Smarty Jones Is Inspiration for Songwriter

BENSALEM, Pa. — Until Rocco Gabriella recently came along with his ode to Smarty Jones, it’s believed that there hadn’t been a song about a Triple Crown horse since Seattle Slew, who swept the series in 1977. It may be that it takes an undefeated Triple Crown contender to send a composer to his muse.

Seattle Slew was undefeated in nine starts after he completed his Triple Crown run, and Smarty Jones, in training here at Philadelphia Park, also will have chalked up nine victories without a loss if he wins the Belmont Stakes on June 5.

“Smarty Jones, yeah,” Gabriella wrote. “Do. Do. Do. Smarty Jones, yeah. Do. Do. Do. Since the day he was bred, all they ever said was Smarty Jones, Smarty Jones, Smarty Jones.”

That’s the chorus to Gabriella’s three-verse “Smarty Jones,” a song best described as a work in progress. Gabriella, a former jockey who rode for more than 20 years, is the clerk of scales at Philadelphia Park, where Smarty Jones’ career began. Gabriella, who lives in New Jersey, about an hour’s drive from the track, said he thought of some of the lyrics during his commutes to work.

“This colt made some dough,” the third verse goes. “By winning six in a row. John Servis said to Stewy, ‘Just sit and let him roll.’ There was a roar from the crowd. You couldn’t hear a sound. So they laid their money down. Now we’re looking for the crown. Stewart said, ‘Listen Mike. This ain’t no disaster. There ain’t no shame in being beaten by a master.’ ”

Servis, of course, is the trainer of Smarty Jones, and Stewart Elliott rides the colt. Taking poetic license, Gabriella imagined what Elliott might have said to Mike Smith, who rode Lion Heart, second to Smarty Jones in the Kentucky Derby and fourth after again setting the pace in the Preakness. Lion Heart has had enough and won’t run in the Belmont.

Gabriella, who likes to sing in the jockeys’ room, has set “Smarty Jones” to the tune of “Rack ‘Em Up,” a blues number performed by Jonny Lang. Gabriella has sung his song on at least one radio station in Smarty Jones-crazy Philadelphia. NBC also showed him singing it during the Preakness broadcast.

Even if Smarty Jones wins the Belmont, it’s unlikely that Gabriella’s song will outlast any Gershwin standards. Racehorse tunes quickly wind up on the trivia heap. Only habitues of the old Esposito’s bar, across the street from Belmont Park, may recall “Seattle Slew Do-dah-day.” The late John Esposito, who ran the joint, was a good friend of Billy Turner, who trained Seattle Slew, and Esposito insisted that “Seattle Slew Do-dah-day” remain on the juke box after he sold the place.

During his drinking days, Turner was a regular at Esposito’s. “Turnpike Turner,” they called him when he rode steeplechasers. Trainers at jump meets south of Belmont Park might need riders, and they’d call the number of a pay phone at Esposito’s, where Turner was likely to be caught philosophizing. Turner would hop in his car and head down the New Jersey Turnpike to get there.

“Seattle Slew Do-dah-day,” or anything else, couldn’t save Esposito’s after its congenial proprietor sold out. The new place might still have been called Esposito’s, but the ambience was misplaced. For one thing, the tables and the bar were well-scrubbed. Forty-watt bulbs were replaced with 100s. The glare was blinding. Grunge was out, medicinal was in. The two side-by-side phone booths, the ones that looked as if they were on loan from the Smithsonian, were taken out. All that remained from the old Esposito’s was “Seattle Slew Do-dah-day” on the juke. The new Esposito’s went out of business several years ago. Now it’s a church. Maybe there’s a message there.

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This morning at 5:30, Smarty Jones will have his first timed workout since April 24, a week before the Derby. “He should be anxious to work,” said Servis, who is planning a seven-furlong drill.

Servis is undecided whether he’ll van Smarty Jones to Belmont Park next Tuesday night or Wednesday morning. The post-position draw for the Belmont is scheduled for Wednesday. Seven horses -- Smarty Jones, Rock Hard Ten, Eddington, Tapit, Royal Assault, Birdstone and Tap Dancer -- are probable. Nick Zito, who trains Royal Assault and Birdstone, said that the only way The Cliff’s Edge could make the race is if he squeezes in a workout Saturday.

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