He Brought Down The House

Cruguet had a spectacular Belmont week. Riding only 11 horses, he won eight races, picking up almost $200,000 in purses. If he seemed cocky for his high-flying finish on Saturday, he had been cautious earlier. He took no mounts on Tuesday afternoon so that he could not possibly be hit by a suspension that might have cost him the ride on Slew. And he grounded himself for two days before the Belmont so that he could rest and avoid any possibility of injury.

There is an old saying around the track that "It is not what the people do to the horses that is interesting, it's what the Horses do to the people." Cruguet is suddenly savvy and riding superbly. He scored with four of his six mounts on Belmont day, including the 42-to-1 Road Princess in the Mother Goose Stakes.

Then there is Turner, who finds himself a celebrated horseman. He has taught Slew, a strong-willed animal, to move from race to race and track to track as sprightly as a squirrel going from limb to limb. If sportswriters have suggested that Turner trains his horse from Esposito's Tavern, which is close by the Belmont stable gate, it is simply because that cool, hospitable place is a nice backdrop for Turner to play out his part. In the weeks preceding the race, Seattle Slew bumper stickers were pasted behind the bar, and the picket fence outside was painted yellow and black in Slew's honor.

Turner first went to Esposito's as a young steeplechase rider. He was having difficulty getting mounts and soon became known as Turnpike Turner for his willingness to answer calls of trainers coming into the bar. Could he ride in Jersey tomorrow? In Delaware? In Maryland? Turner would jump in his car and go off to compete. He always returned, and he was there after the Belmont.

Before Turner arrived on Saturday night, a greeting card was passed around the bar for people to sign. When opened, a bird popped out and the greeting read, "Thank you for doing something to crow about." When Turner received the card, which had been signed by at least 100 people, he said. "I will remember this more than all the trophies."

After being bought at auction, Slew was sent to Turners farm in Maryland, where his wife Paula started breaking the colt. "He was funny looking." Paula says. "Didn't look like a racehorse at all. There was a piece of him here and a piece of him there. He had a big body and a big head and a little pony's tail. His mind hadn't caught up with his body. We called him Baby Huey after the cartoon character who is always doing everything wrong. But we worked him two or three miles and he started to learn things, and slowly we began to feel that we had something.

"But we didn't know we had anything like this. We got to Kentucky for the Derby and were going out to the barn one morning when the reality dawned on me. We had the favorite for the biggest race in America, and all the papers were telling the story of Seattle Slew. You are supposed to go about these things with dignity. You are supposed to be cool. Boy, is the Slew Crew cool. We set out for Churchill Downs that morning with great dignity, all right. The Taylors picked up the Hills and then picked up Billy and me, but we had an artist, a friend of ours, and his two children along. Most people would have gotten another car or called a cab. Not the Slew Crew. Nine people piled into the car and at the track we all tumbled out like a circus act. Some days Huey has all the dignity and the rest of us come up short."

When Seattle Slew reached the eighth pole in the Belmont. Paula Turner suddenly started sobbing. "Huey." she said. "Baby Huey. My goodness, you turned beautiful."

Now there will be an intermission. Seattle Slew will rest for at least two months before starting back to work on the grass course at Saratoga. He could run in the Prix de l' Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp on Oct. 2. Also, New York's Governor Hugh Carey is promoting the idea of a Labor Day meeting between Slew and Forego, but not a match race ("Match races are exercises in idiocy." Turner says). Slew could also go the more natural route and meet Forego in the Woodward Handicap and the Marlboro Cup at Belmont in the fall.

All Turner is saying is. "It's time for the Slew Crew to put their feet up and think about things for a while. And darned if there aren't a lot of things to think about."