That honor went to Ghostzapper, the Breeders' Cup Classic winner, in an inexplicable decision to this day. It would be the last race Smarty Jones ever ran and should have made him Horse of the Year.

Smarty Jones did something similar in the Belmont Stakes when eight lengths ahead of the third-place horse, a tremendous show of force in that rivals pressured him out of the gate. Seattle Slew, whose frontrunning speed carried him to the 1977 Triple Crown when undefeated, ran such a race when second to Exceller in the 1978 Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park. Sometimes, a horse covers himself in glory in defeat. Tom Durkin, calling the race, described the stretch run in a doleful tone of voice. Smarty Jones, going for the Triple Crown, finished second to Birdstone by one length.īelmont Park, with 120,000 people jammed inside, turned cemetery-like silent as Smarty Jones was passed in the stretch for the only time in nine career races. That's when for some of us, the music died. Some were still knocking his supposed lack of stamina influences (which come from the dam's side) up to the minute he surged ahead on the backstretch in the 2004 Belmont Stakes. (Smarty Jones, as we will see, ran once at Belmont, a mile and a half on dirt.) In assessing his status as a Triple Crown contender, some never got past his broodmare sire, Smile, whose very name screamed sprint pedigree. I know the fans would love to see him.For the record, his parents were Elusive Quality and I'll Get Along, the former once holding Belmont Park's track record for one mile on turf. There was an incident at Parx a few years ago that led to some litigation. 'There were some conversations,' he said, 'but because of logistics and liability, Penn National decided not to pursue it.

Rodney Eckenrode was asked if there are any plans to parade Smarty Jones before the fans at Penn National. bred by Smarty Jones out of Ocean Road, a War Front mare. She's trained by Erin McClellan and was ridden by Tyler Conner. She has two wins and two seconds in five starts. If she continues to improve, she could find herself in the big races this year for her division. Ujjayi is a 3-year old daughter of Smarty Jones, who won the $100,000 Ruthless S. One of his offspring is doing well locally. might help him and the local breeding industry. Chapman said there was little interest in returning Smarty Jones to Kentucky, where he stood at Three Chimneys Farm and Calumet (2016-18).Ĭhapman considers Smarty Jones to be more of a regional sire and the move back to Pa. He produced some 1,500 winners and various stakes horses, but most of his best runners ended up in Asia or South America. His progeny, however, have seldom lived up to their daddy's lead. He thrashed about in it, splashed most of the water out and plopped down in it. He reared up a few times until he found a mud puddle. He mingled with visitors, raced about and kicked up his heels. 'He seems very happy and content here.'ĭuring a recent visit to Equistar, Smarty Jones was feeling exceptionally well in his paddock. 'Smarty Jones is doing great,' said Sharon Eckenrode, whose husband Rodney owns Equistar. The Chapmans, who bred and raced Smarty Jones, owned a Ford dealership in Lebanon where Maguire Nissan now stands Majority owner Pat Chapman, widow of Roy 'Chappy' Chapman, brought Smarty Jones back to Pennsylvania, following his Southern Hemisphere stud duty last fall in Uruguay. Kentucky Derby and Preakness champ Smarty Jones is standing at stud this spring and summer at the Equistar Farm and Training Center in East Hanover Township, just south of Penn National.

Smarty jones horse