Smarty Jones Retires

[shanahan]

Smarty gave us all a lot of $$ and a lot of fan apprecitation...not many do that these days...let\'s leave it at this:
We love Smarty, he was very, very good to us that subscribe to TG, and it is rare that we fall in love with a horse that does not disappoint.  Best to Chap and family...and the smart farm - R. Clay!

[marcus]

The bet w/ Smarty Jones for quite a while was that he probably win\'s if he doesn\'t break down  - that was the play with Smarty , like it or not .  So the Belmont Stakes loss and subsequent retierment are fortuitious ... Long Live Smarty Jones !

JB,

>The point is this-- take a look at the horses that have run in all 3 legs of the Triple Crown over the last 10 years or so. They don\'t necessarily immediately break down, and sometimes run well once or twice again over the summer. But they are never the same, and have done very little of note from Labor day of their 3yo years on.<

I believe \"some\" of the 3 year olds that ran well in the triple crown that didn\'t do very well later on were simply more precocious than some of their later developing rivals.

Typically, the figures required to win the Derby, Preakness, and Belmont are below what is required to win top races in the fall because 3 year olds are still improving quickly. \"Early bloomers\" that do well in the Spring can get passed by other rivals later on.

There is no question you are correct that the triple crown is very demanding and you can run a horse into the ground if you ask too much (especially when trainers ask a lot in the mornings too). However, I think if a horse is given a decent and appropriate break after the grind it can come back in the fall and continue to improve if he wasn\'t just a precocious springtime horse to begin with.