Timothy J. Thompson
ON NOVEMBER 30 1978, SEATTLE SLEW RETIRED FROM THOROUGHBRED HORSE RACING. SHORTLY THEREAFTER, HE ENTERED STALLION DUTY. IMMEDIATELY, HE BEGAN PRODUCING CHAMPION SONS AND DAUGHTERS AT A FEVER PITCH PACE. ON APRIL 21 1981, ONE OF HIS GREATEST AND MOST BELOVED SONS WAS BORN. HIS NAME WAS SWALE. HE WAS A CHIP OFF THE OLE' BLOCK. THIS BOOK IS THE STORY OF HIS LIFE.
DURING HIS SHORT LIFE, SWALE DEFINED THE TRUE MEANING OF COURAGE. WHENEVER HE WAS CHALLENGED, HE ROSE TO MEET THAT CHALLENGE. HE NEVER BACKED AWAY FROM A FIGHT. HE DISPLAYED GRIT AND VALOR OUT ON THAT RACETRACK, LIKE NO THOROUGHBRED BEFORE HIM, OR SINCE.
WHEN YOU ARE FINISHED READING THIS BOOK, YOU WILL LOVE SWALE, AND YOU WILL NEVER FORGET HIM.
TIMOTHY J. THOMPSON HAS EARNED BOTH A BACHELOR'S AND A MASTER'S DEGREE FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI ST. LOUIS. HE MAJORED IN UNITED STATES HISTORY AND MINORED IN TWENTIETH CENTURY EUROPEAN HISTORY.
DURING HIS TENURE AS A GRADUATE STUDENT, MR. THOMPSON WROTE FOR THE COLLEGE NEWSPAPER CALLED, THE CURRENT. HE WROTE NEWS STORIES, SERVED ON THE EDITORIAL BOARD, AND PRODUCED HIS OWN WEEKLY COLUMN ENTITLED, THIS WEEK IN HISTORY.
UPON GRAUDTAION FROM COLLEGE, MR. THOMPSON MOVED TO FLORIDA WHERE HE BEGAN RESEARCHING HIS BOOK ON SWALE. HE CONDUCTED COUNTLESS INTERVIEWS AND COMPILED AN INCREDIBLE LIST OF SOURCES IN ORDER TO RETELL THE STORY IN THE MOST COMPELLING MANNER POSSIBLE.
HE HAS ALWAYS HAD A GREAT PASSION FOR THOROUGHBREDS AND WRITING. THESE TWO QUALITIES AND CHARACTERISTICS ARE VIVIDLY DISPLAYED IN THIS BOOK.
AFTER 1/2 MILE IN A VERY FAST :45 2/5, SWALE WAS LEADING SHUTTLE JET BY JUST A HEAD. THE TWO CONTINUED TO SLUG IT OUT OVER THE NEXT 1/8 OF A MILE, WITH SWALE STILL CLINGING DESPERATELY TO THE LEAD. HOWEVER, THEIR SPEED DUEL WAS BEGINNING TO TAKE A TOLL ON BOTH OF THEM. HAIL BOLD KING TOOK FULL ADVANTAGE OF THIS, TO MOVE ON BOTH OF THEM AFTER 3/4 OF A MILE IN A BRISK 1:10 3/5. AT THE TOP OF THE STRETCH, HE TOOK THE LEAD. SWALE LOST GROUND COMING AROUND THE FINAL TURN, AND SHUTTLE JET SHOT IN FRONT BY ABOUT 1/2 LENGTH.
SWALE'S FANS AND HIS CONNECTIONS WERE ALMOST IN DESPAIR. THEY WERE ALMOST READY TO GIVE UP ALL HOPE. THEN, SUDDENLY, DEEP FROM WITHIN HIS UNRELENTING HEART AND SOUL, THE SON OF TUERTA AND SLEW FOUND SOME MORE. HE IGNORED ALL THE MUSCLE PAIN. HE IGNORED ALL THE EXHAUSTION HE WAS FEELING. AND HE RAN. OH, HOW HE RAN. HE REGAINED SECOND PLACE FROM SHUTTLE JET BY THE SPACE OF HIS HANDSOME HEAD. MEANWHILE, HAIL BOLD KING, AFTER BREIFLY TAKING THE LEAD AROUND THE FINAL TURN, STARTED TO BORE IN, AND THERE WAS ABSSOLUTELY NOTHING HIS JOCKEY, MACBETH, COULD DO TO CORRECT THE ERRATIC BEHAVIOR. HE WOULD SUBSEQUENTLY DROP BACK TO THIRD AND REMAIN THERE THROUGH THE FINISH LINE. IT WAS NOW A BATTLE TO THE FINISH LINE BETWEEN SWALE AND SHUTTLE JET.
THE BOTH OF THEM WERE RUNNING STRIDE FOR STRIDE DOWN PRACTICALLY THE ENTIRE HOMESTRETCH. IT WAS A SIGHT TO SEE. IT WAS CLOSER THAN EVEN AFFIRMED AND ALYDAR IN THEIR 1977 CONFRONTATION. LIKE TWO HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONS STANDING IN THE CENTER OF THE RING AND BEATING THE DAYLIGHTS OUT OF ONE ANOTHER IN THE FINAL SECONDS OF THE FIFTEENTH ROUND, SWALE AND SHUTTLE JET WERE LOCKED IN A BATTLE THAT GAVE THE BELMONT FUTURITY NEW MEANING AND SIGNIFICANCE. AT THE 1/16 POLE, THEY WERE STILL RUNNING AS ONE. IT WAS INCREDIBLE, SIMPLY INCREDIBLE!
