Smarty Jones Retires

[DudeAsInCool]

Smarty Jones Is Leaving as Quickly as He Arrived

By JOE DRAPE

Published: August 3, 2004

Smarty Jones was retired to stud yesterday almost as suddenly as he captured the nation's imagination last spring, when he rolled to victories in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes before sustaining his only loss at the Belmont Stakes in a gallant, but ultimately leg-wobbling defeat just yards away from capturing the Triple Crown.

You can read the full story here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/03/sports/o...3smarty.html?hp

[Ken]

Damn you New York Times!

I will make it a point to never register! Why? Because you've annoyed me!

MWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

[DudeAsInCool]

I thought I better post the rest for Ken, given its a Tuesday tomorrow

marty Jones has bruising in all four fetlock joints, the equivalent in humans of sprained ankles. It was not a career-ending condition, veterinarians who examined him said, but one that Smarty Jones's owners feared might be aggravated.

"If anything else went wrong, it would break our heart," said Pat Chapman who, along with her husband, Roy, owned and bred the 3-year-old Smarty Jones on their aptly named Someday Farm in Pennsylvania. "After all he's done, I couldn't live with myself if I thought we were putting him in harm's way. He doesn't owe us anything, and we owe him a lot."

The Chapmans acknowledged that it was a heart-rending decision to retire Smarty Jones, who won eight of nine career races and earned $7,613,155, the fourth most of any thoroughbred. He also made famous three everyday horsemen: Chapman, a car dealer from Philadelphia; the trainer John Servis; and jockey Stewart Elliott.

Smarty Jones, with his catchy name and Triple Crown bid, had been a boon for racing. He attracted thousands of fans to his home base of Philadelphia Park for morning workouts, helped increase television ratings for the Preakness and Belmont Stakes, and inspired scores of children to write him letters.

But the Chapmans conceded that the economics at the elite levels of horse racing influenced their decision. In June, after Birdstone ran down Smarty Jones in the Belmont and kept him from becoming the first Triple Crown champion since Affirmed in 1978, the Chapmans sold 50 percent of the colt's breeding rights for more than $20 million to Three Chimneys Farm near Midway, Ky.

While shopping the stallion rights to commercial breeders, the Chapmans insisted that potential partners allow them to race Smarty Jones as a 4-year-old to pay back racing and the nonracing public that had turned Smarty Jones into America's horse.

But after consulting with veterinarians and the principals at Three Chimneys, they decided it would be more prudent and lucrative to send the colt to the breeding shed next season.

The farm has yet to determine a stud fee for Smarty Jones, a son of Elusive Quality, but breeding experts said it is likely to be between $75,000 to $150,000 a coupling.

The fetlock, commonly referred to as a horse's ankle, sits roughly four inches from the ground and serves as a shock absorber, said Dr. Larry Bramlage, an equine orthopedic surgeon who consulted on the case.

Last week, after withdrawing Smarty Jones from the Pennsylvania Derby, Servis acknowledged that several bruises had to be cut out of Smarty Jones's hooves over the last five months, including one before the Kentucky Derby. But a subsequent nuclear scan showed more inflammation than had been suspected.

"We bring horses back from this all the time," Bramlage said. "It's not a structural problem, and the prognosis for full recovery is excellent. He needs to have an opportunity to move around in the field for a while. They have to have a break."

But the time off was likely to last several months, and the Chapmans and Three Chimneys opted for the almost certain prospect of having more than 100 mares awaiting Smarty Jones in the breeding shed, rather than the uncertainty of when, and how effective, the colt might be on his return to the racetrack.

"I'm sorry if it casts any negative light in any direction," Pat Chapman said when asked about the couple's change of heart.

Servis sounded devastated by the retirement of the best horse that ever graced his barn. A year ago, before Smarty Jones had ever raced, Servis was on the track when the colt reared in a training gate, fractured his skull and nearly died. Upon the colt's recovery, Servis handled Smarty Jones brilliantly.

He raced Smarty Jones first as a 2-year-old in Pennsylvania, where he won his only two starts by a combined 22 3/8 lengths. As a 3-year-old, Smarty Jones made a victorious stop at Aqueduct in the Count Fleet, and then Servis took him to Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark. Besides slowly stretching his colt out in distances over a series of three races, Servis also put Smarty Jones in the position to capture a $5 million bonus offered by Oaklawn Park to any horse that won its Rebel Stakes and Arkansas Derby, and then went on to win the Kentucky Derby.

Smarty Jones did just that, then looked invincible galloping off with the Preakness by a record 11½ lengths. In the Belmont, Smarty Jones had a chance to join Seattle Slew as only the second undefeated Triple Crown champion in history. He was harassed by three rivals early in the grueling mile-and-a-half marathon, dispatched them and looked every bit like Seattle Slew and the 10 other Triple Crown champions until the final strides.

"It hurts me," Servis said. "He could do things so effortlessly. He might be the best of all time. It's unfortunate people won't see that. I know he's a great horse. I just hope it carries over to the breeding shed.''

Smarty Jones will occupy the former stall of Seattle Slew at Three Chimneys, and like Seattle Slew, he is expected to attract scores of visitors who were thrilled by his performances on the racetrack.

"I think 10 years from now we'll be saying that Smarty Jones was a great one on the track and a great one in the breeding shed," Dan Rosenberg, the president of Three Chimneys, said. "He became America's horse with his speed, charisma and way of overcoming the odds."

[moonglow]

I love horses, I have had horses and Smarty Jones is one great horse :bigsmile:

that horse deserves every pleasure he can have in life :bigsmile:

[Kooperman]

I love horses, I have had horses and Smarty Jones is one great horse :bigsmile:

that horse deserves every pleasure he can have in life :bigsmile:

We can go ahead and name his future offspring....I'll offer Smarty Pants and Smarty Party as two future champions....

[moonglow]

I love horses, I have had horses and Smarty Jones is one great horse :bigsmile:

that horse deserves every pleasure he can have in life :bigsmile:

We can go ahead and name his future offspring....I'll offer Smarty Pants and Smarty Party as two future champions....

:bigsmile: :bigsmile: :bigsmile: I like them both :bigsmile: :bigsmile: