Smarty's trainer said he could see that Smarty never "settled into the race" early on. I guess that's another way of saying Snarty looked tense. Anyway, by mid-race, Smarty's trainer said he knew Smarty wasn't going to win. Some races are just like that. And they're especially unfortunate to have when they're the 1.5 miles of the Belmont when you've won the Derby and the Preakness.
Great analyses by Bronxgirl and ChuckM re Smarty's potential for future wins. Of course it would have been great if Smarty had won the TC, but he's still a great horse. Whatever happens, I think Smarty is going to have a fine time and bring a pretty penny out to stud. He be happy pony.
As for Michelle, she has gobs more money, fans, and respect of the entire skating world and is already in the history books. Sure, it would be great if she won the gold in Torino, but if not, I think the only problem she'll have is what to choose out of the gabillion offers she'll get when (if) she decides to retire from eligible skating. Plus she's gorgeous! Michelle be happy whatever she wants.
Diana DeGarmo, lest we forget, is only 16. I think she now has the opportunity to (a) be the #2 featured singer on the AI tour; (b) finish high school; (c) consider recording offers, which I'm sure she'll be getting; and (d) get to mature vocally and as a person so that when she does come out with her first single and CD, she'll be ready for it. Record producers know people love her and love means money in the entertainment biz, so I'm sure she'll do well. Besides, Ruben won the AI title last year, but compared to Clay's record and concert ticket sales, it's not much of contest (sadly for Ruben).
So it goes without saying that winners in the short run don't necessarily turn out to be winners in the long run. Example: Tara Lipinski. I like Tara, liked her skating, but winning the '98 Olympic gold came at the cost of her hip from practicing the 3lp/3lp. I hope she does well in something else, but she'll never skate again like she once did.
Another example was in the Top 20 of E!'s "101 Hollywood Best Kept Secrets." They said that for the film "The Graduate," Dustin Hoffman was the third choice to play Benjamin Braddock behind #1 choice Warren Beatty and #2 Robert Redford. Anne Bancroft was the third choice to play Mrs. Robinson behind #1 Olivia de Haviland (I think, not sure about this one) and #2 Doris Day (already knew about Doris; she didn't take the part because she had a TV show in the works and she was afraid it would hurt her "nice girl" image; she was probably right). So it was the third choice cast for the leads--in other words, the "losers"--that made 1967's "The Graduate" the highest grossing film of the year and a classic. Although I bet Doris could have made a mean Mrs. R. BTW, Bancroft was only six years older than Hoffman at the time of filming.
I think Smarty, Diana, and Michelle are great already (Diana for a 16-year-old) and will do great and IMO, don't come anywhere near the category of loser.
Rgirl
