Smarty Jones Chokes

[RblJet]

What a great race. Smarty Jones couldn't hold on in the end barely losing.

[Smizzy]

What a race!!!

[JetsMan57]

He choked just like all the teams from the city he hails from lol.

[JOJOTOWNSELL]

He "Munsoned"

[thechadzone10]

yea i was only rooting against smarty because i wanted to see philly choke and cry like they do everyyear. i dont know anything about racing and this was my first race i ever watched and i loved it :)

[Green Jets & Ham]

That's the best horse to lose the Belmont/TC since Spectacular Bid

I felt he got beat by three factors, none of which could have beaten him by themselves but all three combined did the trick

1. The Grueling three races in five weeks
2. The last of the three a mile and a half
3. A number of horses challenged him every step of the way ... from the starting gate ... made him expend tons of energy early that he could have used late

Remove any one of the three from the equation and this horse wins going away

Make no mistake about it, a Great horse lost the TC today ... the only other horse I ever said that about was THE BID

This had nothing to do with choking ... this horse ran his heart out but the circumstances, all combined, were too much to overcome ... even for a Great horse ... and a Great horse lost the TC today

[faba]

This again shows how difficult it is to win three grueling races in 5 weeks. Only the truly great horse can accomplish this with a little luck. That takes nothing away from Smarty Jones and what he has accomplished.
It was nice to see people invoved in the sport show respect and dignity to each other as evidenced by Prado and Servis in their post race comments and actions.

[Green Jets & Ham]

[quote][i]Originally posted by faba[/i]@Jun 5 2004, 07:15 PM
[b] This again shows how difficult it is to win three grueling races in 5 weeks. Only the truly great horse can accomplish this with a little luck. That takes nothing away from Smarty Jones and what he has accomplished.
It was nice to see people invoved in the sport show respect and dignity to each other as evidenced by Prado and Servis in their post race comments and actions. [/b][/quote]
Faba, I also thought Mrs. Whitney {Owner of Birdstone} was the classiest winner I have ever seen in any sport ... I was blown away by the class that lady displayed ... blown away

I'm happy for Mrs. Whitney and Nick Zito ... but Its sad to see such a Great horse denied his place in history

But I have to say, the sheer class of Mrs. Whitney makes it so much easier to swallow ... I can't think of a person more worthy of success, male or female ... she is simply the definition of a class act

[faba]

GJ & H
With all the egos and ME attitudes in sports ansd society today it really was refreshing to see these people showing class. Sadly this is what is missing the in most of the today's generation -the proper respect of others and property.

[LakeGeorgeJet]

[quote][i]Originally posted by Green Jets & Ham[/i]@Jun 5 2004, 07:14 PM
[b] That's the best horse to lose the Belmont/TC since Spectacular Bid

I felt he got beat by three factors, none of which could have beaten him by themselves but all three combined did the trick

1. The Grueling three races in five weeks
2. The last of the three a mile and a half
3. A number of horses challenged him every step of the way ... from the starting gate ... made him expend tons of energy early that he could have used late

Remove any one of the three from the equation and this horse wins going away

Make no mistake about it, a Great horse lost the TC today ... the only other horse I ever said that about was THE BID

This had nothing to do with choking ... this horse ran his heart out but the circumstances, all combined, were too much to overcome ... even for a Great horse ... and a Great horse lost the TC today [/b][/quote]
He also needed somebody to go out hard - a speed horse like lion heart. He wasn't able to stalk much today. I think that burned him out a bit.

[Jared]

I love watching unbeatens fall. I give a sadistic giggle when a TC-winner-to-be fails. When an undefeated football team gets upset by an also-ran. When teams like the Cardinals knock teams like the Vikings out of the playoffs.

Somewhere out there is a Sports God dedicated to the underdog, giant slaying, and perverse sense of humor. I worship him.

[Alk]

Now I know absolutely nothing about horse racing but you're telling me that Smarty had a disadvantage because other horses were keeping up with him? :unsure: What were they supposed to do open his gate 5 seconds before the rest? Come on can we talk about anything without making excuses? I personally was laughing my a$$ off when he bustered up.

[Jetlag]

I was at Belmont today because I literally live a 5-10 minute walk away from the track. That was the absolutely the most INSANE thing I've ever seen in my life. And I'm not even talking about the races. You couldn't move ANYWHERE, people are just getting wasted every place you looked. I think I have a good feeling of what woodstock was like now but instead of acid and mushrooms it was good ol' alcohol.

I actually saw the race live today, I ran up to the grandstands, squeezed between people and found some chair to stand on so I could see. What an awesome race with such a disappointing ending.

[Smizzy]

ESPN said 150,000 people were there.

[YorkPAJetsFan]

Take that Filth-adelphia. You jerks don't deserve a championship in ANYTHING.

[DTrainBringinDaPain]

So how many of the JetsInsider faithful lost the kids' college funds today?

[joiseyjet]

[quote][i]Originally posted by Jetlag[/i]@Jun 5 2004, 11:30 PM
[b] I was at Belmont today because I literally live a 5-10 minute walk away from the track. That was the absolutely the most INSANE thing I've ever seen in my life. And I'm not even talking about the races. You couldn't move ANYWHERE, people are just getting wasted every place you looked. I think I have a good feeling of what woodstock was like now but instead of acid and mushrooms it was good ol' alcohol.

I actually saw the race live today, I ran up to the grandstands, squeezed between people and found some chair to stand on so I could see. What an awesome race with such a disappointing ending. [/b][/quote]
I never been to a track with so many people ,even the club house was packed by the time I got there for the eigth race pretty much all the tee-shirts & programs were gone all that was let was a few scattered polo shirts (at $49 for white & $59 for colored) so I grabbed one of those ,good race ,the race back to the train was even more crowded & closer down the stretch...lol, I really thought this was the year we got a TC WINNER .....Did babe ruth put a curse on PHILLY also?? :D :D

[JumbalayaJet]

Not enough souveniers to go around, eh joisey? I would've hit the stands earlier, but I was in the backyard until the sixth race and you couldn't move back there. By the time I came over to the grandstand, everything was gone. :lol: At least they didn't run out of beer this time like they during one year during Breeder's Cup.

One possible blessing from Smarty's loss is that maybe we'll get to enjoy him for a few more races before he goes to stud. If he had won yesterday, I wouldn't have been surprised if they retired him on the spot.

[dmaynard]

[quote][i]Originally posted by Green Jets & Ham[/i]@Jun 5 2004, 07:14 PM
[b] That's the best horse to lose the Belmont/TC since Spectacular Bid

I felt he got beat by three factors, none of which could have beaten him by themselves but all three combined did the trick

1. The Grueling three races in five weeks
2. The last of the three a mile and a half
3. A number of horses challenged him every step of the way ... from the starting gate ... made him expend tons of energy early that he could have used late

Remove any one of the three from the equation and this horse wins going away

Make no mistake about it, a Great horse lost the TC today ... the only other horse I ever said that about was THE BID

This had nothing to do with choking ... this horse ran his heart out but the circumstances, all combined, were too much to overcome ... even for a Great horse ... and a Great horse lost the TC today [/b][/quote]
All true, GJ&H, especially the mile and one half. If this race was a mile and 1/4, Smarty would have won ahead of a hard closing Birdstone and we would all be talking about what a super horse Smarty is. The Triple Crown is brutal. It really makes you admire the fact that one decade (the 70s) produced 3 super horses (Secretariat, Seattle Slew, Affirmed) that did it, another one, Alydar, who would have done it if he ran in any other year than those 3 and still another one, Spectacular Bid, who would have done it if he didn't have horrible luck.

[AC Slater]

How long before we start hearing Smarty Jones-flavored dog food jokes on a regular basis?

Please do not consider this the first one