To All Smarty Pants!

[KingChas]

Lets see Smarty Jones(9-8-1-0).8 wins 1 second in 9 starts.Won at 5 different tracks.6 Beyers over 100.A BSF of 105 at a young 2 yrs old.And 1 loss that could be attributed to a trainer and jockey possible mismangement.What did this horse do wrong.Do you know that most of Azeri's grade 1 wins were by beating up the same neighborhood kids earlier in her career.She still one of the greatest of all time.Why are people coming down on the horse?He did not make the decision to retire.If this horse was not good or even great he would not have been running for the TC.Guys its pretty bad putting this horse's accomplishments down.Have some guts and bust all the human connections not the animals excellent but too short career.

[OTM Al]

I think there's only one thing to go after here and its the structure of the industry. Don't blame the trainer for the horse's injury. The triple crown trail is a hard, hard road for young animals and Smarty was the only one to run it out to the end. Plenty of other very good horses went out with injuries along the way. And don't blame the jockey either. The race they ran together would have beat that field more often than not. And there's no blaming the owners either. They did exactly what every other owner in their positions would have done with the once in a lifetime dream shot that dropped in their laps. No, the blame here is the breeding industry itself. It creates the incentive for horses that show anything at all when they are young to be immeadiately retired and put out for ridiculously high stud fees. If I was in the owner's place, I would do exactly what he did too.

[CryingForTheHorses]

I myself have NEVER discredited Smarty, He is a good horse that fell thu the cracks.
Myself as a trainer,I would NEVER put that kind of weight on him to train,He was a small horse with a big heart.When you see a horse chugging along in the morn like Smarty, WOULD make you think he was the best thing to ever come out of Philly.I also do beleive we would have a 4yo derby winner running if the trainers would JUST calm down and be easier on the horses. Hell when you have run 7 races over a mile..YOU ARE FIT...I just dont understand why these guys want to GRIND these poor horses to a pulp.These are 3yo...maybe born in feb?..Makes them still really 2yo's if you think about it, A horses bones are still soft so its very easy to damage them beyond repair.HE HAS STRESS FRACTURES IN ALL 4 ANKLES....I guess he does..ALONG with BRUISED feet..AS for event horses, That itself is a LOT different..Yes they carry more weight...SPEED KILLS these race horses as its very hard on their limbs..Im also sure the CHAPMANS are HEARTBROKEN over NOT ever running him again.MONEY doesnt replace the runner...I think if anyone is really to blame, ITS the TRAINER (MANY REASONS).I myself have NEVER had a real nice horse and have always gotten someone else's castoffs,I just apply MY training methods to these old cripples and they win for me..Im sure SERVIS saw the writing on the wall

[PaceAdvantage]

Not to get into another tussle with you again McSchell, but didn't Servis go very EASY on Smarty regarding his workouts in between races? He barely worked during the Triple Crown.

I think Servis thought as you did....he was FIT already!

[CryingForTheHorses]

Easy on his works could mean
1 He is fit
2 He is sore
Im sure Mr PA that he was BOTH..Im also SURE Mr Servis knew that and was hoping the problem may go away, He DID a hell of a job with SMARTY and should ALSO be given the CREDIT..It works both ways, Its also very easy to discredit on hindsite.Im sure when this has all settled and he has thought long and hard ,Im sure he himself knows where and how things can go wrong with a horse, Horses can change fom workouts to galloping to races.WHO KNOWS maybe SMARTY would NEVER have made it if it wasnt for Mr Servis, ALL IN ALL..The TRAINER gets the CREDIT and also the BLAME.Go SmartyTheStud Go

Ps Hope he isnt shy

[kenwoodallpromos]

Without blaming anyone, what the horse did wrong was race the 2004 Belmont Stakes first mile same speed as always; then next 1/4 faster; then last 1/4 slower than the first mile.
I say a horse shifting gears like that is headed for trouble; I would like to hear other opinions on the possible negative physical effects of such pacing.

[KingChas]

Originally posted by kenwoodallpromos
Without blaming anyone, what the horse did wrong was race the 2004 Belmont Stakes first mile same speed as always; then next 1/4 faster; then last 1/4 slower than the first mile.
I say a horse shifting gears like that is headed for trouble; I would like to hear other opinions on the possible negative physical effects of such pacing.

Are you saying the horse rode the jockey?

[kenwoodallpromos]

The horse did what the jockey asked. The jockey did what the race demanded. He never saw Birdstone comingm on until it was too late. I do not think any horse did better since the 1970's.

[KingChas]

Originally posted by kenwoodallpromos
The horse did what the jockey asked. The jockey did what the race demanded. He never saw Birdstone comingm on until it was too late. I do not think any horse did better since the 1970's.

I'm not disagreeing Kendall. But your original post said the horse did wrong.Now you are saying the horse did what the jockey asked?????My question was what did the HORSE do wrong?Was he shifting gears by himself?Or if I lost 100 pds could I have ridden the triple crown winner?

[kenwoodallpromos]

Sorry, I thought you wrote the line rhetorically and I was answering in the same vein. LOL.
The horse did what it was told to do to the best of its ability; until the connections say otherwise, I believe the connections did not intentionally push the horse to do more than it could safely do.
Of course, putting a lot of weight on the horse to exercise and work the horse was wrong if you backfit the situation; I do not know how common putting a lot of weight on the horse is orm how safe it is by reading studys.