Stallion Spotlight: Smarty Jones

What is the Stallion Spotlight you may ask? Well once a week (normally on Fridays), I will spotlight a stallion that I like and tell you a little bit about his foals. This week is a little bit different, as I did not write it out. First off I would like to thanks Nancy Teague (nantague on FHF's forum and second_glance on TBC's forum), for doing this for me this week. As you can guess by the name of the title, the stallion I was refering to a few weeks ago with clues is the one and only Smarty Jones!

Name: Smarty Jones
Stallion Register: http://www.bloodhorse.com/stallion-register/sr_sire_page.asp?anchor=first_race&refno=6119092&performer=La%20Equivocada&prefno=7726433
[Note: the earnings listed for his foals are not current]
Birthdate: February 28, 2001
Breeder/Owner: Roy and Patricia Chapman
Pedigree: Elusive Quality x I'll Get Along by Smile
Color: Chestnut
Stands at: Three Chimneys Farm
Stakes Wins: Pennsylvania Nursery S., Count Fleet S., Southwest S., Rebel S., Arkansas Derby (G2), Kentucky Derby (G1), Preakness S. (G1)
Total Career Earnings: $2,613,155 in race earnings + $5,000,000 bonus
for winning both the Arkansas and Kentucky Derbies

The saga of Smarty Jones, the little horse from the little track in Pennsylvania whose pursuit of the 2004 Triple Crown fell a heart-breaking length short, is so well known it need not be repeated here. Suffice to note that Smarty was the first undefeated winner of the Kentucky Derby since Affirmed in 1978, that he won the Preakness by a record 11.5 lengths, and that his average margin of victory in his 8 consecutive victories was 6 lengths. He was mentally tough and physically explosive, with push button speed, a quick and efficient turn of foot, and a heart that is literally half again as large as that of most thoroughbreds.

Unfortunately, Smarty never raced again after the Belmont. He was officially retired on Aug. 2, 2004 due to chronic bruising around his ankle bones, with a lifetime record of 9-8-1-0. All of his races except his maiden victory were stakes races.

He began his second career as a sire in 2005 at Three Chimneys Farm. By agreement between Three Chimneys and the Chapmans, Smarty has a smaller annual book than many other stallions a maximum of 110 mares per year; nor can he be shuttled out of the country for the
Southern Hemisphere breeding season. As a result his two crops currently of racing age (born 2006 and 2007) number only 163 foals. And with only one crop that has run, this summary should be considered very much an interim report!

Of his 85 three-year-olds, as of this writing 38 have started and 13 have won, a ~34% winning rate. His foals have won on all surfaces, at distances of 5 to 8.5 F, and in three countries plus Puerto Rico. Seven won at first asking: Keefer (at Monmouth; 5 F in 58.16), Smart Coco (in Ireland on turf; by 2 lengths), Be Smart (at Saratoga; wire-to-wire), Go Smarty Go (at Belmont on turf; 4/5th of a second shy of the course record), Keiai Gerbera (in Japan) and, most recently, Chef and Smarty Bull (both at Gulfstream).Keefer and Rockland each won his second start.

Overall, Smarty's first crop is not precocious; they have taken time to mature. Most did not start until the fall of 2008, several started at three, and more will make their first starts in the next few weeks. Therefore the best of them to run to date have not raced much nor had many opportunities to run in stakes races. There has been, thus far, no breakout star. Go Smarty Go (o/o Sarah's World, by Holy Bull), in my estimation, would have been that star, but he suffered a condylar fracture in the gallop-out following his only race and most likely will not race again. There are, however, others to keep an eye on.

Be Smart (o/o Eishin Bridle, by Unbridled; http://finalturngallery.com/g2/main.php/v/HoosierShadow-s-Misc-horse-racing-pictures/album760/fall2008_001/oct0308/%231+Be+Smart+and+Garrett+Gomez_1.jpg.html) went from her maiden win on dirt to a 2nd in the Darley Alcibiades Stakes (gr. I) on synthetic. After a poor showing in the Breeders? Cup Juvenile Fillies, however, she was found to have a bone chip in her knee. She has resumed training after successful surgery, and is currently expected to appear in the upcoming Churchill meet.

Likewise, Keefer (o/o Shootforthestars, by Seattle Slew) had surgery for bone chips in his ankle, but Zayat Stable and Steve Asmussen remain high on him and expect him to return to training this spring.

Big, beautiful Rockland (o/o Wiscasset, by Kris S.;http://www.thoroughbredtimes.com/triple-crown/contender-detail.aspx?contenderno=935), who inherited all his sire's heart and toughness but not all of his speed, has won on dirt and turf and placed 3rd on synthetic. After tiring badly in The Holy Bull S., Rocky is apparently on break. My guess is that Michael Matz will settle on turf as his preferred surface when he returns.

Two more potential stars emerged in the past month.

Chef (o/o Take the Cake, by Fly So Free; http://www.thoroughbredtimes.com/triple-crown/contender-detail.aspx?contenderno=949) impressed many, including Steve Haskin, when he won at first asking at the tough distance of 7 F, grabbing the early lead, pulling away to win by 4.5 lengths, running the fastest final eighth of the day (:13.00) and looking like he wanted to go out and do it all over again. Trainer Alan Goldberg was impressed enough to wheel him back in just 20 days to run at 9 F against a high-class field on March 6 at Gulfstream.

And Smarty Bull (o/o Bam Bull, by Holy Bull) looked a whole lot like her sire when she came three-wide on the turn and kicked to win her 6-F maiden debut by 7 lengths.

Five of Smarty's three-year-olds are running in Japan; two of them are already winners with high expectations for the future.

Keiai Gerbera (o/o Anna Sterz, by Danzig), who very much resembles her sire (http://db.netkeiba.com/?pid=picture&type=o&id=13984), went from winning her maiden debut by 5 lengths in open company over a muddy track to wiring a field of fillies under a hand ride in her second start to win by 3 lengths. She looks to be pointing to the Fillies Revue (on turf) later in March or possibly one of the other prep races for the Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas).

The remarkably consistent and productive Cosmo Pirate (o/o Confidently, by Storm Cat; http://db.netkeiba.com/?pid=picture&type=o&id=12229), whose record as a two-year-old reads 5-1-3-1 (on dirt and turf), has recently come back into training for his second season.

Last, but definitely not least, a personal favorite: Down in Puerto Rico, La Equivocada (o/o Dragonada, by Nureyev) is a tenacious, spirited sprinter who was not only Smarty's first
winner (on 7/11, by 5 lengths), but also his first graded stakes winner (Clasico Alsito Roig S., PR-III, on 12/13). I eagerly await her return to the track.

Currently, about 40 of Smarty's three-year-olds are in active training. Of those running in the U.S. who showed promise in earlier starts but have yet to win, look for Ricoriatoa, Dr. Smarty Jack, Hey Smarty, and Keep Me in Mind to break through soon. John Servis is also reported to be expecting good things from Ritzy Jones (co-owned by Patricia Chapman), who has recently gone back into training after a layoff. Internationally, Smarty Dance and Pisa No Premium in
Japan and Smart and Fun in France have been knocking on the door of victory. Among those yet to race here, Smart Sugar, training out on the West Coast, is particularly intriguing. She is working regularly and very fast, even on muddy surfaces.Joining them fairly soon on the training track will be many of Smarty's 78 two-year-olds.I would be remiss if I did not mention that Smarty also became a broodmare sire this year when one of his 2006 fillies, Jonespartyofwon (o/o Prom Knight by Sir Harry Lewis), gave birth to a filly by Half Ours on Jan. 18.

And, finally: This summary would have been nearly impossible without the constant flow of information (from many sources) posted by Smarty Jones fans at the Rockport Harbor and Thoroughbred Champions boards -- most especially Myracingheart and Secret Status/Adieu, with a special thanks to the invaluable Tachyon who keeps us apprised of everything concerning the Smarty Jones foals racing in Japan. By the way, Kevin (Myracingheart) maintains a comprehensive, frequently updated spreadsheet of information relating to all of Smarty's foals.
Check it out at http://www.racingheartphotography.com/SmartyJonesFoals.xls

A few things to add to this post, Chef finished fourth today at Gulfstream, and here is the biggest win in Smarty's career, the 2004 Kentucky Derby!

Link

Remember that next week the Stallion Spotlight will be on Wensdays until the end of the TC. Next week: I had said that he has several high tiered foals on the TC trail right now. He is the son of the 1990 Kentucky Derby winner... Unbridled's Song is in the spotlight next week.