BALTIMORE – If the Kentucky Derby is the “most exciting two minutes in sports,” and the Belmont Stakes is the “Test of the Champion,” what do you call tomorrow’s $1 million Preakness Stakes, sandwiched between them as the middle jewel of the Triple Crown?
Unlike the mile-and-a-quarter cavalry charge at Churchill Downs, or the mile-and-a-half marathon at Belmont Park, the Pimlico classic, with a manageable field going a mile-and-three-sixteenths, is, quite simply, a horse race. Form holds up, with favorites winning at a 51-percent clip. Racing luck rarely determines the outcome, nor does the genetic ability to run all day. Load them in the gate, and may the best horse win.
In this 129th Preakness (post time 6:15 p.m.), the focus falls on Smarty Jones, the “Philly Flash,” whose 7-for-7 boxscore makes him the first undefeated Derby winner since Triple Crown champion Seattle Slew 27 years ago. Seeking to become the first colt since Spectacular Bid to take home both the Derby and Preakness as the betting favorite, “Smarty” will face nine or 10 other 3-year-olds, depending on the status of The Cliff’s Edge.
Trained by Nick Zito, The Cliff’s Edge injured his right front foot after throwing both front shoes running fifth in the Derby over a sloppy track.
“We have to wait for the abscess to pop,” Zito said yesterday. “If it pops and the vet can treat the foot, he’ll stay in. If not, I’ll scratch him [today].”
From Silver Charm in 1997 to Funny Cide last year, betting the Derby winner back in the Preakness has been the ticket to success.
Five Churchill champs in that seven-year span swapped their blanket of roses for the black-eyed Susans that come with a victory at Pimlico – Silver Charm ($8.20), Real Quiet ($7), Charismatic ($18.80), War Emblem ($7.60) and Funny Cide ($5.80) – good for a $33.40 profit on a flat $2 bet.
Smarty Jones will be a shorter price than any of them, and for good reason. He didn’t just win the Derby, he crushed it, beating Lion Heart by 23/4 lengths, Imperialism by six, with the rest nowhere.
And he did it with style under jockey Stewart Elliott, who rode a perfect race in his first Derby start. After breaking alertly, Smarty Jones settled into the second flight behind front-running Lion Heart. Squeezed between horses, he didn’t give an inch, then dropped over to save ground around the first turn.
When Mike Smith tried to steal away on Lion Heart into the far turn, Elliott let out a notch, and Smarty Jones shot clear of the pack to stay within striking distance. They sat chilly until turning for home, when Elliott asked Smarty Jones to run. He exploded, collared a stubborn Lion Heart in midstretch, then drew clear in the final furlong.
“When they get to be push-button like that, it’s the sign of a great horse,” said his trainer, John Servis, who hasn’t made a wrong move all year. “I like his attitude now better than before the Derby. He’s getting more and more confident with all the attention. His exercise rider told me ‘he’s Arkansas tough.’ “
Servis cites two preps Smarty Jones ran at Oaklawn Park as key races in his career.
“He wasn’t cranked up for the Southwest Stakes, and I told Mr. Chapman [his owner] we might lose. When those horses came to him and he kicked away, I was shocked. I knew then he’s got what it takes.”
In his next start, the Rebel, Smarty Jones romped by 3½ lengths in sizzling time.
“If he runs the race he ran in the Rebel,” Servis said, “he’s going to be really tough.”
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THE FORECAST
83 degrees Scattered thunderstorms, 30 percent chance of precipitation, high of 83 degrees