Remembering ... Seattle Slew

The first time I ever laid eyes on Seattle Slew was October 16, 1976. It was the day of the Champagne Stakes. The Champagne was the most important juvenile race in the country in those days, and everyone was buzzing about the flashy black colt who had run away with a maiden and an allowance in his first two starts. I remember reading the form that afternoon from the front row of our grandstand seats, and thinking that For The Moment is really a nice two-year-old. This Seattle Slew character would have to be awfully good to handle him in only his third start. Following the Seattle Slew pre-race war dance, the race went pretty much as planned with the unbeaten Slew on the lead and For the Moment in close pursuit. As they straightened out, For the Moment threw his haymaker. Problem was it made absolutely no impact on the big, impressive colt. Seattle Slew commenced a runaway that I had never seen before in such a young horse. It was breathtaking. In a period of four weeks he had gone from an unraced, inexpensive juvenile to an undefeated champion and a clear favorite for next Spring’s Kentucky Derby. Where had he come from? Foaled in Lexington, Seattle Slew was a son of the talented, but unproven combination of Bold Reasoning and My Charmer. Taken to the Lexington auction conducted by Fasig-Tipton Company in July, Seattle Slew was bought for a bargain basement price of $17,500 by Mickey Taylor, a former lumberman from Washington, his wife Karen, and partner, Dr. Jim Hill. It was Hill who had recommended the purchase to the Taylors. Slew was sent to the Turners, first to Paula who broke the big youngster and then on to husband Billy to take over the race training. His three-year-old season began much the way his juvenile season ended. Billy Turner waited patiently to begin his season until March 9, when he won an allowance race by nine lengths at Hialeah in track record time for seven furlongs. A few weeks later, Seattle Slew won the Flamingo Stakes by four lengths in the third fastest time in stakes history. Slew then headed back north for the Wood Memorial where he scored another easy victory in his final prep for the Kentucky Derby. The 1977 Triple Crown would be all about Slew. The only real drama was in the first few seconds of the Kentucky Derby, when the heavy favorite was sideswiped coming out of the gate and got a way slowly. It proved no issue for the great horse. Within a quarter mile, he joined For the Moment on the lead and the drama of the Triple Crown was all but over. He crossed the wire first in the Derby over Run Dusty Run, and first in the Preakness over Iron Constitution. Neither margin was big, but it was clear that Slew was much the best. When he crossed the finish line in the Belmont Stakes four lengths ahead of Run Dusty Run, he became the tenth horse ever to win the Triple Crown and the first to do so undefeated. To this day, Seattle Slew is the only horse ever to win the Crown unbeaten. Unfortunately, in the weeks following the Belmont, The Taylors insisted that Slew be shipped to the West Coast to run in Hollywood Park’s Swaps Stakes. It was an ill conceived plan, and one that trainer Billy Turner wanted no part of. The owners won out and it resulted in Slew’s only black mark, as he was not himself in running a distant fourth to the razor sharp J.O. Tobin. This ended the relationship between the Taylors and Turner. It also ended Seattle Slew’s sophomore season, but Slew would be back. Perhaps Seattle Slew’s greatest attribute was an amazing spirit that so few horses possess the way he did. It was never more apparent than in 1978, when he fought off a life-threatening collapsed left jugular vein at the beginning of the year, and made it successfully back to the races by May. Veterinarians were concerned for his life and had suggested that he would never race again, but Seattle Slew was simply a different kind of horse than the doctors were familiar with. During that four-year-old campaign, Slew also overcame a suspensory ligament injury, a filled ankle, and several other hurdles that would send any other horse off to retirement. Instead Slew emerged once again as a champion under the guidance of new trainer Doug Peterson and produced some of the greatest performances in his career. After rounding back into top form, despite his ailments, Slew was ready to tackle the new hotshot in racing. Affirmed had become the new toast of racing with his Triple Crown heroics. I remember thinking youth would be served in the Marlboro Cup and surely Slew would succumb to his young challenger. I have never been so wrong. Slew dispatched Affirmed with disdainful ease in the first ever match up of Triple Crown winners. A few weeks later he won the Woodward in even easier fashion, this time he dispatched top handicap horse Exceller. There was no doubt that Seattle Slew was the greatest horse in the world after those performances. In the Jockey Club he would face his two biggest rivals again. It would prove to be the greatest challenge of his career. Here is what I wrote about the race in a previous piece: It was on to the Jockey Club and there were some changes in store for Slew. This time both Affirmed and Exceller would challenge him and at a distance, 1 ½ miles, that both horses had proven to excel (no pun intended). To make things even more difficult, Harbor View Farm entered a rabbit into the mix. A decent handicap horse named Life’s Hope, who in the JCGC would run as fast as he could for as far as he could, was entered only to bolster the chances of their big horse, Affirmed. If you thought things were stacked against Seattle Slew before the race, it would only get worse. First Slew broke through the starting gate expending precious energy. Then one of the strangest things that I have ever seen in a big race happened. Affirmed broke like a shot and was right in the middle of what could only be called a suicidal speed dual (It was explained after the race that Affirmed‘s saddle slipped and Steve Cauthen had lost control of the great 3-year-old). Seattle Slew had to not only deal with the rabbit, but also the horse that the rabbit was designed to help. Fractions of :22 and 3, :45 and 1, and 1:09 and 2 were amazingly carved out of the Belmont dirt. Remember this was a 1 ½ mile test of endurance. Almost immediately the other three horses, including Exceller were 20 or more lengths behind. First Life’s Hope fell away and then Affirmed soon followed. Slew had sent his rivals on the front packing. But how could he possibly survive this blistering pace himself? He couldn’t. Exceller, with Bill Shoemaker aboard was gobbling up chunks of ground on the rail at an alarming rate. It looked like he could call his own margin of victory over the tiring Slew. But then something happened. Seattle Slew, the champion that he was, fought back. It still gives me goose bumps to think about. Seattle Slew and Angel Cordero were coming back at him…Wow! Exceller, who had taken almost a full length lead was now desperate to hold of the valiant Slew. The wire came too soon and Exceller had held on to win by a nose. Defeated, but still the champion, Slew went out in style. After his incredible effort in the Jockey Club Gold Cup, his connections found a fitting stakes race to make his farewell. On November 11, 1978, Seattle Slew made his final start a winning one with an easy score in the Stuyvesant Handicap at Aqueduct Race Track. It was vintage Slew, as he sprinted to the lead and rolled around the track. The appreciative crowd knew it was his swan song and they roared in approval for their hero. In 17 races, Seattle Slew won easily 14 times, ran 2nd twice in photo finishes, and was only once clearly beaten. He won eclipse awards in each of his three seasons of racing, and he was quickly ushered into Racing’s Hall of Fame after retirement. Slew was further honored by being named as one of the top ten horses in American racing history by various outlets. On my all-time list, Seattle Slew ranked #8 of the greatest of the greats. Often the very greatest horses can not reproduce anything close to themselves. Seattle Slew was clearly an exception to this rule. A sire of well over a hundred stakes winners, Slew also became a champion Broodmare sire. Slew was so successful at stud that I have little doubt that he proved himself to be the greatest combination of runner and sire of modern American racing. He was the strongest sire of the powerful Bold Ruler line and still today, his descendants carry on the great Seattle Slew line. A very short list of champion sons or daughters sired by Slew include: A.P. Indy, Landaluce, Slew O’ Gold, Swale, and Vindication. Seattle Slew is arguably the most unforgettable horse of my lifetime. When you consider the talent he displayed throughout his career, the heart and tenacity he displayed in his toughest races, the way he overcame physical setbacks, the flare he showed in winning race after race and the prodigious amount of top horses he produced. Seattle Slew passed in his sleep at the age of 28 on May 7, 1999. Ever the showman, Slew died on the 25th anniversary of his win in the Kentucky Derby. Slew was unforgettable the first time I saw him in the Champagne and he only got better. I remember you Seattle Slew.

Remembering ... Broad Brush

The date was September 27, 1986 and it began innocuously enough. I was a senior in high school, and my father and I were on the road to Philadelphia. We were headed to Philadelphia Park, a track that had become a regular for the two of us in those years. The almost two-hour drive from Northern New Jersey, gave us a chance to catch up on the week’s goings on, but more than anything we discussed the horses. We talked about the stakes horses, whether or not we were about to see them run in person or not. That day we would have the pleasure of seeing one of the best three-year-olds in the nation in person. His name was Broad Brush. We both admired the colt for the consistent class he had displayed in the 15 races he had run since his career had begun eleven months before. My father and I both liked the horse for a variety of reasons. We had won money on him when he won that Spring’s Wood Memorial at 7-1. Hoist the Flag had been one of our favorite sires for years, and Broad Brush was a son of the Hoist the Flag mare Hay Patcher. It was easy to like Broad Brush, as he was competitive in all the big races, even without our own personal reasons. To tell you the truth, we were pleased to be going to see him that day, but we were not expecting that interesting of a race. The Pennsylvania Derby had attracted him, but not one other star would join him. Broad Brush, despite having lost his previous few races, was sure to be a heavy favorite against the rest, who honestly were little more than minor stakes horses. We had no idea what would be in store for us on that day. The day proved to be a bit gloomy. It rained throughout the afternoon and the track was sloppy. My father and I had no luck during the day with our picks, and with Broad Brush at 4-5, we did not see much opportunity to win money on the feature race. So far the best thing about the day was the Philadelphia Park hot dogs we consumed for lunch. They always taste better at the track, don’t they? Now, if you think a 4-5 shot will be beaten, it can be an exciting race to bet. The Pennsylvania Derby was not such a race; neither of us saw anyone in that field touching Broad Brush. So it went, as Broad Brush seized command on the far turn and was poised to waltz home to an easy score, but if horse racing has taught me one thing, it is to never become complacent. Six of the seven horses turned for home down the Philadelphia Park stretch and one did not. Broad Brush did not turn…at all. He instead headed directly for the outer rail. His lead was gone. By the time Hall of Fame rider Angel Cordero straightened him out, he could have grabbed a beer from one of the railbirds. He had gone from first to last in a matter of seconds. It was a shocking way for a horse to lose a big race. But, here is the catch, or the reason for this story if you will, Broad Brush did not lose. I steered my binoculars gaze toward the new leaders to watch, what I thought would be the rest of the race unfolding. I was wrong. Broad Brush was now gaining with every stride from the twenty path. I dropped my binoculars to see him flying, no other horse was near him, but he was sprinting as if he was in the race of his life. It was not to be believed, except I was there, I was seeing it with my own eyes. He was so far outside that we were not sure from our vantage point at the eighth pole, if he had gotten up. He did. Broad Brush won with room to spare. The official margin was 1 ¼ lengths, but it may as well have been 30. To this day, it is the most remarkable performance I have ever seen. Broad Brush also won the Grade 1 Wood Memorial Stakes and the Grade 1 Meadowlands Cup at three and finished third in both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes for trainer Dickie Small. As a four-year-old, the bay son of Ack Ack beat Ferdinand by a nose in the Santa Anita Handicap and also scored in the prestigious Suburban Handicap. Overall he won 14 of 27 career starts and earned $2,656,793. He was victorious in 12 stakes races and finished in the money in ten others. He danced every dance, traveled the nation, carried much weight, and fired every time. On the track, Broad Brush was truly an admirable horse. He may have been an even better sire. Broad Brush sired more than 90 stakes winners and his sons and daughters won nearly $70 million dollars in their racing careers. 37 of his stakes winners are graded or group winners. He was the leading sire in the nation in 1994, and sired a Breeders’ Cup Classic winner in Concern and a three-year-old filly champion in Farda Amiga. As a broodmare sire, Broad Brush is quickly closing in on the enormous numbers he put up as a sire. His daughters are among the most sought after broodmares in America. One of the most influential sires in Thoroughbred history was Domino, and Broad Brush’s influence is considered the last of the Domino line. Broad Brush’s breeding career ended in 2004 due to decreasing fertility. He lived on to 2009, when he was euthanized at the age of 26, because of untreatable infirmities. In those 26 years, Broad Brush proved to be both a top notch race horse and perhaps an even better sire, but the one thing about Broad Brush, that will be with me forever, is that performance in the 1986 Pennsylvania Derby. It was truly unforgettable, and because of those twenty seconds of time, more than anything else, I remember you Broad Brush.

Remembering ... Genuine Risk

I will never forget the moment when Angel Cordero perpetrated one of the greatest crimes against the fans of thoroughbred horse racing. Racing fans everywhere had adopted a new hero, or should I say heroine. Genuine Risk was everything the public wanted in a new star. She was elegant and fast, she was feminine and tough. A lovely filly who could fill the void left by Ruffian’s death five years earlier. Her win in the Kentucky Derby had been one of the most popular in history. Genuine Risk was a powerful example for women libbers everywhere. In Genuine Risk, Girl Power was alive. Angel Cordero, one of the best jockeys of his time, was no stranger to controversy and he was not afraid to raceride. The race was the 1980 Preakness and it was a chance for everyone to see Genuine Risk march to immortality. The striking, chestnut daughter of Exclusive Native was peaking at just the right time. Her capable and experienced trainer Leroy Jolley saw to that. She entered the Preakness as the belle of the ball and the world was watching. Among the seven colts that lined up as her opposition that day was a California colt named Codex. Trained by D. Wayne Lukas, Codex was also peaking, having annexed the Santa Anita and Hollywood Derbies. Unfortunately for his connections, he had been unable to run in the Derby due to mistakenly not nominating him. They were ready and eager to take on the Derby winning filly. Early on, the race was unfolding in a predictable fashion. Codex was in a perfect stalking placement and Genuine Risk was not far behind running in a similar position to her Kentucky Derby triumph. As Codex sprung to the lead, Genuine Risk followed. She quickly gained on the outside as they approached the homestretch. It was a two horse race and the filly had the momentum … and then … she was Corde-rode (verb - meaning to screw the filly). At the very least, Codex and Cordero carried Genuine Risk seven wide in an attempt to keep her from passing. I prefer to think of it as a deliberate mugging of America’s Sweetheart. Her rider, Jacinto Vasquez, claimed that Cordero had whipped her in the face as they came together. Cordero was less than apologetic. In that Triple Crown series of 1980, Genuine Risk performed better than any filly ever has. She won the Kentucky Derby, defeating the rallying Rumbo by one length. In so doing, Genuine Risk became the first filly to win the Derby in 65 years and any Triple Crown race for 56 years. After her troubled 2nd in the Preakness, she came back to run a game 2nd in the Belmont to Temperence Hill, with Codex far behind. During her illustrious career, Genuine Risk ran 15 times with 10 wins. She was never worse than third and the only time that she lost by more than two lengths was the infamous Preakness. She was named champion 3-year-old filly of 1980. Many felt that she should have been the 2-year-old filly champ of 1979 as well, based on her undefeated 4 for 4 record and by beating the filly, Smart Angle, who would win the award, in the Demoiselle Stakes. Following her rigorous Triple Crown, Genuine Risk was given a well deserved rest. She came back three months later to run two dynamite races against the best fillies and mares in the country in the Maskette and Ruffian. In both races, she was full of courage as she battled down the stretch to be 2nd in the Maskette by a nose and then to win the Ruffian, also by a nose. Still with Bert and Diana Firestone, her owners since the age of one, Genuine Risk would live to the age of 31. She passed away almost exactly one year ago. To the dismay of millions Genuine Risk was not a producer of race horses, as her only two foals to survive never raced. How wonderful it would have been to see offspring with her characteristics on the racetrack, but it was not to be. Instead, she endures as a runner and what a runner she was. I remember you … Genuine Risk.

The Greatest Loss There Ever Was

Seattle Slew was a winner. In 17 races, he won 14 times. The Slew won racing’s greatest achievement, the Triple Crown. He also won the hearts of millions of devoted fans. These wins are not the topic of the day, but rather one of his losses. Seattle Slew’s performance in the Jockey Club Gold Cup displayed everything you could ever ask of a racehorse. I was lucky enough to be in the stands at Belmont Park that October day and I will forever remember the greatest loss there ever was. In the Fall of 1978, Seattle Slew vindicated his shocking upset loss to Dr. Patches at the Meadowlands by proving that he was once again the best horse in the world with his easy wins in the Marlboro Cup and the Woodward Stakes over future Hall of Fame horses. In the Marlboro, Slew maintained an easy lead over the reigning Triple Crown champion, Affirmed, the entire race. The great 3-year-old simply could not put a dent into Seattle Slew’s working margin. Slew accelerated in the stretch to win by three lengths in the first ever match-up of Triple Crown winners. Final time was a great 1:45 and 4. In the 1 ¼ mile Woodward, it was Exceller’s chance to watch Seattle Slew’s tail. Slew rolled that day as he repelled Exceller’s advances with ease in tallying by four lengths. It was on to the Jockey Club and there were some changes in store for Slew. This time both Affirmed and Exceller would challenge him and at a distance, 1 ½ miles, that both horses had proven to excel (no pun intended). To make things even more difficult, Harbor View Farm entered a rabbit into the mix. A decent handicap horse named Life’s Hope, who in the JCGC would run as fast as he could for as far as he could, was entered only to bolster the chances of their big horse, Affirmed. If you thought things were stacked against Seattle Slew before the race, it would only get worse. First Slew broke through the starting gate expending precious energy. Then one of the strangest things that I have ever seen in a big race happened. Affirmed broke like a shot and was right in the middle of what could only be called a suicidal speed dual (It was explained after the race that Affirmed‘s saddle slipped and Steve Cauthen had lost control of the great 3-year-old). Seattle Slew had to not only deal with the rabbit, but also the horse that the rabbit was designed to help. Fractions of :22 and 3, :45 and 1, and 1:09 and 2 were amazingly carved out of the Belmont dirt. Remember this was a 1 ½ mile test of endurance. Almost immediately the other three horses, including Exceller were 20 or more lengths behind. First Life’s Hope fell away and then Affirmed soon followed. Slew had sent his rivals on the front packing. But how could he possibly survive this blistering pace himself? He couldn’t. Exceller, with Bill Shoemaker aboard was gobbling up chunks of ground on the rail at an alarming rate. It looked like he could call his own margin of victory over the tiring Slew. But then something happened. Seattle Slew, the champion that he was, fought back. It still gives me goose bumps to think about. Seattle Slew and Angel Cordero were coming back at him…Wow! Exceller, who had taken almost a full length lead was now desperate to hold of the valiant Slew. The wire came too soon and Exceller had held on to win by a nose. In defeat, I believe Seattle Slew had run his greatest race. He would have only one more start after that in winning the Stuyvesant Stakes in easy fashion. But it was the 1978 Jockey Club Gold Cup where you showed us all what you really had, thank you Seattle Slew, for running the greatest loss there ever was.