By: Jerry Burke
Ten horses have since won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness but failed to take the Belmont Stakes. They are listed below, along with their place in the Belmont, the distance in lengths behind the winner and the winning horse:
2004 -- Smarty Jones (2nd, 1, Birdstone)
2003 -- Funny Cide (3rd, 5, Empire Maker)
2002 -- War Emblem (8th, 19 1/2, Sarava)
1999 -- Charismatic (3rd, 1 1/2, Lemon Drop Kid)
1998 -- Real Quiet (2nd, nose, Victory Gallop)
1997 -- Silver Charm (2nd, 3/4, Touch Gold)
1989 -- Sunday Silence (2nd, 8, Easy Goer)
1987 -- Alysheba (4th, 14 1/4, Bet Twice)
1981 -- Pleasant Colony (3rd, 1 1/2, Summing)
1979 -- Spectacular Bid (3rd, 3 1/4, Coastal)
Foiled again!
Many racing fans compared Smarty Jones to Rocky Balboa, the main character in Sylvester Stallone's 1978 Oscar-winning film about a fictional down-on-his-luck boxer with one improbable shot at the title. Both were from Philadelphia, had humble pedigrees and overcame plenty of adversity to get to the top of the mountain.
In the end, though, they shared one more thing in common: both lost. And unlike Rocky, there are no sequels in the quest for the Triple Crown.
A record-smashing 120,139 people came out to Belmont Park last Saturday despite the fear of a repeat of last year's rain-soaked event. The crowd not only surpassed 2002's attendance of 103,222, but also set the record for attendance at a sporting event in New York state. "We knew it would be crowded," said racing fan Tim Morris. "But this is just nuts."
Despite the crowds, Morris and his friends weren't going to miss this one. "He's a great horse," Morris said of Smarty Jones, "and I hope he does it."
Had the race been as short as the other two legs of the Triple Crown, both a mile and a quarter, Smarty Jones would have become the first horse since Affirmed in 1978 to take racing's top honor. Alas, the mile-and-a-half Belmont Stakes, dubbed the "Test of the Champion," gave a failing grade to the sixth contender in the past eight years.
Heading into the stretch, the previously undefeated Smarty Jones looked like he was in the clear. Jockey Stewart Elliott opened up a 3 1/2-length edge over Rock Hard Ten, Eddington and 36-to-1 longshot Birdstone. The crowd went crazy, chanting the Philadelphia Flyers' catch phrase, "Go Smarty go!"
But as they settled into the stretch, everyone seemed to run out of gas except Birdstone. Jockey Edgar Prado seized his opportunity in the last 400 yards and steadily closed the gap. By the time Elliott saw him, Smarty was just about sunk.
"The mile and a half just got to him," Elliott said after the race. "He never got a break the entire race. I looked over and I saw Birdstone running and I figured I might be in trouble. He was running pretty strong."
Birdstone pulled ahead in the last 100 yards and pulled off a one-length upset, the closest a horse has come to a Triple Crown since Touch Gold shocked Silver Charm by 3/4 of a length in 1997. Prado, no stranger to riding a longshot into the winner's circle after his stunning defeat of War Emblem in 2002 aboard 70-1 Sarava, apologized to Smarty's trainer, John Servis, after the race. "I'm very sorry for Mr. Servis and all the connections for Smarty Jones, but I had to do my job," said Prado. "This is part of the business, and I'm very sorry it had to be me."
The crowds were sorry, too. After about 20 seconds of shocked silence, the crowd turned on the longshot victor and booed him during the victory lap. "This stinks," said Brian Mitchell, who had taken the train from Philadelphia early in the morning to cheer on the hometown favorite. "I spent $100 on win tickets as souvenirs. Now they're worthless."
About the only person dancing with joy in the clubhouse was Jones McNeil, who had also spent $100 on a ticket, only this one was on Birdstone to win. "I am the happiest man alive!" he screamed as he ran off to cash in his $3,700 ticket.
A $2 bet on Birdstone, the number four horse, paid $74. An exacta with Smarty Jones paid off $139, while Royal Assault, another longshot, came in third and rounded off the $1,589 trifecta. Birdstone's time was 2:27.5, more than three seconds off Secretariat's 1973 record.
Once the crowd's main concern -- the outcome of the race -- was decided, heading home became the main event, and a slow one it was. "My wife went out to use the port-a-potty," said Pat Kinslet as he sat in his car, heading toward the Plainfield Avenue exit. "She was gone 15 minutes and I moved all of two feet."
