Couldn't agree more.

Maybe its the cynic in me, but I was really starting to tire of the endlessly repeated stories of Smarty fracturing his skull as a 2-year old and his journeyman jockey and the Chapmans nearly getting out of thoroughbred racing after Camac's murder, etc., etc.

But his race on Saturday made me a real Smarty fan...a great race and a truly courageous effort.

I read somewhere that Birdstone's assistant trainer, Reynaldo Abreu, was quoted as saying that he felt sadness when he saw Smarty being led back to the test barn after the Belmont and his legs were still trembling from exhaustion.

Here's hoping we see much more of Smarty this summer, fall and next year