Elliott returns with hot hand 10 years after Derby win

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Stewart Elliott had no great expectations about coming back to Kentucky. He’d probably get to ride a few, enjoy the sights of springtime and the festive crowds, sign some memorabilia, and maybe even bask in the nostalgia of his career pinnacle.

“Sure doesn’t seem like 10 years,” said Elliott.

Indeed, it has been a full decade since Elliott won the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs aboard Smarty Jones, the first unbeaten horse to win the race since Seattle Slew in 1977. With the notable exception of those few thrilling weeks amid the Triple Crown series of 2004, Elliott has been a relative unknown on the national racing scene while competing primarily near his home in the Delaware Valley, even as he won race after race – a win total that now stands at a remarkable 4,629.

Rather bored and unfulfilled by his routine back home near Philadelphia, Elliott made a random decision in early March: He was going to try riding full time in Kentucky.

“It’s gone better than I could have expected,” he said. “Actually, way, way better, honestly.”

As Churchill begins its spring meet Saturday evening, Elliott will be among the jockeys moving over from Keeneland, where a talent-rich colony often yields a fair gauge of just where things stand. Get this: Elliott, a 49-year-old newbie, was second only to perennial leader Julien Leparoux atop the Keeneland standings as the meet neared its end Friday.

[ROAD TO THE KENTUCKY DERBY: Prep races, point standings, replays]

Elliott said he got a phone call from agent Nelson Arroyo, a former jockey, inviting him to give this circuit a shot.

“This is where the good horses are, the good trainers,” said Elliott, whose career win total places him 36th all time and 14th among active jockeys. “If I ever want to make the Derby again or just catch a ride on a good horse, I figured this was the place to be. Plus, with all the people who come out to watch, you feel like you’re at ‘the races.’ So, here I am.”

Through Wednesday, Elliott had ridden 11 winners at Keeneland, including six for trainer Mark Casse, most notably the Grade 3 Doubledogdare Stakes aboard Sisterly Love.

“Not only is Stewart a very good rider, but he has a great positive attitude,” said Casse. “He’s a pleasure to work with. Nobody likes losing, and the last thing you need when you get beat is a rider giving you lip.”

Elliott said he is committed to a new circuit consisting of Keeneland and Churchill in the spring and fall, Saratoga in the summer, and a winter destination yet to be determined. He said his New Jersey home, just across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, has been put up for sale, and that he and his wife, Lilibeth, are looking to relocate to Kentucky.

Whatever he accomplishes in this new pursuit, it will be almost impossible to match what happened here May 1, 2004, when the Churchill facility was undergoing a massive reconstruction. A fearsome deluge hit about two hours before the big race, rendering the track a sea of slop, but Smarty Jones, trained by John Servis, skipped right over it when getting a textbook ride from Elliott in defeating 17 others in the 130th Derby.

“It never really hit me until I passed under the wire,” said Elliott. “You know, you’re focused on what’s going on, just doing your job. But once I realized we won, man, it’s like something you can’t describe.”

Two weeks later, Smarty Jones and Elliott dominated the Preakness in a record 11 1/2-length victory, after which the colt was a heavy favorite to become the only unbeaten besides Seattle Slew to sweep the Triple Crown.

But it was not to be, as Birdstone surged late to defeat Smarty Jones by a length in the Belmont Stakes.

Some critics blamed Elliott for moving prematurely, but that’s purely conjecture.

“I used to think about the race quite a bit when it was still fresh,” said Elliott. “Not anymore. I mean, when people bring it up, sure, but everyone has an opinion.”

The past being just that, Elliott is simply glad to be back at Churchill for the present and future.

“I’m really excited about riding here every day,” he said.