Fair Grounds: String King should walk his beat in Mr. Sulu

NEW ORLEANS – It’s easy to root for the little guy who gets a big horse. It’s especially easy to root for Charlie Smith.

Smith is the breeder, owner, and trainer of String King, king of Louisiana-bred turf horses. Gravel-voiced, utterly down-to-earth, Smith, 67, runs an auto paint and body shop in Haughton, La., and has dabbled in Thoroughbreds since 1973. The first two mares he owned were killed in freak accidents. The third one, String Dancer, met an early demise, too, but not before she foaled a son by the $1,000 stud Crowned King in 2008. That’s String King, who will try to win for the 11th time in 26 career starts and pad his $539,052 bankroll when he races in the $60,000 Mr. Sulu Stakes on Saturday at Fair Grounds.

Smith keeps his three-horse string at the River Point Equestrian and Training Center, which sits across a bayou from Louisiana Downs several hours northwest of New Orleans. Two Tuesdays ago, Smith put String King on a van and sent him, as he has the past two Novembers, to the Fair Grounds barn of trainer Kenny Hargrave. Hargrave, an old hand himself, takes on the tricky chore of riding String King in his daily gallops. This is a 5-year-old gelding that still can get as wound up as a 2-year-old colt.

“He can be tough in the mornings,” Hargrave said. “At the end of his gallops, he likes to buck and kick. He can be a handful in the paddock, too. Just a big, strong, good-feeling horse.”

The Mr. Sulu is a prep race for the richer Louisiana Champions Day Turf next month. String King won both races last year, and will be seeking his third straight Champions Day Turf this year, unless Smith decides to run him in the more lucrative Champions Day Classic on dirt. String King is better on turf, but he handles dirt tracks adequately, too, and will contest the Mr. Sulu even if the race is rained off grass, a possibility with showers forecast.

String King faces familiar foes Saturday. Sadie’s Soldier and Kissimmee Kyle have squared off against him many times during the last three seasons, almost always to little avail.

“My horse is doing really well, but he’s running against the best Louisiana-bred in training,” said Kissimmee Kyle’s trainer, Al Stall.

Smith, who drives to New Orleans on Friday, hasn’t been made a wealthy man because of String King, but even less jockey mount fees and entry costs, String King has changed his life to some extent.

“It’s made things a lot easier on me monetarily, but it hasn’t done too much for my heart and my nervous system,” Smith said with a laugh. “Everybody expects this horse to win now, and I don’t want to let the bettors or his fans down. There’s pressure when he runs. It’s a little taxing on the brain, a little taxing on the heart. But I wouldn’t have it any other way.”