KENTUCKY DERBY: LOOKING TO ADD TWO TO SEVEN EXTENDING RUN WOULD CROWN COLT.Byline: Kevin Modesti Staff Writer LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Now that Smarty Jones Smarty Jones (born February 28, 2001) is a thoroughbred race horse, and winner of the 2004 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes. He is a third-generation descendant of Mr. has held his form for seven races in a row to become the first unbeaten Kentucky Derby Kentucky Derby One of the classic U.S. Thoroughbred horse races. It was established in 1875 and run annually on the first Saturday in May at Churchill Downs track in Louisville, Ky. With the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes, it makes up U.S. racing's coveted Triple Crown. winner since Seattle Slew Seattle Slew (foaled 1974) U.S. Thoroughbred racehorse. He was the first unbeaten racer ever to win the Triple Crown (1977). In his racing career of 17 races, he won 14, was second twice, and fourth once. He was retired to stud in 1978. , the question is whether he'll stay sharp for two more and become the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed. To which trainer John Servis John C. Servis (born October 25, 1958 in Charles Town, West Virginia) is an American thoroughbred horse racing trainer who was a relative unknown until May 2004 when his horse Smarty Jones won the Kentucky Derby. gives an encouraging answer. ``I haven't been able to get him tired yet,'' Servis said. At 7:20 on the cold, rainy morning after a late-night celebration, Servis stood in the entrance to Churchill Downs' barn 42 and expressed amazement at the constitution of Smarty Jones, the colt from humble roots who carried Derby-rookie jockey Stewart Elliott Stewart Elliott (born on March 1, 1965 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada) is a thoroughbred jockey. Elliott grew up in horse racing; his father was a jockey for many years, his mother rode show horses and was a riding instructor, and his uncle owns a racing stable in Canada. to a 2 3/4-length victory Saturday. ``After the Arkansas Derby The Arkansas Derby is an American Thoroughbred horse race held in April at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas. The Arkansas Derby is open to three-year-olds willing to race one and one-eighth miles (9 furlongs) on the dirt. , I thought that after three races three weeks apart, he could possibly be tailing off at the wrong time,'' Servis said of the prep race in which Smarty Jones seemed to signal trouble by waiting until he was yards from the finish to switch lead legs. ``But when we got here (to Louisville), it was like he stepped into the elite stage. His workout here was just phenomenal.'' As hard as Smarty Jones ran in the 1 1/4-mile Derby, Servis said he was bright-eyed, playful and hungry after the race, a good sign for a 3-year-old facing the 1 3/16-mile Preakness Stakes Preakness Stakes One of the three classic U.S. horse races making up the Triple Crown. It is held annually in mid-May at Baltimore's Pimlico Race Course. The course distance is 1³⁄₁₆ mi (1.9 km). The field is limited to 3-year-old Thoroughbreds. in Baltimore on May 15 and the 1 1/2-mile Belmont in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of on June 5. ``He's a hard, solid little horse,'' Servis said of the son of Elusive Quality Elusive Quality (born 1993) is a thoroughbred racehorse who holds the world record for one mile on turf, 1 minute 31.6 seconds, set in the 1998 Poker Handicap. Elusive Quality, owned by Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, stands at stud at Gainsborough Farm in Versailles, who earned a $5 million bonus for owners Patricia and Roy Chapman with his Arkansas-Kentucky derby double. ``And he wants to win. Pretty amazing.'' Pennsylvania-bred Smarty Jones will be flown back to Servis' Philadelphia Park base, where he'll train lightly before shipping to Pimlico in the week before the Preakness. Lining up to try to play a quick spoiler spoiler: see airplane. 1. spoiler - A remark which reveals important plot elements from books or movies, thus denying the reader (of the article) the proper suspense when reading the book or watching the movie. 2. of the Triple Crown bid are eight horses, relatively few in an era when the Preakness regularly draws fields between 10 and the maximum 14. They are Derby runner-up Lion Heart, fourth-place Limehouse, fifth-place The Cliff's Edge, 10th-place Borrego; Rock Hard Ten and Eddington, squeezed out of the field of 20 Derby entries; Water Cannon water cannon n. A truck-mounted apparatus that fires water at high pressure, used especially to disperse crowds or control rioters. water cannon Noun , winner of Pimlico's Federico Tesio Stakes, and Cheiron, the California-bred winner of Hollywood Park's Snow Chief. In addition, trainer Todd Pletcher said he will keep open the option of running Kentucky Oaks-winning filly Ashado in the Preakness. Derby third-place finisher Imperialism will skip the Preakness to focus on the Belmont. Cheiron comes off the bench for 21-year-old trainer Kristin Mulhall. Smarty Jones will be trying to become the 12th Triple Crown winner and first since 1978. It was Lion Heart who led the Derby from the start to the top of the stretch in the race run in the rain on a sloppy track. Trainer Patrick Biancone would like fans to think of this as a budding rivalry. ``Unfortunately, (Saturday) he was beaten by a champion. I don't think it takes anything out of my horse,'' the French-born Biancone said by phone from Lexington. ``I think the public and you (reporters) will enjoy to see them fight again.'' Rock Hard Ten trainer Jason Orman said the colt will work out today or Tuesday. He said Smarty Jones was ``impressive'' but not enough to discourage a challenge. ``That's a good horse, and Lion Heart is a good horse, but I think some of the horses behind probably didn't handle the track well,'' Orman said. ``You probably had to be up close (to the pace).'' The best excuses on the morning after the 130th Kentucky Derby belonged to trainer Nick Zito's The Cliff's Edge, who lost both front shoes during the race, and Birdstone (eighth), who had his left front shoe come off. ``It wasn't my blacksmith's finest hour,'' Zito said. Minister Eric (16th) probably will have surgery to correct a breathing problem, trainer Richard Mandella said. Kevin Modesti, (818) 713-3616 kevin.modesti(at)dailynews.com |
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