I just went back and looked at the 04 Belmont (smarty jones)

bdw0617 · Postby **bdw0617** » Wed May 23, 2007 5:30 pm

Stewart Elliot costed Smarty Jones the triple crown. I guess he either a) thought he had more horse than he had or b) thought the race was a mile and 3/16ths not a mile in a half. The move was veyr hard spun like on the back stretch

it's also funny at the end, Durkin seems kinda pissed himself that Birdstone won it

Tiz · Postby **Tiz** » Wed May 23, 2007 8:34 pm

Oh good, another opportunity to work Stewart over. It looked like nerves got the best of him, for sure. Looked like Smarty had coping issues as well. He should have had it, but that's horseracing, and that's why horseplayers die broke.

bdw0617 · Postby **bdw0617** » Wed May 23, 2007 8:47 pm

actually as a handicapper I DIDN'T have him..but that's a bet I would have been happy to loose.

i didtn' think smarty could get the distance.. he actually DID get the distance but his jockey turned him loose WAY to early.

lol, as a handciapper you wuld be a plump fool to take 1 to 5 odds on a horse when every other jockey's goal is for YOU not to win..

Tiz · Postby **Tiz** » Wed May 23, 2007 8:53 pm

When handicapping at the track, best to stay away from the beer and hotdogs then, so as to avoid being, not only a fool, but fat as well.

Rokeby Forever · Postby **Rokeby Forever** » Wed May 23, 2007 10:09 pm

Stewart Elliot ran a :23 (or so) quarter down the backstretch only to get away from Bailey on Eddington and Solis on Rock Hard Ten...those two were on a kamakazee mission to press Smarty Jones, so what other choice did Stewart Elliot have? :roll:

Pete · Postby **Pete** » Wed May 23, 2007 10:18 pm

Hi Bdw,

It's easy to fault jockies that don't win especially when people expect it. If Elliot is to be faulted it's the fast pace that he made in quarters 3 and 4. One of the main reasons that horses fail to win the Belmont is that they're handled like it's a 9f race. Would Smarty Jones have won the Triple Crown if Elliot had controlled the pace better? Perhaps but remember that Birdstone was moving up and then beginning his run, wide, into those fast fractions and he too would have benefitted and he might have had a larger margin of victory. What Elliot did do was to tire Rock Hard Ten who was probably considered his main threat.

Desormeaux on Real Quiet had no reason to do anything other than sit behind the leaders and take the perfect trip. Instead he started his move 6f out, going wide into a crosswind around the huge Belmont turn, only to have Real Quiet run out of gas. It was an arrogant and foolish ride that cost Pegram over $5,000,000 in purses and perhaps more.

Regards,

Pete

Pete · Postby **Pete** » Wed May 23, 2007 10:20 pm

Hi Tiz,

I find that if I even look at the beer and hot dogs that I gain weight. Imagine if I ate and drank them! Thanks for the advice. :wink:

Regards,

Pete

bdw0617 · Postby **bdw0617** » Wed May 23, 2007 10:32 pm

now, if he thought that the two duelers had a legit chance of holding that sucide mission up for a mile and a half, then he made the right move.

I am under the notaion that they were looking for a taxi cab about midway though the backstretch, and smart jones mataining his cruising speed would at the very best caught up with them.

A maile a half race is to be ran alot like the european turf races, you have to make it a 2ish furlong race, by saving as much kick you have at the end.

the race was OVER hitting the stretch, smarties only chance of winning was to put enough distance between him and Birdstone (who was hawking him down) and make Birdstone have to beat the wire, but he couldn't get away from him. Still he didn't get beat by much.. plus he didn't handlet hat last turn all too well (smarty was a little bigger than I remember him to be). it was ovbious half way though the race he only had one horse to beat... all in all I think he overestimated how muck kick his horse had..simple as that. i don't htink it was as bad as Mario "Make my move on the Clubhouse turn" Pino.

I'm one to be overcritial, but..it wasn't the horse that got smarty beat. There are only a few great riders out there.. if smarty had one on his back, he would have won a triple crown

Rokeby Forever · Postby **Rokeby Forever** » Wed May 23, 2007 11:32 pm

If Smarty Jones had Bailey riding him in the Belmont, Eddington wouldn't have been pressing him from the outside.

Stevens wasn't much better. Rock Hard Ten had only a handful of starts in his career and pressed the pace from the rail - Stevens wasn't thinking about winning the race...in the Preakness, Rock Hard Ten made a wide sweep to finish second.

Here's all three TC races that year - watch how Eddington and Rock Hard Ten were ridden in the Preakness and watch how they were ridden down the backstretch in the Belmont...notice anything different?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gq-zB-KoNhU

geowarrior · Postby **geowarrior** » Thu May 24, 2007 3:55 am

If Hard Spun goes in the Belmont I predict he will run the first half in 40 flat. Mario Pino clearly hasn't been going either early enough or fast enough.

reenci · Postby **reenci** » Thu May 24, 2007 2:01 pm

want to know why smarty did not win the belmont.............BECAUSE HE WAS NOT GOOD ENOUGH.......... :wink:

they call it the test of champions dont they ?............and for the record ....i bet on smarty :oops:

in the belmont.

bdw0617 · Postby **bdw0617** » Thu May 24, 2007 2:09 pm

Rokeby Forever wrote:If Smarty Jones had Bailey riding him in the Belmont, Eddington wouldn't have been pressing him from the outside.

Stevens wasn't much better. Rock Hard Ten had only a handful of starts in his career and pressed the pace from the rail - Stevens wasn't thinking about winning the race...in the Preakness, Rock Hard Ten made a wide sweep to finish second.

Here's all three TC races that year - watch how Eddington and Rock Hard Ten were ridden in the Preakness and watch how they were ridden down the backstretch in the Belmont...notice anything different?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gq-zB-KoNhU

rock hard ten is one of the most overrated hroses of all time.. he never won a race outside of the socal circut

Rokeby Forever · Postby **Rokeby Forever** » Thu May 24, 2007 2:44 pm

Reenci....Does that mean that Sunday Silence wasn't a champion but Birdstone is a champion? Is Jazil a champion? Is Sarava?

Toccet02 · Postby **Toccet02** » Thu May 24, 2007 8:16 pm

geowarrior wrote:If Hard Spun goes in the Belmont I predict he will run the first half in 40 flat. Mario Pino clearly hasn't been going either early enough or fast enough.

Yeah...I just don't understand why they've been using him that way. Horse has a ton of heart. I heard he CAN rate. I don't get it. Theyre going to have to do something different in Belmont.

Kari · Postby **Kari** » Fri May 25, 2007 6:56 am

reenci wrote:want to know why smarty did not win the belmont.............BECAUSE HE WAS NOT GOOD ENOUGH.......... they call it the test of champions dont they

OMG, I can hear the sounds of little girls crying over their SJ Breyers after reading that! :lol:

You blaspherer!