Columnist Ralph Siraco: Pick the adjective — it was Smarty’s party

Ralph Siraco

Monday, May 17, 2004 | 8:53 a.m.

Ralph Siraco's horse racing column appears Monday and his Southern California selections run Tuesday-Sunday.

Smarty Jones won the Preakness Stakes on Saturday.

Or, in other words, Smarty Jones' victory in the middle jewel of racing's Triple Crown was awesome, brilliant, commanding, dazzling, exciting, fantastic, great, huge, incredible, jolting, knockout, legitimate, masterful, numbing, overwhelming, perfect, quivering, resolute, spectacular, tremendous, unbelievable, vibrant, wonderful, X-factor, yielding and zealous -- to use the A-B-C's of it all.

His sensational, stupendous, spine-tingling, amazing, blockbuster, destroying, electrifying and authoritative performance at Pimlico Race Course left most who witnessed the Preakness Stakes with their jaws dropped open. Even those who expected a Smarty Jones victory didn't dream of what the rags-to-riches colt delivered in Baltimore, or to racing.

Smarty Jones humiliated and dusted his competition with such precision in the Preakness Stakes that the June 5 Belmont Stakes may be a walkover to complete a 12th Triple Crown and another $5 million bonus.

America is loving it.

As many as the finest Webster's dictionary holds, there are really no words that can fully describe the victory by Smarty Jones in the 129th Preakness Stakes.

Many thought that Smarty Jones was a special horse in a generation of sturdy equines. Many gave Smarty his due when he extended his career unbeaten streak to seven in the Kentucky Derby. And many respected Mr. Jones while making him the odds-on favorite to take the 1 3/16-mile Preakness Stakes.

But no one in the record crowd of 112,668 was prepared for what Smarty Jones unleashed in winning the Maryland jewel of the Triple Crown, setting up yet another attempt to crown a worthy steed with the hardest and most coveted trophy in the Sport of Kings. Not even the man who knows him best -- trainer John Servis.

Smarty Jones faced nine rivals in this Preakness -- eight fewer than those who ate his mud in Kentucky -- five who did not compete in the Derby and four he shellacked in the Run for the Roses just two weeks prior.

Many handicappers thought that Lion Heart, who finished second in the Derby, would fare better at Pimlico with the tighter turns, shorter distance (by 1/16 mile) and a track traditionally favoring speed, which is the running style of Lion Heart. Some gave Imperialism -- who finished third in the Derby -- a second shot, being his rider Kent Desormeaux sold the idea of a rematch to his trainer and owner. And some gave credence to the runners who did not compete in the Derby, known as the new shooters, in the field. Of those, Rock Hard Ten and Eddington were measured as top challengers to Smarty Jones.

Since his Kentucky Derby victory, Smarty Jones was void of any serious drills and was limited to long gallops in preparation for the Preakness, leading some to criticize his trainer's regimen. And, before the Preakness, Servis himself wondered about the conditioning schedule for his Derby winner, saying if Smarty Jones lost the Preakness Stakes he would not go on to compete in the Belmont Stakes.

Servis knew that the Preakness would be Smarty's toughest task to date. He said his horse needed to be on his game to take the field lined up against him in Baltimore.

Smarty was ready. Wow, was he ready. Lion Heart assumed his target position early in the race. Smarty sat in the catbird seat while the others positioned themselves to take their shot. Then, going into the far turn, Lion Heart drifted out, Smarty rolled alongside from the rail and it was over. Jockey Stewart Elliott, in another flawless ride, asked Smarty to go, and in an instant the race turned into a one-sided exhibition. Smarty extended his lead stride-by-effortless-stride through the home stretch. Rock Hard Ten put in his run at the rail, but was over 11 lengths short of catching a breezing Smarty Jones. The rest were window dressing.

Smarty Jones won the Preakness by the largest margin -- 11 1/2 lengths by the official chart -- in the history of the race, eclipsing Survivor's 10-length win in 1873. The time of the race was irrelevant. The ease with which Smarty Jones dispatched a solid field of classmates told the story. At the finish, Elliott had his whip tucked away and Smarty Jones had his ears pricked straight in the air looking for something more to do.

Jockey Mike Smith, who rode Lion Heart in both the Derby and Preakness, has seen enough of Smarty Jones. When asked if Lion Heart could ever beat Smarty, Smith just shook his head and said, "Not right now!"

Gary Stevens, who rode Rock Hard Ten, described the feeling of watching Smarty race away when he said, "I had another gear (with Rock Hard Ten), but, unfortunately, when I hit the other gear, Smarty Jones had about four more left."

The Hall of Fame rider also was reminded of another great of the past when classifying Smarty. He said Smarty is "as good as any horse I've ever seen, and I've seen some good ones and I've been on some good ones, and I was on a good one today. Smarty really reminded me of Secretariat the way he pulled away."

Smarty Jones now waits for the Belmont Stakes, where he will try to become the first since Affirmed in 1978 to win the Triple Crown.

For now, it's Smarty's party.