02/09/2025
In 1975, in a quiet sales ring in Kentucky, a dark, awkward-looking c**t stood waiting for his fate. He didn’t have a royal pedigree, nor the elegance of a future champion. His legs were a bit crooked, his head slightly too big for his body. The people in the room glanced at him indifferently, without much interest. He was just one of many.
Then the hammer fell: $17,500. A modest price, easily forgotten. No one could have imagined that this overlooked horse would become a legend. His name was Seattle Slew.
From the very first training sessions, there was something special about him. It wasn’t just speed. It was hunger. Rage. The blind determination of someone who refuses limits. Under the guidance of trainer Billy Turner and with jockey Jean Cruguet in the saddle, Slew didn’t just run,he devoured every inch of the track.
At two years old, he won every race he entered. But it was at three that he unleashed his full power.
In 1977, he entered the Kentucky Derby carrying something no other Triple Crown winner had brought before: a perfect record. Not a single defeat. Only victories. The pressure was immense. At the break, he stumbled briefly. But Slew recovered instantly, as if nothing had happened. He surged forward with a fury no one could match. He crossed the finish line like a king.
At the Preakness, the competition was tighter, fiercer. But it didn’t matter. Slew dropped his head, ears pinned back, and pushed harder, as if his heart were pounding through his legs. Another win.
Then came the Belmont Stakes. A brutal race, a mile and a half long, where even the best horses break. But Slew didn’t waver. He went straight to the front and never let go. Step by step, meter by meter, he held on, until the finish line was his. Unstoppable. Unbeaten. The first horse in history to win the Triple Crown without a single loss.
Glory, however, didn’t shield him from hardship. After the triumph came the first defeats. Illness. Doubt. Critics. They called him a “one-season wonder.” But Seattle Slew wasn’t made to quit.
At four years old, he returned to the track against the best older horses in the world. And in a race that became the stuff of legend, he faced Affirmed,another Triple Crown winner. Affirmed was younger, fresher. But Slew set a blistering pace from the very start, dictated the race on his own terms, and even as time began to wear on him, he proved he was still the king.
When Seattle Slew retired, he left behind more than records,he left a legacy. He sired champions, passed on his warrior spirit, and became a name etched forever in racing history.
He started as just another c**t, ignored by all. But on the track, stride by stride, he proved that greatness isn’t something you inherit. It’s something you earn.
