SMARTY JONES, UNDEFEATED

He survived the murder of his very first trainer and a fractured skull at age two, later to emerge as an undisputed racing champion. This is not Hollywood but the true account of one amazing horse who, a year after the release of the movie Seabiscuit, made real-life history in horse racing. This is the story of Smarty Jones.

Someone who has suffered some terrible losses in his life, Smarty Jones today is a horse on a winning streak. He bagged the 1 st place at the Kentucky Derby on May 1 and at the Preakness Stakes on May 15 two in a series of three races long considered to define the sport of horse racing.

Now, Smarty Jones is on his way to conquering the third and final major race. On June 5, the world of horse racing will watch Smarty Jones make a run for racing greatness at the Belmont Stakes, and quite possibly seize the yet unclaimed Visa Triple Crown bonus prize of $5 million.

Dream come true, someday

Roy Chapman, semi-retired from running a string of automobile dealerships, and wife Patricia began breeding and racing horses in the late 1980s. They owned a farm in New Hope , Pennsylvania , and for weeks tried to come up with a name to call it, but none that would work at first.

They would talk and dream about the things they were going to do in this farm someday, and Pat would let out a big sigh, Someday, someday It was just the idea they were waiting for. Roy decided, I think we ought to call it Someday Farm. And so they did. It was here at Someday Farm that Smarty Jones was foaled on February 28, 2001 , and bred by owners Roy and Pat. He was named after Roy 's mother-in-law, whose nickname was Smarty.

His sire, Elusive Quality, performed best at distances up to a mile, setting a 7 furlong track record at Gulfstream Park and a world record at 1 mile on turf at Belmont Park . His dam, the sprinter I'll Get Along, was sired by champion sprinter Smile. Despite these influences, Smarty Jones' Dosage Index of 3.40 suggested that he could get the 1 ¼ mile distance of the Derby.

Smarty Jones - Next Triple Crown Champion

Rough start

Not long after Smarty Jones was foaled, Roy 's trainer, Bob Camac, was murdered along with his wife at their New Jersey farm. It caused a setback for Roy , prodding him to think about leaving the racing business altogether.

In 2003, the Chapmans sold all of their racing stock save for two horses, one of which was Smarty Jones. Says Roy : I, thank God, decided to keep him and not sell him. He just had that look in his eye.

The two horses were sent to Florida to be broken for racing, and then found themselves in Philadelphia at the barn of John Servis, a friend of Camac. John is a native of Charles Town, West Virginia, who scored his first win as a trainer with Belle River in 1984 at Philadelphia Park . In 2000, he saddled Jostle to sweep the Coaching Club American Oaks at Belmont Park and the Alabama Stakes at Saratoga .

One day in July, at the age of two, Smarty Jones was in the midst of a schooling session at the starting gate at Philadelphia Park , gearing up for his first career start. Here, he met a horrible accident and nearly lost his left eye. Smarty Jones reared up and slammed his head on an unpadded iron bar, getting his skull fractured and his orbital (eye socket) bones shattered.

The recent Kentucky Derby may well hark back to that accident, what with two of the other entrants lacking sight in one eye. Smarty Jones could have been the third but fate had other plans for him.

Smarting Up

Following the mishap that broke his skull, Smarty Jones underwent several months of professional care at the New Jersey Equine Clinic. On November 9, 2003 , he made a significant comeback in Philadelphia , winning by 7 ¾ lengths in his debut. Only two weeks later, in his second start, he romped by 15 lengths.

Right then, his owners knew: Smarty Jones would go places, and the Derby would certainly be one of them. He did not deviate one inch, said Roy . He ran it just the way he was going to run it that day.

Indeed, John Servis and the Chapmans took him places, races that would set Smarty Jones up for the $5 million payday. Prior to the Kentucky Derby, he had already earned five championship titles this year.

On January 3, in the Count Fleet Stakes at Aqueduct, he won by a widening 5 lengths as the 2-5 favorite. Then on February 28, he took Oaklawn's Southwest Stakes by ¾ of a length as the 1-2 favorite. He won the 1 1/16 mile Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park on March 20, by 3 ¼ lengths. And again, he triumphed at the 1 1/8 mile Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park on April 10.

Smarty Jones - Triple Crown Bid

Smooth Finish

Stewart Elliott, a native of Toronto , Canada , has been the leading jockey for the last three seasons at Philadelphia Park . This journeyman, who began his career here at Philadelphia Park in 1981 at the age of 16, is Smarty Jones' jockey.

39 year old Stewart is the first Canadian-born jockey to win the Derby since Ron Turcotte aboard Secretariat in 1973. He has over 3,300 lifetime victories to date, which includes races at Suffolk Downs in Massachusetts, Rockingham in New Hampshire, Florida, and Maryland.

His father, Dennis, had been a jockey in Hong Kong for six years. With a jockey father and a show-horse rider mother, he is certainly no stranger to the racetrack life. I don't know nothing else. This is it for me, says Stewart.

No truer words have been said: this year really is IT for Stewart's true-blooded fighter of a horse. Visibly way ahead of the slew of three-year-olds to grace the sport recently, Smarty Jones has markedly outdone his share of challengers across breeds in the most important races of 2004.

On May 1, Smarty Jones conquered the first of the Big 3 races: the 130 th running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. He whipped colts The Cliff's Edge and Lion Heart, who had both run extremely fast figures at the Blue Grass Stakes in Keeneland, to finish as champion at the Derby.

Remaining undefeated, he seized a second championship win on May 15 at the 129 th Preakness Stakes in Pimlico at Baltimore . At the Preakness race, Smarty Jones crushed not only Derby runner-up Lion Heart but also new shooters Rock Hard Ten and Eddington.

Race to the Future

The 136th running of the Belmont Stakes takes place on June 5 in Elmont , New York . It is the third and final step to the Triple Crown and, already 2/3 victorious, this horse is not taking it all in stride. The Belmont Stakes is Smarty Jones' bid to win the sport of horse racing's first Triple Crown in over 25 years, and not to mention, the $5 million Visa Triple Crown bonus.

Smarty Jones is no doubt the Triple Crown favorite, and all for good reason. He holds an impressive record of eight consecutive wins to date, at eight different distances, spanning 6 furlongs to 1 ¼ miles. He boasts an outstanding average margin of victory at some 6 lengths per race. Exhibiting outstanding acceleration and cruising speeds clinched by that breathtaking turn of foot, he is an absolute winner at every known pace.

What makes it all sweeter are the avid fans rooting for this amazing champ, even eliciting a forecast of record TV numbers for the Belmont Stakes.

His is a conquest that extends beyond the racetracks to the hearts of people who have followed his quite cinematic career, from lows to highs, from tragedy to victory.

In life, where strife builds character, where the strong make champions and heroes, the great sport of horse racing will always resonate with the name: Smarty Jones.