In the run up to the 2015 Kentucky Derby, the Thorobros took a good hard look at the past 20 years of Derbies and tried to rank the top twelve. We were able to arrive at this highly scientific ranking through a complicated logarithm that generated a foolproof list of the best Kentucky Derbies of the past two decades. This year’s renewal of America’s most famous horse race looks to be particularly strong – perhaps we will have a new addition to these rankings come May 3, 2015.
Number 3: Smarty Jones (2004)
Smarty Jones is Philadelphia’s horse. He was not regally bred, he debuted at Philadelphia Park, a decidedly second-tier track, his trainer was John Servis, and his jockey was Stewart Elliott, who had toiled in relative obscurity for his entire riding career. Philadelphia is a blue collar town that cares passionately about its sports teams, and appreciates more than anything an athlete that shows up to work every day and always gets the job done. Smarty Jones certainly came to race every time he went into the starting gate and save for the final race of his career, he never had a horse hit the wire in front of him.
Prelude
The Smarty Jones story almost never happened. On July 27, 2003, when Smarty was 2, John Servis was schooling Smarty in the gate and he reared up and smacked his head against the top of the gate stall. Smarty knocked himself unconscious and fell to the track, bleeding. John Servis though he might be dead. Smarty regained consciousness, however, the bleeding was stopped, and Smarty slowly regained his health. He did not make his debut on the track until November 6, 2013 at Philadelphia Park.
But it was quite the debut – Smarty crushed that field by 7 lengths in the maiden special weight contest, including next out winner Deputy Rummy, earning an 84 Beyer speed figure. Stewart Elliott was in the irons – as he would be for each of Smarty’s 9 career starts. Next up was a two year old stake race, also at Philadelphia Park. Smarty dominated, prevailing by 15 lengths and earning a 105 Beyer speed figure. That race concluded his two year old season – but set him up nicely to make his three year old season one to remember.
Smarty made his three year old debut in the Count Fleet Stakes at Aqueduct. Another race, another open lengths win, despite a stumbling start. At this point, Servis knew he might have a Derby horse on his hands, and decided to test the waters at Oaklawn Park.
After a seven week layoff, Smarty hit the track in the Southwest Stakes. Although he won, it was only by three quarters of a length, and he ran the slowest Beyer figure of his career other than his maiden breaking debut win. Smarty was still undefeated, but was he moving in the right direction as the Derby prep season was heating up?
Any doubters would be quickly silenced. Smarty romped in the Rebel Stakes, winning by 3 1/4 lengths over Purge, and then took down the Arkansas Derby by 1 1/2 lengths over Borrego. Smarty put up Beyer speed figures of 108 and 107, respectively. He was headed to Kentucky at the top of his game.
The Race
Having swept all of the meaningful 3 year old Derby prep races at Oaklawn Park, the undefeated Smarty was sent to the gate in Louisville as the lukewarm 4-1 favorite in the Derby. Smarty Jones was trying to become the first undefeated Derby winner since Seattle Slew – a feat that Dortmund and Materiality will both attempt to match in this year’s edition. As expected, when the gates opened, Lion Heart, the second choice, went right to the lead. Lion Heart maintained that lead through the first mile of the race, at certain points opening up to lead by more than a length.
Lion Heart led the field through a 46 second first half mile and came all the way around the far turn with a clear lead. As the field straightened out for the final stretch, you can see Smarty Jones take the measure of Lion Heart. Smarty Jones comes off the turn like a freight train, swinging wide into the sloppy Churchill Downs stretch. Smarty Jones pulled alongside Lion Heart, but Lion Heart fought back resolutely, gamely trying to match Smarty’s giant strides. The two left the rest of the field in their wake, with Imperialism and Limhouse toiling several lengths back. Eventually, however, Smarty Jones wears down Lion Heart and springs clear, ultimately winning by 2 3/4 lengths. The video of Chappy Chapman and John Servis embracing after the win says it all – Smarty Jones was the people’s horse.
Aftermath
Smarty Jones saved the race of his life for his mid-Atlantic fans. On May 15, 2004, he left the Preakness field in his wake, winning by 11 lengths and posting a 118 Beyer speed figure. He looked every bit a Triple Crown winner, and the public was hard pressed to identify which of his contemporaries could legitimately challenge him at Belmont Park. He left the gate at Belmont Park as a 2-5 favorite. But it was not to be, as Birdstone swept past him down the stretch in the Belmont, and history would have to wait for another day. Stewart Elliott’s ride in the Belmont was picked apart, and many blame him for moving too early, allowing Birdstone to rally and steal the race. Perhaps Smarty Jones’ pedigree – which seemed to indicate more of a sprinter/miler – finally caught up to him. Either way, racing’s best chance for a Triple Crown winner since Affirmed had been denied.
The 2004 Belmont was both the first loss of Smarty’s career and the last time we would see him on the track. His retirement was announced on August 2, 2004 due to chronic bruising of his ankles. He initially stood at Three Chimneys Farm in Kentucky, and subsequently has been housed at Northview in Pennsylvania and has even traveled to South America for the Southern Hemisphere breeding season. He has had some success in the breeding shed, producing Grade One winner Centralinteligence and Graded Stakes winner Backtalk, among others.
Though Smarty Jones justifiably had the most headlines and deservingly won the Eclipse Award as 2004’s champion 3 year old, there will be little debate about which 2004 Derby horse had the most impactful post-race career. That would be Tapit, the current undisputed king of the breeding shed. Though Tapit was a mere also-ran in the Derby, finishing ninth, as a sire, he is responsible for Stardom Bound, Tapitsfly, Tapizar, Untapable, Tonalist, and all-time Thorobro favorite Hansen.
