Readings: Conley
“After one of Slew’s three losses, his jockey, Jean Cruguet, bitched to the press about him: ‘I told those people he wasn’t ready for the race after beating four bums going seven furlongs. I told them he wouldn’t beat Dr. Patches.’ Cruguet never rode Slew again.
“The jockey who replaced him, Angel Cordero, had been begging for the ride for nearly two years, ever since Slew beat his horse, For the Moment, in the Champagne Stakes. Cordero and his mounts had lost to Slew on many occasions, so he was familiar with Slew’s intimidating style, the way he stared down not just the horse but the rider as well. Cordero, who was not beyond using intimidation tactics himself, couldn’t help admiring this cold and level eye. He told a reporter that as Slew pulled away from him in the Kentucky Derby, he said, ‘Goodbye, Soul Brother.’
“But Cordero was unprepared for Slew’s intensity of focus. He knew all about his pre-race ‘war dance,’ the way Slew kept his legs constantly churning from the moment he came out of the tunnel. But he was surprised to find that as soon as they entered the starting gate, all the footwork stopped and Slew froze in place and began taking tremendously deep and steady breaths. Cordero told the Taylors that in eighteen years of riding — on more than twenty thousand horses — he’d never seen anything like it. He’d seen horses go crazy, bucking and savaging the boys in the starting gates. He’d seen one horse simply lay down. But he’d never seen a horse ‘blow up’ like that, drawing breaths so deep that the barrel of his chest seemed to double in size. The veins on his neck stood out and Seattle Slew stared directly ahead, waiting for the gates to open, waiting to run.” — From “Stud,” by Kevin Conley
