- BELMONT WRAP: Smarty Falls 10' Short of Perfection
In evaluating Smarty Jones' failed attempt at a Triple Crown sweep Saturday at Belmont, we were reminded of the effective Walgreen's drugstore advertisements that explain that none of us live in the town of "Perfect".
For Smarty Jones to remain perfect, the elements that guide the fortunes of horses which compete for prize money, and on Saturday for immortality, needed to be aligned in the same manner that had produced a sublime month of adulation and good fortune for thoroughbred racing through its annual visits to Churchill Downs and Pimlico.
To win Saturday, trainer John Servis, flawless for nine months conditioning Smarty, needed to prepare the son of Elusive Quality in a manner that would allow him to be honed perfectly for a difficult endurance test while maintaining his speedy edge.
To win Saturday, journeyman jockey Stewart Elliott needed to harness his nerves and skill to perfectly negotiate 2,640 yards of the sandy racecourse that regularly derails the hopes and dreams of all who take a professional or passing fancy in the racing of thoroughbreds.
To win Saturday, the petite chestnut colt who had captured the imagination of millions across the country, needed to run one perfect lap around the mile and a half oval on the greatest stage in the game.
Alas, with none of these required elements continuing with the mellifluousness of his symphonic Derby and Preakness performances, Smarty Jones fell just one length short of perfection when Nick Zito's Birdstone passed the gallant worn-down chestnut yards before the Belmont wire.
When it was all over, Servis may not have adequately taken the edge off his charge in preparations since the Preakness, Elliott seemed unable to avoid at least one too many confrontations on the grueling Belmont backstretch, and Smarty Jones could not resist his nature to run when confronted with the opportunity to bury challengers.
On this day, the peg that dances around the roulette wheel of perfection fell into the slot of Zito and Marylou Whitney, who received the laurels of a Classic victory on the wings of a brilliant performance by Edgar Prado and the forgotten Champagne victor. The only other Grade I winner in Saturday's field of nine besides Smarty, Birdstone is a colt whose heritage stood out among his generation for Triple Crown glory coming into the campaign, but whose season had been fraught with fits and starts.
Jerry Bailey and Alex Solis wasted Eddington and Rock Hard Ten on the Belmont backstretch, repeatedly pressuring Elliott and Smarty thereby guaranteeing that their charges would have nothing left for the stretch run. Elliott, who seemed forced to adjust to a slightly headstrong Smarty right from the start, said after the race that he went to the lead with nearly seven furlongs remaining in an attempt to get his mount to settle and relax, but he never got the chance.
Indeed, Smarty was not allowed a breather the entire way around the huge oval, a necessity in the 12f marathon. Meanwhile, Prado paced mid-pack, biding his time with Birdstone who demonstrated his affinity for Big Sandy seven months after his Champagne heroics and finally got a strip to his liking after a frustrating three months of illness and wet tracks.
Though the result disappointed most of the monstrous throng assembled at the mammoth palace in Elmont and millions more watching worldwide, Smarty Jones acquitted himself famously after running 6f in just over 1:11.0, and 10 of the race's 12 furlongs in an impossible 2:00.0. In the 31 years since Secretariat's legendary performance, only Point Given and Easy Goer had run as fast through 10f of the Belmont as Smarty Jones and emerged victorious. To fall a leg-weary 10 feet short of history after engaging in 11.75f of maximum effort was a remarkable effort in and of itself.
So at the end of this odyssey, we are left with a horse that turns out not to be "perfect", but as close as the game has seen in a long time. The best part of Saturday's outcome is the likelihood that the Chapman's and Servis will now campaign the wildly popular colt through the fall and into 2005. That will surely be a boon to the sport with the legions of new fans signed on. Smarty Jones remains a special talent that will continue to be difficult to deny, and in a strange twist, may prove to be a bigger asset to racing as a Triple Crown "near miss" than as a Triple Crown winner.
He's no longer perfect, but who or what is?