Friday, August 13, 2004
AP Wire | 08/13/2004 | Smarty Jones about to hit the road and leave Philadelphia ParkPHILADELPHIA - Smarty Jones is ready to hoof it out of Philly.
The Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner who electrified the sport and brought Philadelphia its long-awaited champion before his retirement is set to move out of his home turf.
First, though, comes the retirement party Saturday at Philadelphia Park. It will be the 3-year-old colt's last public appearance in Bensalem before leaving to stand stud at Three Chimneys Farm in Kentucky.
While the occasion is meant to honor Smarty, trainer John Servis has mixed feelings. He wished it could have been delayed a few years.
"As a trainer, I'd love for him to run until he was about 7 or 8," Servis said Friday. "But I think it's great for the fans."
The colt is retiring after he was diagnosed with bone bruises in all four hoofs. Servis hoped to run him in the Breeders' Cup Classic at Lone Star Park in Texas on Oct. 30, with perhaps a warmup in the Pegasus in New Jersey or the Super Derby at Louisiana Downs.
Those plans ended abruptly when a bone scan revealed the chronic bruising problem.
"There's not a whole lot I can do about it," Servis said. "We would have loved to have kept running him."
Servis still visits Smarty nearly everyday and said the horse was doing great and showed no signs of discomfort.
Philly Park will open its gates at 11 a.m., and Smarty will come out after the third race, around 1:30 p.m. Servis said Smarty would walk around the paddock before going to the winner's circle for a ceremony.
More than 4,000 fans attended an open workout after Smarty won the Kentucky Derby. Nearly 20,000 fans packed the park to watch Smarty's failed bid at the Triple Crown when he finished second at the Belmont Stakes in New York.
The fans haven't forgotten Smarty. While the hoopla has died down, cards, letters - and even a few carrots - still arrive in the mail for the trainer and his horse, and those quick trips to the grocery store have turned into two-hour autograph signings.
"It's starting to get back to normal, not rapidly, but slowly," he said.
Servis said Smarty Jones would remain stabled at the park until Wednesday or Thursday. Servis won't travel with the horse, but planned some visits for the fall.
"I'll be heartbroken," he said. "That horse put me in the history books."
What a ride - albeit a brief one - it was.
In nine career starts, Smarty Jones - with jockey Stewart Elliott - won eight races and earned $7,563,535, including a $5 million bonus from Oaklawn Park for victories in the Rebel Stakes, Arkansas Derby and Kentucky Derby. Owners Pat and Roy Chapman recently syndicated him for about $48 million.
While the future of the plucky red chestnut colt is set, Servis is still considering his options. He said he was happy with his clients and the horses he's training now, but was starting to get offers from "pretty good names" to train some of next year's 3-year-olds.
Most owners would let Servis train in Philly Park, though he's also had discussions with one big-name owner who wouldn't want to move his horse there.
"It was a very interesting conversation and it's something I'd have to entertain," he said.
But he knows there will probably never be another horse like Smarty Jones.
"To be around a horse like Smarty, it doesn't get better than that," Servis said. "I'm going to miss that."
The Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner who electrified the sport and brought Philadelphia its long-awaited champion before his retirement is set to move out of his home turf.
First, though, comes the retirement party Saturday at Philadelphia Park. It will be the 3-year-old colt's last public appearance in Bensalem before leaving to stand stud at Three Chimneys Farm in Kentucky.
While the occasion is meant to honor Smarty, trainer John Servis has mixed feelings. He wished it could have been delayed a few years.
"As a trainer, I'd love for him to run until he was about 7 or 8," Servis said Friday. "But I think it's great for the fans."
The colt is retiring after he was diagnosed with bone bruises in all four hoofs. Servis hoped to run him in the Breeders' Cup Classic at Lone Star Park in Texas on Oct. 30, with perhaps a warmup in the Pegasus in New Jersey or the Super Derby at Louisiana Downs.
Those plans ended abruptly when a bone scan revealed the chronic bruising problem.
"There's not a whole lot I can do about it," Servis said. "We would have loved to have kept running him."
Servis still visits Smarty nearly everyday and said the horse was doing great and showed no signs of discomfort.
Philly Park will open its gates at 11 a.m., and Smarty will come out after the third race, around 1:30 p.m. Servis said Smarty would walk around the paddock before going to the winner's circle for a ceremony.
More than 4,000 fans attended an open workout after Smarty won the Kentucky Derby. Nearly 20,000 fans packed the park to watch Smarty's failed bid at the Triple Crown when he finished second at the Belmont Stakes in New York.
The fans haven't forgotten Smarty. While the hoopla has died down, cards, letters - and even a few carrots - still arrive in the mail for the trainer and his horse, and those quick trips to the grocery store have turned into two-hour autograph signings.
"It's starting to get back to normal, not rapidly, but slowly," he said.
Servis said Smarty Jones would remain stabled at the park until Wednesday or Thursday. Servis won't travel with the horse, but planned some visits for the fall.
"I'll be heartbroken," he said. "That horse put me in the history books."
What a ride - albeit a brief one - it was.
In nine career starts, Smarty Jones - with jockey Stewart Elliott - won eight races and earned $7,563,535, including a $5 million bonus from Oaklawn Park for victories in the Rebel Stakes, Arkansas Derby and Kentucky Derby. Owners Pat and Roy Chapman recently syndicated him for about $48 million.
While the future of the plucky red chestnut colt is set, Servis is still considering his options. He said he was happy with his clients and the horses he's training now, but was starting to get offers from "pretty good names" to train some of next year's 3-year-olds.
Most owners would let Servis train in Philly Park, though he's also had discussions with one big-name owner who wouldn't want to move his horse there.
"It was a very interesting conversation and it's something I'd have to entertain," he said.
But he knows there will probably never be another horse like Smarty Jones.
"To be around a horse like Smarty, it doesn't get better than that," Servis said. "I'm going to miss that."
