Cherokee Run H.
(T 5f ,)
SMART ENOUGH
(CH g,
124
lb) $69,342
Horse Chestnut (SAF) —Quick 'n Smart , by
Polish Numbers
B—F. E. Dixon Jr.,
KY.;
O—Edith R. Dixon;
T—John R. S. Fisher
Chihulykee
(CH g,
116
lb) $22,368
Mr. Greeley —Nakiska Wind , by
Lyphard
B—Formal Gold LLC,
KY.;
O—Frank Carl Calabrese;
T—Wayne M. Catalano
Fort Prado
(GR/RO h,
122
lb) $11,184
El Prado (IRE) —Fort Pond , by
Fortunate Prospect
B—David P. Block,
IL.;
O—Team Block;
T—Chris M. Block
Margins: 3¼, 1, 1. Others: Atticus Kristy 118($5,592) , Raedonald 118($3,355) , Ridge Runner (GB) 118($1,153) , Man of Danger 118($1,153) , Morada Key 116($1,153) . Winning Jockey, Christopher P. DeCarlo.
It’s hard to believe that Smart Enough, who won five of eight races in 2006, is having a better season this year than last year. The 4-year-old gelding has won five of seven races in 2007, with all five wins coming in stakes. His latest triumph came in the Nov. 4 Cherokee Run Handicap on turf at Churchill Downs under top weight of 124 as the 8-5 favorite.
Second in last year’s Cherokee Run Breeders’ Cup, Smart Enough won this year’s renewal after running third in the Oct. 21 Nearctic Stakes (Can-IIT) at Woodbine. His time for the five furlongs was :56.53.
“I had this race targeted after the race at Woodbine,” said trainer John R.S. Fisher. “That was the big race, and we got beat, but the horse came back like he didn’t lose any weight at all on the trip to Woodbine. He was bucking and squealing and playing and feeling good, and I thought I ought to take a shot. It was his last race of the season. He is done until next year. It was very impressive and very sweet since he ran second in this race last year.”
Bred in Kentucky by the late F. Eugene Dixon Jr., Smart Enough races for Dixon’s widow, Edith. Dixon, who died in August 2006, raced Smart Enough’s dam, Quick ‘n Smart. Bred in Maryland by Katharine W. Merryman, Quick ‘n Smart won the Seton Hall University and Egret Stakes, both at Meadowlands on turf.
Dixon, whose uncle, George D. Widener, served as chairman of The Jockey Club from 1950-64, was a member of that organization, plus chairman of the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission for 16 years.
Edith Dixon has raced several stakes winners, including grade I-winning steeplechasers Sharp Face and To Ridley. The former won the 2002 Meadow Brook Hurdle Stakes (NSA-I), and To Ridley took the Iroquois Steeplechase Stakes (NSA-I) in 1996.
Quick ‘n Smart and two of her offspring were sold as part of the complete estate dispersal of F. Eugene Dixon Jr. at the 2007 Keeneland January horses of all ages sale. Consigned by Claiborne Farm, agent, Quick ‘n Smart was bought in foal to Northern Afleet for $210,000 by International Thoroughbred Consultant. She produced a colt later in the year in Korea.
Quick ‘n Smart’s 2- and 3-year-old colts were consigned to the sale by Charlton, agent. Timothy F. Ritchey purchased 2-year-old Winterhaven (by Dixie Union) for $120,000, and E. Miller bought 3-year-old Quick Quest (by Coronado’s Quest) for $18,000.
Horse Chestnut, a South African Horse of the Year, has sired eight stakes winners, including additional 2007 added-money winners Duveen (gr. IIIT) and Buckeye Buddy. Horse Chestnut stands at the Hancock family’s Claiborne Farm near Paris, Ky. His 2008 fee of $5,000 is unchanged from 2007.—D.S.
