JC / Railbird

HOF/Awards Archive

Unfairly Maligned

This year’s crop of three-year-olds may be ill-fated — Lion Heart, Birdstone, and The Cliff’s Edge were all retired with fractures — but it’s not inferior. “Some believe, based on Beyer Speed Figures, that this is a weak crop. Yet other speed figure gurus, such as Thoro-Graph’s Jerry Brown, state that some of Smarty Jones’ numbers are among the fastest ever recorded by a 3-year-old, including one race that was the fastest ever recorded.” (Blood-Horse)

Posted in HOF/Awards on November 9, 2004

Not Even Close

Ghostzapper garners 18 votes for Horse of the Year to Smarty Jones’ 7 in a Blood-Horse survey of trainers, jockeys, and journalists.
Related: “Smarty vs. Ghostzapper a dream race” (Daily Racing Form)

Posted in HOF/Awards on November 3, 2004

HOTY Race Heats Up

The contest for Horse of the Year comes down to two: Smarty Jones and Ghostzapper. Which deserves the honor? The chestnut colt who electrified crowds with his Kentucky Derby and Preakness performances against the best three-year-olds, or the lightly-raced four-year-old 4-for-4 against the best older horses?
Maryjean Wall says Smarty is still in the picture. (Lexington Herald-Leader)
Mike Brunker wants to compromise. (MSNBC)
And Bill Finley couldn’t be plainer in his preference: “Ghostzapper earned my Horse of the Year vote Saturday.” (ESPN)
Wait, says Richard Rosenblatt: “When cooler heads prevail, there’s little doubt that Smarty Jones is more deserving of Horse of the Year.” (Trentonian)
Related: Andrew Beyer writes that there’s one word for Ghostzapper: “Freak” (Daily Racing Form); Wall says Ashado has staked a claim as top three-year-old filly (Lexington Herald-Leader); Sherry Ross predicts Sweet Catomine for two-year-old filly Eclipse, Ouija Board for top turf mare, and Ghostzapper for top handicap horse (New York Daily News)
Comment: I’m with Brunker. Smarty Jones proved himself the best three-year-old and deserves that award; Ghostzapper proved himself versatile and fast and so deserves HOTY. If only there were an honorable mention for that prize — I’d love to see Funny Cide recognized. After his fabulous Jockey Club Gold Cup victory, there was some talk of the gelding carrying off the big award. Obviously, that won’t be happening, but I can think of no other horse that runs with as much heart as he does.

Posted in HOF/Awards on November 1, 2004

Smarty Backlash?

Smarty Jones’ untimely departure from the winner’s circle to the breeding shed disappointed fans — and turf writers. “Bill Finley, a veteran reporter who covers racing for ESPN.com, says his displeasure with the turn of events may influence his ballot.
“Granted, he was a very exciting horse,” Finley says, “but personally I’m very disappointed they retired him and retired him under a scenario where it appeared they could easily have brought him back next year, if not sooner.
“Maybe it’s not up to the voters to punish people, but the sport needs superstars, and these people didn’t keep their promise to keep him around. I may keep that in mind, and I may just punish them for that.” (USA Today)

Posted in HOF/Awards on October 28, 2004

Eight Are Alive

For Horse of the Year, says Steven Crist: Azeri, Birdstone, Funny Cide, Ghostzapper, Kitten’s Joy, Pleasantly Perfect, Roses in May, and Smarty Jones all have a shot at the honor. (Daily Racing Form)

Posted in HOF/Awards on October 16, 2004

The Forgotten

Smarty Jones’ retirement may have brought his owners millions of dollars, but it may also deprive them of horse of the year and champion three-year-old honors, and that could lead to obscurity for the chestnut colt, writes Bob Ford. “As the racing year heads toward its final furlongs, Birdstone is still running and still causing trouble for Smarty. Incredibly enough, 2004 might turn out to be the year in which Smarty Jones is nearly forgotten rather than the year in which he is remembered forever.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Posted in HOF/Awards on September 8, 2004

Birdstone or Smarty Jones

Which will be three-year-old champion at the end of the year? “With Smarty Jones retired prematurely to the breeding shed, and his Triple Crown spoiler Birdstone ready to take a crack at older horses in the $4 million Breeders’ Cup Classic on Oct. 30, Eclipse Award voters may even have to rethink their Horse of the Year options if Birdstone wins at Lone Star Park,” writes Sherry Ross in the New York Daily News.
Hold on, Mike Watchmaker says in the DRF: “Let’s keep a lid on the ‘Birdstone for champion 3-year-old’ movement, however. It is to Birdstone’s credit that he is the only one who ever defeated Smarty Jones, and unlike Smarty Jones, Birdstone is still in the game punching. But, you can’t make believe that Birdstone’s 15 1/4-length loss to Smarty Jones in the Kentucky Derby never happened. Smarty Jones’s Derby and Preakness victories are still the standard by which this 3-year-old class is measured.”
Sounds like quite an argument shaping up.

Posted in HOF/Awards on August 30, 2004

Watchmaker: Race Is Over

There is no race for top three-year-old, writes Mike Watchmaker. We all know what’s going to happen when it comes time to award the divisional title: “No legitimate argument can be made for any horse in position to mount a late-season threat — not Birdstone, not Sunday’s Haskell Invitational winner Lion Heart, not Sunday’s Jim Dandy winner Purge, and not Rock Hard Ten in the wake of his flop in the Haskell. None of them is in the same league with Smarty Jones.” (Daily Racing Form)
Related: “Smarty just won’t go away” (ESPN)

Posted in HOF/Awards on August 10, 2004