Elliott's return elicits memories of Smarty

Stewart Elliott rides Smarty Jones to win the Preakness on May 15, 2004, in Baltimore. Elliott is returning to Oaklawn Park as a full-time jockey for the first time since 2006.
Stewart Elliott rides Smarty Jones to win the Preakness on May 15, 2004, in Baltimore. Elliott is returning to Oaklawn Park as a full-time jockey for the first time since 2006.

HOT SPRINGS -- It's different now.

Stewart Elliott, who rode Smarty Jones into the hearts of racing fans across Arkansas and America and within a length of horse racing's pinnacle, has returned to Oaklawn Park as a full-time jockey for the first time since 2006.

Elliott first came to the track in 2004 when he was a journeyman jockey and he and Smarty Jones, a 3-year-old Pennsylvania-bred colt, held no more than middling distinction. Smarty Jones, under Elliott's and trainer John Servis' guidance, would become the first horse in years to become a household name in Arkansas and to cross over into the consciousness of the general public. No one at Oaklawn on Friday -- the opening day of the 2019 meet -- will ask afterward who the eighth race, the $150,000 Smarty Jones Stakes, is named.

It was 15 years ago when Servis and Elliott directed Smarty Jones through Oaklawn and a series of victories unique in what was then 100 years of racing at the track. Smarty Jones won Oaklawn's Southwest Stakes, then added the Rebel Stakes, the Arkansas Derby, and the Kentucky Derby. Shortly after the first Saturday in May 2004, late Oaklawn owner Charles Cella signed a $5 million check for winning the Centennial Bonus and handed it to owners Roy and Pat Chapman.

Elliott has raced in California the last several years but makes his home in Kentucky.

"I can drive there in seven hours," Elliott said. "It's not a three-day trip like it was from Santa Anita. But, also, I really like it here. The purses are good, but this is just a good place to be. The fans here are great."

Furthermore, Elliott said he will likely always recognize Oaklawn as a part of the most exciting period of his career. His experience with Smarty Jones began at Philadelphia Park, now Parx Racing. After two wins there, and another in the Count Fleet Stakes at Aqueduct, Servis decided Oaklawn's program for 3-year-olds best fit Smarty Jones' schedule.

Elliott said even after Smarty Jones' three-for-three start to start 2004, he could not dream of what was to come.

"I never thought he could do what he did until after the Rebel," Elliott said.

The Southwest was first up, and though Smarty Jones won, he was fully extended to hold off a late rush from Two Down Automatic.

"John told me he might need that first one," Elliott said.

After Smarty Jones kicked clear in the Rebel Stakes stretch to beat the 2-1 favorite Purge by 3 1/4 lengths on March 20, Elliott said he knew he was aboard a probable superstar. On April 10, Smarty Jones led second-place Borrego by 3 lengths as the field turned for home and held him off with apparent ease for a one and one-half length win in the Arkansas Derby.

Smarty Jones reached his peak three weeks later when through driving rain at the Kentucky Derby, he passed Lion Heart in the stretch to win the most meaningful race in the sport and Cella's $5 million bonus.

"I was finally able to get Smarty off the rail, and as soon as I did, just as we were coming up on the final turn, I knew we were going to be very hard to beat," Elliott said.

After an 11 1/2 length victory in the Preakness Stakes, Smarty Jones started the Belmont Stakes as the odds-on favorite, but was passed in the final 100 yards of the 1 1/2-mile race and beaten a length by 36-1 Birdstone, trained by Nick Zito, a member of the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.

Zito said his win with Birdstone was bittersweet. He understood Smarty Jones' national appeal and the reason the roar at Belmont turned to silence the moment Birdstone took the lead.

"I actually apologized after that race," Zito said. "I'll never forget, I went up to John Servis and I said, 'John, I'm sorry.' And he said, 'What are you sorry about? You ran a good race.' I've always thought he was just a classy guy."

Some observers questioned Elliott's ride and held him responsible for Smarty Jones' Belmont run when he pulled Elliott into the lead against 7-1 Rock Hard Ten and 14-1 Eddington in the long backstretch.

"He could be aggressive sometimes," Elliott said. "That was something John and I had to work on, but I knew in the first turn. I said, 'There's no way we can win like this.' With a mile and a half to go, he was just too rank."

Servis said he never blamed Elliott for Smarty Jones' final result.

"It's amazing how day-in and day-out, someone will make a comment, and I go, 'You know, horses are not motorcycles," Servis said. "They're animals. They have a brain. They have a will, and sometimes they just do things the way they want them done.' ''

Servis said he has always supported Elliott and is pleased to see him at Oaklawn.

"Oaklawn is a such a great place to be," Servis said. "I mean, any time you're there, you're going to be treated better than any other place you can go. I am really happy for Stewart, and I'm cheering for him."

Sports on 01/21/2019

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