The "It's way too early to do this so let's do it anyway!" prediction game thread

[King Glorious]

Originally Posted by RolloTomasi

Expand on why you think Smarty Jones was more talented than Ghostzapper.

Not that this proves anything but it goes along with what I posted earlier to answer your question:

From the DRF on 5/18/04, Andy Beyer:

It was difficult to assess Smarty Jones after his triumph at Churchill Downs because his running time was unimpressive and the sloppy, speed-favoring track may have aided him. There were no such ambiguities last Saturday at Pimlico, and people who can recognize an exceptional Thoroughbred knew they had seen the real thing. Patrick Biancone, who has trained high-class horses on three continents, hailed Smarty Jones as "a great champion." Veteran jockey Gary Stevens said, "That's as good as any horse I've ever seen," and mentioned the Preakness winner in the same breath as Secretariat.
Runaway victories can sometimes be deceptive, but objective evidence verified the quality of Smarty Jones's performance. On the day before the Preakness, some of the best older horses in the country contested the Pimlico Special, and the high-class California invader Southern Image won it by running 1 3/16 miles in 1:55.89. The Pimlico racing surface, which has been slower lately than in previous years, was virtually identical the next day, when Smarty Jones sped the same distance in 1:55.59. It is extraordinary for a young 3-year-old to run faster than top-class older horses.

His effort earned him a tie for the second-best Beyer Speed Figure in a Triple Crown race since we began publishing these ratings in 1987. Easy Goer recorded a figure of 122 in the 1989 Belmont Stakes. Summer Squall and Silver Charm got ratings of 118 in the Preaknesses of 1990 and 1997, respectively. Smarty Jones's 118 puts him into some illustrious company.______________________________

From the DRF on 5/19/04, Sean Clancy:

"Sometimes you can do things to a horse to make yourself a length better," Smith said after finishing fourth in the Preakness. "But he's in a league of his own. He might be another Secretariat. I ain't kidding you.""My horse ran the way I expected, and I thought that might be good enough to beat Smarty Jones. Boy, was I wrong," Stevens said after finishing second. "I think I just witnessed a horse that's going to go down in history as one of the best we've ever seen.""You don't beat him, not unless he beats himself," Stevens said. "He won't get beat unless the wheels come off, and I hope they don't come off for a long time."

"He's got all weapons," Smith said. "He handles any track. You can grab a hold of him, take him back, put him on the lead. He can get knocked around. Nothing fazes him."

"So far he hasn't given a stride - that's what makes him a freak," Desormeaux said. "When he went, I tried to go with him, and he just left me. He's like the Lakers - the only thing that can beat him is himself."

"I got goose bumps at the eighth pole," Stevens said. "I thought, 'I have never seen this in my life.' It's going to be great for the sport. We needed this, and it's great people with the horse."

"Sometimes it looks like Stewart's riding him, but it's like he's just pedaling along next to you, like, 'Okay, I'm here.' Like it's no big deal," Smith said. "When we went around the turn, I look over and he's got both ears forward like he's out for a Sunday stroll."

"I got to see him in full color today," Desormeaux said. "He's like Secretariat. He runs because we put him in the starting gate and opened the doors. Now to do the next, it takes a total freak of nature. And he looks like he can do it."
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From the DRF on 5/20/04, David Grening:

Hall of Fame trainer Bobby Frankel, who stopped Funny Cide's 2003 Triple Crown bid in the Belmont Stakes with Empire Maker, says he believes Smarty Jones can be mentioned in the same sentence as racing legends Secretariat, Seattle Slew, and Spectacular Bid.

"The way he looks right now, he's got an edge on all of them," Frankel said Thursday morning. "He runs on all kinds of tracks, he can make his own race. If somebody wants to go to the lead, he can sit. If nobody wants to go, he can go to the lead. The only thing is if he stays together. If they can get five or six more races out of him, he can be an all-timer, one of the greats."Smarty Jones has won his first eight starts, including the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, and is trying to become the first 3-year-old to go through the Triple Crown undefeated since Seattle Slew in 1977.

"Seattle Slew used to get hot if somebody got too close to him," Frankel said. "This colt, nothing bothers him. Secretariat, he didn't like an off track, he got beat a couple of times on an off track. The horse he reminds me the most of is Spectacular Bid, because Spectacular Bid was like that: he'd rate, he'd go to the lead, he'd handle any surface."_________________________________

From the DRF on 5/21/04, Michael Hammersly:

The comparison I've been hearing most frequently is Smarty Jones to Affirmed. That's heady praise, and like Affirmed, Smarty has shown an ability to go whenever his rider desires. That push-button, step-on-the-gas-and-get-thrown-back-in-your-seat ability is absolutely lethal.

But I'm inclined to compare Smarty to Spectacular Bid - and if you know me, you know that's saying something.

I believe Spectacular Bid was the best, most perfect horse we've ever seen. He had a wonderful machine-like precision. And the one thing Smarty does like Bid did is bury foes. Affirmed would win, but you had the feeling he was trying to be funny, like the kid playing tag who is much faster than everyone else but stays just out of their reach, smirking. Spectacular Bid wasn't like that. I felt he didn't want to win, he wanted to bury rivals. He was like Tiger Woods was in 2000 - why win by a shot when you can win by 10? Smarty has shown that same killer instinct.