Milly "Smarty Jones" McNair, the mother of co-owner Pat Chapman. The two shared a birthday, and Mrs. Chapman wanted to honor her late mother. She said the horse was a strong-willed actor from birth and her mother too was a bit of a smart aleck as a child who had gotten the nickname "Smarty."

Pat Chapman and her husband, Roy "Chappy" Chapman, had originally hired Bobby Camac to be Smarty Jones' trainer, but in December 2001, Camac and his wife were murdered by Camac's stepson, Wade Russell, who was eventually convicted and sentenced to 28 years in prison. "It was a total shock, numbing," Roy Chapman is quoted saying, "We didn't know what to do next." This tragedy, combined with Roy Chapman's failing health, resulted in the Chapmans' decision to disband their small breeding operation, retaining only two of their horses. One of these was Smarty Jones, the product of a breeding between their winningest horse, the mare I'll Get Along, and the stallion Elusive Quality. Despite these influences, his Dosage Index of 3.40 suggested that he is capable of competing in the classics.[1] In 2002, Smarty Jones was sent to Bridlewood Farm in Ocala, Florida, to prepare for racing.[3]

[edit] Winning spree

In 2003, the Chapmans gave Smarty Jones to John Servis for training. They sold the Someday Farm property and moved into a smaller home, training only four horses. On July 27, 2003, Servis was schooling Smarty at the starting gate, when the colt spooked, reared up, and smashed his head on the top of the gate. He fell to the ground unconscious, blood pouring from his nostrils. Servis thought the horse was dead, but Smarty regained consciousness and was treated by Dr. Dan Hanf, who stopped the hemorrhaging and treated him for shock. After the bleeding stopped, Smarty's head began to swell from the middle of his forehead over to his left eye. Dr. Hanf and assistant trainer Maureen Donnelly kept watch on the colt and kept him at the barn overnight. Hanf had seen the eye before the swelling and was confident the eye itself was not damaged, but knew the horse must have sustained a fracture due to the excessive swelling. The colt was sent the next day, July 28, 2003, to the New Jersey Equine Clinic for x-rays. There he was diagnosed with a fractured skull. The bones around his left eye were so badly damaged that the veterinarians thought they might have to remove the eye. Smarty Jones overcame his injuries after three weeks in the hospital, and spent more than a month recuperating on the farm. It seems ironic now that two of the other entrants in Saturday's Kentucky Derby were lacking sight in one eye and Smarty Jones could have been the third.[4]

John Servis carefully led him back into training and by early November 2003, the colt had recovered completely and was ready to make his racing debut at nearby Philadelphia Park (now known as Parx Racing and Casino), a racetrack in Bensalem, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia. Canadian-born jockey, Stewart Elliott was hired to ride Smarty Jones initially for the Bensalem race, but took over a more permanent position when the horse began his famous winning spree. Elliot was beyond qualified to race Smarty Jones with a record of 3,300 overall horse racing wins in his career. Born from a well known jockey father, Elliott was born with natural talent.[4] Elliott, Smarty Jones won the six furlong .75 miles (1.21 km) race by 7¾ lengths. Two weeks later, the horse ran away from the field to capture the Pennsylvania Nursery Stakes by 15 lengths. At that point, the owners, the trainer, and the jockey were convinced that they had an extraordinary horse on their hands.

In January 2004, now racing as a three-year old, Smarty Jones was given his first major test against a quality field of horses in the Count Fleet Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack in New York. In the home stretch, the colt pulled away from the field to win by 5 lengths. Realising that the Kentucky Derby was a real possibility, trainer John Servis chose to bring the horse along carefully and not push him before he was ready. In February, they shipped Smarty Jones to Oaklawn Park racetrack in Hot Springs, Arkansas, where he won the Southwest Stakes, the Rebel Stakes and the important Arkansas Derby. Despite being unbeaten in six races, Smarty Jones was nevertheless not rated as the morning-line favorite for the Kentucky Derby because racing experts believed he had not been truly tested. However, he did go off as the slight post-time favorite.

On May 1, 2004, Smarty Jones became the first unbeaten Kentucky Derby winner since Seattle Slew in 1977. John Servis and Stewart Elliott became the first combination in 25 years to win the Kentucky Derby in their debut appearance. Smarty Jones won the most prestigious horse race in North America by 2¾ lengths, earning $854,800 for the Chapmans, along with a bonus of $5 million from Oaklawn Park for having swept the Rebel Stakes, the Arkansas Derby, and the Kentucky Derby. He also joined Lil E. Tee (1992 Derby winner) as the only Pennsylvania bred horses to win the Kentucky Derby in history. Smarty Jones' year, 2004, was also the 100th anniversary of the Triple Crown races.[5]

On May 15, after gracing the cover of Sports Illustrated, Smarty Jones won the second leg of the Triple Crown with a victory at the 2004 Preakness Stakes by a record margin of 11½ lengths. The victory set off a frenzy of excitement for the sport of Thoroughbred horse racing in the Philadelphia area.

After his Preakness victory, Smarty Jones' popularity increased and he became, arguably, the #1 fan favorite to aspire to win the Triple Crown since Affirmed won it in 1978. Smarty Jones is the 10th horse since Affirmed to win both the Derby and the Preakness.[6] Smarty Jones' popularity increased the attendance of the races by 17,000 people and caused the highest television ratings in 14 years.[7] Breeders made offers for the breeding rights to Smarty Jones, with the offers going as high as 40 to 50 million dollars. However, on June 5, 2004, Smarty Jones finished a heartbreaking second in the Belmont Stakes, being upset in a late charge by the 36-1 long shot Birdstone. Speculation arose that the loss was a result of Elliott allowing Smarty Jones to assume the lead too early. However, neither John Servis nor the Chapmans ever blamed the jockey (it was held that a careful viewing of the race video revealed that Elliott had a tight hold on the reins). In addition, careful study of the race video replays provoked accusations of unethical racing by two of the jockeys, Jerry Bailey who rode Eddington and Alex Solis atop Rock Hard Ten, who "rode not to win"--that is, they specifically colluded to deny Smarty Jones the victory, rather than to win for themselves. Others pointed to Smarty Jones' relatively unfavorable 3.40 Dosage Index as being a portent of his inability to successfully negotiate the 1½-mile Belmont distance (Birdstone's Dosage Index was 1.77; the lower the Dosage number, supposedly the better suited a horse is to longer races). Nonetheless, it was an impressive performance as Smarty Jones completed the first mile and a quarter of the race in a time that would have won all but three Kentucky Derbies in history and still nearly hung on for the win, 8 lengths ahead of the third place finisher. And the 120,139 in attendance at Belmont Park that day marked the largest crowd ever to see a sporting event in New York.[8]

Smarty Jones carried a record high $59,000,000 betting pool for the Preakness Stakes, which only doubled in amount during the Belmont Stakes[9]

The Belmont was Smarty Jones' only loss out of nine starts. He was defeated by Birdstone who was an underdog with 36-1 odds.[10] Many speculated against Smarty Jones' distance abilities. [11] Among the most brilliantly fast 2 and 3 year olds of recent years, the 1 1/2 mile distance of the Belmont might have proven too far for his miler/sprinter pedigree. Unable to relax as he had done in the Derby and Preakness, he set a blistering pace on the front end. Regally-bred Birdstone, with a more distance-favoring pedigree, rallied from well off the pace, and for the first time in his career Smarty Jones was passed in a race.[1] In many ways, his career mirrored that of Majestic Prince, who fell short of winning the 1969 Triple Crown. Both horses entered the Belmont undefeated, finished second, and never raced again. Although, in Smarty Jones' case, there was a conspiracy that two other jockeys competing in the Belmont in 2004 "rode not to win", but to deny Smarty Jones the triple crown title. In horse racing, this behavior is not illegal, but it is definitely frowned upon.[12]

Smarty Jones was voted the 2004 Eclipse Award for Outstanding Three-Year-Old Male Horse.

Quote by Smarty Jones' stable foreman, "Big Bill" Foster: "Number one in horse racing, you have to have the horse. Number two, you have to know what to do with the horse once you have him. A lot of people in this business have a lot of horses, and never made it because they broke them down. It happens a lot. Mismanaged. Mistrained. All because people want to be in the limelight. Which is where we're different. We don't want to be in the limelight.[13]"

[edit] Retirement

The end of his racing career was announced August 2, 2004 due to chronic bruising of his ankle bones. He finished his career with 8 wins and one place in nine starts, earning $2,613,155. He also earned an addition $5 million bonus from Oaklawn Park. His total earnings were $7,613,155.

Smarty Jones stood at stud at Three Chimneys Farm in Midway, Kentucky, and at one point occupied the same stall that housed Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew throughout his stud career until his death in 2002.[14] "Derby winners, down on the farm"] Thoroughbred Times, Rosenberg, Dan (at thoroughbredtimes.com)</ref> Midway is also famous for once being the home of Nantura Stock Farm, where some of the first of America's great racehorses stood, among them the great Lexington and Glencoe, and where several were born, including Ten Broeck and Longfellow. Smarty Jones' first foals were born in 2006, and began racing in 2008. His best runner to date is Backtalk, winner of the 2009 GIII Bashford Manor Stakes at Churchill Downs and GII Sanford Stakes at Saratoga Racecourse.

In 2010 Smarty Jones was moved from Three Chimneys to Ghost Ridge Farms in Felton, PA. Here he joins E. Dubai, Grand Reward, Greatness, and Jump Start for the 2011 breeding season. Ghost Ridge Farms is one of the leading stallion stations in Pennsylvania. Smarty Jones also sired leading runners: Backtalk, Gilded Gem, Rogue Romance, Japanese record holder Keiai Gerbera, Kiddari, La Equivocada, Sara Cataldo, Be Smart, Smart Coco, and Rescue Plan.[15]

He now has an early Kentucky Derby prep at Oaklawn named in his honor, the Smarty Jones Stakes, as well as an Labor Day race at Parx Racing and Casino which was inaugurated in 2010 as a replacement for the Pennsylvania Derby, which moved to the final Saturday in September. In addition, a statue will stand at Parx in his honor.

For the 2011 breeding season, Smarty Jones will be relocated to Tarry Bratton’s Ghost Ridge Farms near Felton, Pennsylvania and will ship to Uruguay for the Southern Hemisphere season. Smarty Jones, whose 2011 fee is $10,000, is ranked 15th nationally on this year’s leading sires’ list. His 3-year-old son Rogue Romance is favored in the $300,000 Risen Star Stakes (gr. II) at Fair Grounds February 19th, 2011.[16]

Read more: http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/61411/smarty-jones-to-shuttle-to-uruguay#ixzz1K1t6EPxm Read more: http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/61411/smarty-jones-to-shuttle-to-uruguay#ixzz1K1slwUrq==Racing record==

Overall record (Starts-1st-2nd-3rd) - 9-8-1-0


Pedigree of Smarty Jones
Sire
Elusive Quality		 Gone West Mr. Prospector Raise a Native
Gold Digger
Secrettame Secretariat
Tamerett
Touch of Greatness Hero's Honor Northern Dancer
Glowing Tribute
Ivory Wand Sir Ivor
Natashka
Dam
I'll Get Along		 Smile In Reality Intentionally
My Dear Girl
Sunny Smile Boldnesian
Sunny Sal
Don't Worry Bout Me Foolish Pleasure What A Pleasure
Fool-Me-Knot
Stolen Base Herbager
Bases Full

[edit] Further Reading

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c http://www.horse-races.net/library/article-smarty.htm
  2. ^ Nelson pg 525
  3. ^ Bannon pg 24
  4. ^ a b http://horseracing.about.com/cs/news/a/aa050204a.htm
  5. ^ Hanna pg 60
  6. ^ Layden, Tim (6/7/2004). "The Horse For the Course". Sports Illustrated 100 (23): 62–65. 
  7. ^ Beech, Mark (11/1/2004). "Smarty Pooper". Sports Illustrated 101 (17): 23-23. 
  8. ^ "Smarty Jones: The People's Horse," in Blood-Horse Publications Horse Racing's Top 100 Moments, p 230.
  9. ^ Gregory, Sean (5/31/2004). "How to Bet Smarty". Time 163 (22): 81-81. 
  10. ^ "It's Smarty Jones Leading, It's Smarty...Never Mind". New York Times: pp. 1. 6/6/2004. 
  11. ^ "Will Smarty Jones Win the Triple Crown? Not so fast, everybody.". Sporting News 228 (22): pp. 12-12. 5/31/2004. 
  12. ^ Nelson pg 526
  13. ^ Merz pg 62
  14. ^ http://www.thoroughbredtimes.com/farm-management/farm-management-09-20-08.aspx
  15. ^ http://www.threechimneys.com/SmartyJones/
  16. ^ http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/61411/smarty-jones-to-shuttle-to-uruguay

[edit] External Links

1875 Aristides • 1876 Vagrant • 1877 Baden-Baden • 1878 Day Star • 1879 Lord Murphy • 1880 Fonso • 1881 Hindoo • 1882 Apollo • 1883 Leonatus • 1884 Buchanan • 1885 Joe Cotton • 1886 Ben Ali • 1887 Montrose • 1888 Macbeth II • 1889 Spokane • 1890 Riley • 1891 Kingman • 1892 Azra • 1893 Lookout • 1894 Chant • 1895 Halma • 1896 Ben Brush • 1897 Typhoon II • 1898 Plaudit • 1899 Manuel • 1900 Lieut. Gibson • 1901 His Eminence • 1902 Alan-a-Dale • 1903 Judge Himes • 1904 Elwood • 1905 Agile • 1906 Sir Huon • 1907 Pink Star • 1908 Stone Street • 1909 Wintergreen • 1910 Donau • 1911 Meridian • 1912 Worth • 1913 Donerail • 1914 Old Rosebud • 1915 Regret ♥ • 1916 George Smith • 1917 Omar Khayyam • 1918 Exterminator • 1919 Sir Barton ₩ • 1920 Paul Jones • 1921 Behave Yourself • 1922 Morvich • 1923 Zev • 1924 Black Gold • 1925 Flying Ebony • 1926 Bubbling Over • 1927 Whiskery • 1928 Reigh Count • 1929 Clyde Van Dusen • 1930 Gallant Fox ₩ • 1931 Twenty Grand • 1932 Burgoo King • 1933 Brokers Tip • 1934 Cavalcade • 1935 Omaha ₩ • 1936 Bold Venture • 1937 War Admiral ₩ • 1938 Lawrin • 1939 Johnstown • 1940 Gallahadion • 1941 Whirlaway ₩ • 1942 Shut Out • 1943 Count Fleet ₩ • 1944 Pensive • 1945 Hoop Jr. • 1946 Assault ₩ • 1947 Jet Pilot • 1948 Citation ₩ • 1949 Ponder • 1950 Middleground • 1951 Count Turf • 1952 Hill Gail • 1953 Dark Star • 1954 Determine • 1955 Swaps • 1956 Needles • 1957 Iron Liege • 1958 Tim Tam • 1959 Tomy Lee • 1960 Venetian Way • 1961 Carry Back • 1962 Decidedly • 1963 Chateaugay • 1964 Northern Dancer • 1965 Lucky Debonair • 1966 Kauai King • 1967 Proud Clarion • 1968 Forward Pass • 1969 Majestic Prince • 1970 Dust Commander • 1971 Canonero II • 1972 Riva Ridge • 1973 Secretariat ₩ • 1974 Cannonade • 1975 Foolish Pleasure • 1976 Bold Forbes • 1977 Seattle Slew ₩ • 1978 Affirmed ₩ • 1979 Spectacular Bid • 1980 Genuine Risk ♥ • 1981 Pleasant Colony • 1982 Gato Del Sol • 1983 Sunny's Halo • 1984 Swale • 1985 Spend A Buck • 1986 Ferdinand • 1987 Alysheba • 1988 Winning Colors ♥ • 1989 Sunday Silence • 1990 Unbridled • 1991 Strike the Gold • 1992 Lil E. Tee • 1993 Sea Hero • 1994 Go For Gin • 1995 Thunder Gulch • 1996 Grindstone • 1997 Silver Charm • 1998 Real Quiet • 1999 Charismatic • 2000 Fusaichi Pegasus • 2001 Monarchos • 2002 War Emblem • 2003 Funny Cide • 2004 Smarty Jones • 2005 Giacomo • 2006 Barbaro • 2007 Street Sense • 2008 Big Brown • 2009 Mine That Bird • 2010 Super Saver • 2011 Animal Kingdom
Legend - ₩ = Triple Crown Winners, ♥ = Filly

1873 Survivor • 1874 Culpepper • 1875 Tom Ochiltree • 1876 Shirley • 1877 Cloverbrook • 1878 Duke of Magenta • 1879 Harold • 1880 Grenada • 1881 Saunterer • 1882 Vanguard • 1883 Jacobus • 1884 Knight of Ellerslie • 1885 Tecumseh • 1886 The Bard • 1887 Dunboyne • 1888 Refund • 1889 Buddhist • 1890 Montague • 1894 Assignee • 1895 Belmar • 1896 Margrave • 1897 Paul Kauvar • 1898 Sly Fox • 1899 Half Time • 1900 Hindus • 1901 The Parader • 1902 Old England • 1903 Flocarline • 1904 Bryn Mawr • 1905 Cairngorn • 1906 Whimsical • 1907 Don Enrique • 1908 Royal Tourist • 1909 Effendi • 1910 Layminster • 1911 Watervale • 1912 Colonel Holloway • 1913 Buskin • 1914 Holiday • 1915 Rhine Maiden • 1916 Damrosch • 1917 Kalitan • 1918 War Cloud • 1918 Jack Hare Jr. • 1919 Sir Barton • 1920 Man o' War • 1921 Broomspun • 1922 Pillory • 1923 Vigil • 1924 Nellie Morse • 1925 Coventry • 1926 Display • 1927 Bostonian • 1928 Victorian • 1929 Dr. Freeland • 1930 Gallant Fox • 1931 Mate • 1932 Burgoo King • 1933 Head Play • 1934 High Quest • 1935 Omaha • 1936 Bold Venture • 1937 War Admiral • 1938 Dauber • 1939 Challedon • 1940 Bimelech • 1941 Whirlaway • 1942 Alsab • 1943 Count Fleet • 1944 Pensive • 1945 Polynesian • 1946 Assault • 1947 Faultless • 1948 Citation • 1949 Capot • 1950 Hill Prince • 1951 Bold • 1952 Blue Man • 1953 Native Dancer • 1954 Hasty Road • 1955 Nashua • 1956 Fabius • 1957 Bold Ruler • 1958 Tim Tam • 1959 Royal Orbit • 1960 Bally Ache • 1961 Carry Back • 1962 Greek Money • 1963 Candy Spots • 1964 Northern Dancer • 1965 Tom Rolfe • 1966 Kauai King • 1967 Damascus • 1968 Forward Pass • 1969 Majestic Prince • 1970 Personality • 1971 Canonero II • 1972 Bee Bee Bee • 1973 Secretariat • 1974 Little Current • 1975 Master Derby • 1976 Elocutionist • 1977 Seattle Slew • 1978 Affirmed • 1979 Spectacular Bid • 1980 Codex • 1981 Pleasant Colony • 1982 Aloma's Ruler • 1983 Deputed Testimony • 1984 Gate Dancer • 1985 Tank's Prospect • 1986 Snow Chief • 1987 Alysheba • 1988 Risen Star • 1989 Sunday Silence • 1990 Summer Squall • 1991 Hansel • 1992 Pine Bluff • 1993 Prairie Bayou • 1994 Tabasco Cat • 1995 Timber Country • 1996 Louis Quatorze • 1997 Silver Charm • 1998 Real Quiet • 1999 Charismatic • 2000 Red Bullet • 2001 Point Given • 2002 War Emblem • 2003 Funny Cide • 2004 Smarty Jones • 2005 Afleet Alex • 2006 Bernardini • 2007 Curlin • 2008 Big Brown • 2009 Rachel Alexandra • 2010 Lookin At Lucky • 2011 Shackleford
Pride of Philadelphia Award Winners
2004
2005
2006
Prep Charter Boys Basketball • Villanova men's basketball • Ryan Howard
2007
2008
2009
2010
See Also
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Smarty_Jones&oldid=468103834"
Personal tools
Namespaces
Variants
Actions
Navigation
Interaction
Toolbox
Print/export
Languages