Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Seattle Slew and My Girls!

Seattle Slew was the 10th of 11 Triple Crown Winners and the last surviving one until he passed on the 25th anniversary of his Kentucky Derby win in 2002. He's a fabulous fellow. He was foaled at White Horse Acres from Bold Reasoning and My Charmer and was purchased as a yearling for $17,500 by two couples, Karen and Mickey Taylor (he was a 4th generation logger) and Sally and Jim Hill (he was a vet). They called him Seattle Slew, with the latter being a play on slough, which is a waterway to transport logs! Anyway, right away Seattle Slew began winning for them, so Mickey told his wife, "If we can keep this horse in one piece, I'll never have to cut down another tree!"

Well, he was the only horse to win the Triple Crown undefeated. He had a little pre-race "War Dance" on his tippy toes to show his eagerness. His final record was 17: 14(9)-2(2)-0. He earned Champion 2-year-old and 3-year-old honors and the Eclipse Horse of the Year Award in 1977. Some say he should have won again because they gave it to Affirmed, even though Seattle Slew had twice beaten him handily. Anyway, sour grapes and who needs it! After all, Seattle Slew was also voted Champion Older Male in 1978, and Champion Broodmare sire in 1995-1996. He was inducted into the National Museum and Racing Hall of Fame in 1981. And he was voted #9 of the Top 100 racehorses of the 20th century. He was the father of more than 100 stakeswinners, including A.P. Indy. He is grandpa to Rags to Riches, and one of his daughters produced the leading thoroughbred money earner of all time, Cigar (John Henry's friend from the Kentucky Horse Park).

He stood for 17 years at Three Chimney Farms and carried a fee of $125,000. In 2000, he needed spinal cord surgery to relieve compression, so he began a philanthropy serving Spinal Cord Research at Pullman's Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine to honor his own team of surgeons. When he became ill in his later days, they moved him to Hill 'N Dale, so he could have more privacy from the bustle of the breeding barns at Three Chimneys. And when he passed, his mom and dad and other people who loved him were there. He is buried at Hill 'N Dale, you can see his grave in these photos.

Violet is related to him primarily through Nasrullah and Princequillo.

http://www.racingmuseum.org/hall/horse.asp?ID=134
or
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seattle_Slew
or
http://www.spiletta.com/UTHOF/seattleslew.html