Smarty Jones registers first winner

The popular Kentucky Derby hero Smarty Jones now has a winner to his credit (Harold Roth/Horsephotos.com) Once-beaten champion SMARTY JONES (Elusive Quality) got off the mark as a sire when his juvenile daughter La Equivocada romped as the even-money favorite in Friday’s 5TH race at Camarero Race Track. Sprinting straight to the early lead, the Luis Adorno pupil steadily widened her margin while posting splits of :22 3/5 and :45 4/5 beneath Wilfredo Rohena. A chestnut like her sire, La Equivocada streaked across the wire a five-length winner in a final time of 1:04 3/5 for 5 1/2 fast-track furlongs. Smarty Jones captured his first eight starts in commanding fashion, garnering a legion of fans as he traversed the Triple Crown trail. The John Servis trainee first burst upon the scene as a juvenile, when he triumphed by 7 3/4 lengths in his debut at Philadelphia Park and followed up with a 15-length demolition job in the state-bred Pennsylvania Nursery S. In his sophomore bow in 2004, Smarty Jones stretched out to two turns for the Count Fleet S. at Aqueduct, and despite a stumble at the start, the dynamo still surged five lengths clear. Next he marched through Oaklawn Park’s sophomore series, sweeping the Southwest S., Rebel S. and Arkansas Derby (G2). In the process, the term “Smarty party” was coined, soon to become a household word.

Smarty Jones lined up as the 4-1 favorite in the Kentucky Derby (G1), which
was contested on a sloppy track in the wake of an afternoon deluge at Churchill
Downs. Rocketing to the front turning into the stretch, Smarty Jones stormed
home by 2 3/4 lengths to become the first undefeated horse to win the Run for
the Roses since Seattle Slew in 1977. Also, for taking the Kentucky Derby, Rebel
and Arkansas Derby, he earned a $5 million bonus presented by Oaklawn’s owner
Charles Cella.

Next time out in the Preakness S. (G1), Smarty Jones was even more
impressive, galloping by a record 11 1/2-length margin in the middle jewel of
the Triple Crown. His ever-growing bandwagon hoped for a coronation in the
Belmont S. (G1), but his fairy tale ended abruptly when he was caught in the
waning yards by Birdstone and relegated to second. He retired with $7,613,155 in
earnings from his sparkling eight-for-nine record, and was hailed as the
champion three-year-old male.

Produced by the multiple stakes-winning I’ll Get Along (Smile), Smarty Jones
hails from the family of Grade 1 queen Basie (In Reality). His fifth dam is
Striking (War Admiral), the 1961 Broodmare of the Year whose illustrious
descendants include champion Numbered Account (Buckpasser), the dam of noted
sire Private Account (Damascus); Irish champion and influential stallion Woodman
(Mr. Prospector); and 2003 Broodmare of the Year Prospectors Delite (Mr.
Prospector), the dam of Horse of the Year Mineshaft (A.P. Indy). Smarty Jones
traces to that bluest of blue hens, *La Troienne (*Teddy).

The seven-year-old stallion stands for $100,000, live foal, at Three Chimneys
Farm near Midway, Kentucky.