Photo By: Jeremy Lyverse/CDSN

Smarty Jones checks out of his Churchill Downs residence and prepares to load onto a horse van to begin his journey back to Philadelphia Park.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (May 3, 2004) - Someday Farm’s Smarty Jones, winner of the 130th Kentucky Derby (Grade I), is scheduled to head home to Philadelphia Park on Tuesday.

Trainer John Servis said the son of Elusive Quality would board a plane to depart from Louisville on Tuesday afternoon. Smarty Jones walked under the shedrow at Churchill Downs on Monday and continued to delight Servis with his appearance and demeanor in the days after his Kentucky Derby victory.

“He came out of the race great,” said Servis. “He’s super. I couldn’t be happier.”

Servis said the unbeaten Derby champion would not return to the track until he gets back home to Philadelphia Park.

“He’ll walk and we’ll fly back and start him back training on Wednesday or Thursday,” he said. “This morning he was playing as he was walking around. It’s a nice and cool morning, so he came out on his toes. I couldn’t ask him to come out of the race any better.”

The Kentucky Derby-winning trainer said he expects Smarty Jones to receive a warm reception when he returns to Philadelphia Park for the first time since his victory in the famed “Run for the Roses.”

“I think it would be pretty good,” said Servis. “They say the whole city is just up in arms about the whole thing. I haven’t been able to really read anything from back there because I have no access to a computer, but I’m anxious to see.”

ROCK HARD TEN - Mercedes Stable LLC and Madeleine Paulson’s Rock Hard Ten, who was entered in the Kentucky Derby but excluded because of insufficient career earnings in graded stakes races, is schedule to work on Tuesday in preparation for an expected run in the Preakness (GI) on May 15.

Orman had planned to breeze the son of Kris S. on Monday, but decided to wait.

“I thought I’d give the track another day to dry out,” he said.

The colt galloped on Monday under jockey Joe Deegan, who will likely ride Rock Hard Ten in Tuesday’s breeze.

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