JC / Railbird

HOF/Awards Archive

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