Quote:
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Originally Posted by Travis Stone
It's going to have to wilt in the stretch to lose this title.
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I'll try and keep it going.....
Dutrow criticizes Servis, Elliott
During Tuesday's conference call, Dutrow was asked if he feared someone trying to ride the Belmont just to beat Big Brown. It has been suggested by some observers that jockeys Jerry Bailey and Alex Solis moved their horses early in an attempt to force Smarty Jones and Elliott into a premature move.
Dutrow said he didn't believe that to be the case and criticized trainer John Servis and Elliott for the way they prepared Smarty Jones for the Belmont. Dutrow erroneously said that Smarty Jones had his last Belmont work over a sloppy sealed track at Philadelphia Park. The track was labeled fast for that move.
Dutrow, however, said Elliott should have taken Smarty Jones in hand late in the Preakness rather than win by 11 1/2 lengths.
"He did not need to win the way he did in the Preakness in order to get to the Belmont the right way," Dutrow said. "If you noticed our horse, Kent may have asked him for a little run turning for home, which he did, but at the eighth pole he grabbed a hold and he knew we still had another race to go through. I think that the connections of Smarty Jones just were not smart in order to get their job done for the Belmont."
The criticisms meant little to Servis.
"He's under a lot of pressure and a lot of times we say things we don't mean," Servis said. "I'm taking it with a grain of salt."