Jockey Stewart Elliott uncomfortable in the harsh Triple Crown spotlight.
By BRANT JAMES
Published May 15, 2004
Stewart Elliott's 15 minutes of fame were creeping toward 20, and he didn't look comfortable.
Right hand on the pristine white tablecloth of the interview table, the other on his left knee, the jockey balanced on the edge of his folding chair, legs coiled as if he were ready to spring over these glaring white television lights and bound back into obscurity.
Elliott had just ridden the race of his life in the one that matters more than any other, rallying Smarty Jones from off the pace and past front-running Lion Heart to win the 130th Kentucky Derby.
Smarty Jones became just the second Pennsylvania-bred to win the Kentucky Derby. Trainer John Servis and owners Roy and Patricia Chapman won racing's top prize in their first attempt, as did Elliott, an accomplished but anonymous 39-year-old journeyman.
Servis' first postrace comments were about his longtime friend and partner - "masterful ride by Stewart Elliott" - and national attention shone on the introverted jockey for the first time.
"This is overwhelming," Elliott said.
Especially considering the winding route he took to the Triple Crown trail, which continues today with the Preakness Stakes. Born in Toronto to a trainer (mother, Myhill) and jockey (Dennis), he learned early that in horse racing, fulfillment is found in small things. His father left Canada when Elliott was 7 to race in Hong Kong, and nine years later Elliott quit school to begin his career.
Naturally light as a child, he began gaining weight in his 20s, struggling to stay in the 115-pound range trainers prefer.
"I knew I wanted to be a jockey," he said, "but I got to the point where I was miserable every day. I couldn't control it, and I knew I didn't want that. I didn't want the fight, (to be) miserable."
Elliott quit as a full-time jockey in the mid 1980s, but galloped horses and picked up some mounts at fairs just to stay around horses.
"What do I do?" he pondered. "I don't know anything else. I mean, this is for me. I'd given up education, everything to do this. This is all I know."
Elliott was riding on the Mid-Atlantic circuit when he met Servis, a Philadelphia Park assistant trainer working as a jockey agent until a badly broken leg healed enough for him to return to the barns. Servis gained respect for Elliott watching him beat one of his clients for a riding title at Atlantic City in 1981, and he made him a regular call when he became a full-time trainer in 1984. Many of Elliott's 3,000-plus wins have come for Servis.
Still wary of the speed in which fortune can reverse in horse racing, Elliott considered his Derby mount a one-time chance.
"It's horse racing, you know, sometimes you have bad luck," said Elliott, who became the first to win the Derby in his first try since Ronnie Franklin in 1979. "We're all human and sometimes mistakes happen. You know, everybody can be replaced."
There is little chance of that now. Actually, there was little chance of it no matter what happened in the Derby.
"Loyalty's a great thing," Servis said. "(Elliott) and I have a relationship that's above and beyond business but, you know, when it comes to business, I mean, I try to take business first amongst everything other than my family.
"The fact is that I was sticking with Stewart, I mean, it was loyalty, but it was a lot because I know the type of rider he was. And when he put on the performance that he put on, it just gave me that feeling that I just want to go, "Yes.' You know, that's what I knew that guy was capable of."
Now Elliott receives a lot of calls from trainers angling for his services, but he insists Servis will get first preference. At least he returns those calls. Since his surge in popularity, from media and trainers, Elliott has taken to keeping his cell phone off and opts not to check his voice mail.
"I know his phone's ringing off the hook," Servis said. "I'm not going to mention any names, but I was talking to a very large stable out of New York that's going to be running some horses Preakness weekend and said, "You know, the horses we run down there, he's going to be on.' So he's certainly picked some heads up already."
Scrutiny does not always reveal flattering details. The Associated Press reported May 7 that Stewart failed to report an assault conviction on his Kentucky license application. The infraction resulted in a $1,000 fine.
"Since the Derby, it really has been unreal," Lauren Vannozzi, Elliott's 22-year-old fiancee, told the Albany Times Union. "I think he is a little tired of the press. He is a laid-back guy who never really had to deal with people in the media. He is very well-spoken, and he tries to do all he can. Really, he hasn't had five minutes of peace since he got home from Louisville (site of the Derby)."
If he rides Smarty Jones in the Preakness like he did in the Derby, he better get used to it. And get comfortable in his chair.
