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'Greatest heart' Last living Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew diesPosted: Tuesday May 07, 2002 10:55 AMUpdated: Tuesday May 07, 2002 10:15 PM
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) -- Seattle Slew, who won the Triple Crown a quarter-century ago and became one of racing's greatest sires, died Tuesday morning in his stall. The big, black stallion was a relatively advanced 28. Seattle Slew's death came on the 25th anniversary of his Kentucky Derby victory. He followed by winning the Preakness and Belmont stakes, the other legs of thoroughbred horse racing's most prestigious series. He was the only living Triple Crown winner. Affirmed, who won the last Triple Crown in 1978, died in January 2001. Slew died in his sleep at Hill 'n' Dale Farm, where he recently was moved after a second operation on his spine, the farm said. "He was the most complete thoroughbred the industry has seen. He just kept raising the bar with every record he broke," owner Mickey Taylor said.
Slew, who won 14 of 17 lifetime starts and earned $1,208,726, had been ailing for the past two years with arthritis and underwent two delicate spinal fusion operations. Last month, Slew was a bit wobbly after the second surgery, which was to "normalize," him, Taylor said. The first one, the owner said last month during an interview, "saved his life." Bought for a bargain-basement $17,500 by Taylor, a former lumberman from Washington, and former partner, Jim Hill, Slew sired 102 stakes winners. They include 1984 Kentucky Derby winner Swale, A.P. Indy, Capote and Slew o' Gold, and have earned more than $75 million in purses. Taylor, who moved to Lexington two years ago to be near Slew, was with the horse when he was pronounced dead. Slew spent his years of retirement at Spendthrift Farm, then moved to Three Chimneys at Midway, Ky., before arriving at Hill 'n' Dale last month. Slew will be buried beneath a statue in a courtyard at Hill 'n' Dale, a lush 319-acre farm not far from Keeneland. "He had the greatest heart. He was a fighter to the end," Taylor's wife, Karen, said. Slew was moved to the quieter farm because he was too close to the breeding shed and it caused him to become agitated when mares arrived, Mickey Taylor said. In an interview last week with The Associated Press, Slew's trainer Billy Turner called the colt one of the toughest to hit the race track. "I knew I had a horse who was different from the rest," Turner said. "I knew when you see a horse go that fast with no effort, that's different. He was a good student with tremendous energy and phenomenal ability. All I had to do was control it. ... He had blinding speed and burning determination. My job was to get him to accept competition and other horses." Hill 'n' Dale owner John Sikura was proud to have Slew at his farm. "It was one of the great privileges to be around something great, a feeling that will likely never be duplicated," he said. "He was one in a million, and showed us there is that possibility in a game of impossibilities."
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According to sportswriter William Nack, few horses raced with the strength and style of Seattle Slew. 
