One of his offspring is doing well locally. might help him and the local breeding industry. Chapman said there was little interest in returning Smarty Jones to Kentucky, where he stood at Three Chimneys Farm and Calumet (2016-18).Ĭhapman considers Smarty Jones to be more of a regional sire and the move back to Pa. He produced some 1,500 winners and various stakes horses, but most of his best runners ended up in Asia or South America. His progeny, however, have seldom lived up to their daddy's lead. He thrashed about in it, splashed most of the water out and plopped down in it. He reared up a few times until he found a mud puddle. He mingled with visitors, raced about and kicked up his heels. "He seems very happy and content here."ĭuring a recent visit to Equistar, Smarty Jones was feeling exceptionally well in his paddock. "Smarty Jones is doing great," said Sharon Eckenrode, whose husband Rodney owns Equistar. The Chapmans, who bred and raced Smarty Jones, owned a Ford dealership in Lebanon where Maguire Nissan now stands Majority owner Pat Chapman, widow of Roy "Chappy" Chapman, brought Smarty Jones back to Pennsylvania, following his Southern Hemisphere stud duty last fall in Uruguay. He also came from a horse racing family his father, a jockey, had managed the Jockeys’ Guild for eleven years, then served as a steward in West Virginia for 18 years.Kentucky Derby and Preakness champ Smarty Jones is standing at stud this spring and summer at the Equistar Farm and Training Center in East Hanover Township, just south of Penn National. A native of West Virginia, Servis eventually found his way to Philadelphia Park, where he worked as a jockey agent and assistant trainer before venturing out onto his own. Looking for a trainer for their two horses, the Chapmans turned to a friend of Bob Camac, John Servis. The decided to stay, but sold all of their racing stock except for two horses. They decided to name the horse after Pat’s mother, whose nickname was Smarty.īut soon after Smarty Jones was foaled, the Chapmans’ trainer Bob Camac and his wife were murdered, and the Chapmans considered leaving the horse racing business. In February of 2001, the Chapmans bred a horse on the farm they owned in New Hope, Someday Farm. The Chapmans, already recognized locally for The Chapman Auto Group, began breeding and racing horses in the late 1980’s. Two weeks later in the second leg of the Triple Crown, Smarty outclassed the field as an eleven and a half length winner, topping the winning margin of ten lengths set by Survivor in the inaugural running of The Preakness in 1873.īut as is the case with any successful athlete, this was a team effort.įirst and foremost, are owners Roy and Pat Chapman. When the tenth race at Churchill Downs on the first Saturday in May 2004 – more famously known as The Kentucky Derby- was finished, “The Little Horse that Could” had made it up that hill and captured the interest and imagination of horse racing fans and non-horse racing fans around the country and the world. Critics and cynics remained staunch even when Smarty entered The Kentucky Derby as the favorite. The also doubted that a horse from Philadelphia Park would compete with the bluebloods of Kentucky. Critics and skeptics were numerous, and Smarty was often touted as too small to withstand the enormous pressure of competing in the Big 3: The Kentucky Derby, The Preakness Stakes, and The Belmont Stakes. The “Little Horse” is Philadelphia’s own Smarty Jones. In the spring of 2004, the world was treated to a slightly altered version of this classic story as “The Little Horse that Could” displayed perseverance and fortitude that would make any engine proud. Remember the story of “The Little Engine that Could”? Despite being told that it was too small to make it, The Little Engine persevered and ultimately made it up that hill.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |