Slew Unbeaten Until Swaps Stakes

Connections of Seattle Slew didn't always see eye to eye. Disagreements led to Slew's first defeat, after which he became ill. He recouped to become a great sire.

Paula Turner, the wife of Seattle Slew's trainer, William H. Turner, Jr. (Billy), nicknamed the eventual champion, Baby Huey, after a lovable, clumsy cartoon character. Slew's right foreleg bowed out, causing him to sway slightly when he galloped.

His owners, Dr. (veterinarian) James and Sally Hill, Floridans, and Mickey and Karen Taylor, from Seattle, combined their residential locations to name the Keeneland yearling. The Hills chose slew after the soggy, swampy areas in Florida known as slews. And so came Seattle Slew, a $17,500 purchase who became thoroughbred history's 10th Triple Crown champ.

The path was not without controversy and connections disagreements. After Slew's triple triumph, the apparently cordial Hills and Taylors fired Billy Turner over an argument to rest Slew (Turner's choice), or race him two weeks after his Belmont Stakes victory in the Swaps Stakes on the west coast. The owners got their wish, raced the tired colt, and after his defeat to the European champion, J.O. Tobin, he became ill with respiratory problems.

Doug Peterson took Slew's training duties, but the bay colt didn't fully recover before a viral infection felled him for the remainder of 1977. The following year, Slew came back to win twice before he lost by a neck to Dr. Patches at the Meadowlands in the Paterson Handicap. The triple champ was giving away weight now, 14 pounds worth to Dr. Patches.

And his connections were still not totally in agreement. Jockey Jean Cruget was dismissed when he voiced his opinion that Slew's stamina wasn't sufficiently restored to take on the competition in the Marlboro Cup, one of the entries being 1978's new Triple Crown champion, Affirmed. Angel Cordero, Jr. quickly became Slew's new jockey. Cordero took Slew to a three length win in the Marlboro over Affirmed, and followed that with a track record performance in the Woodward Stakes.

That Seattle Slew was talented enough to overcome the uncertainty around him speaks volumes about his track savvy.