Rememberances from Aqueduct…Cum Laude Laurie…
Thoroughbred Horse Racing as a sport/ endeavor started for me at Aqueduct in the winter of 1977. My friends would pick me up on Saturday morning and we would soon be in section O or P in the grandstands. Pretty soon I was at Aqueduct many times a week. I have loved the sport ever since and I wanted to share a few memories of Aqueduct, but limit it to the horses and not my personal experiences with other handicappers. Of which there were many, both terrific and not so terrific.
Today, I want to commemerate the wonderful filly from Lou Rondinello, Cum Laude Laurie who won the 1978 edition of the Queens County handicap that took place on December 16th, 1978 (according to A.I). She was taking on the boys, some really good handicap horses like Noble Nashua, Lord Rebeau, On the SLy and others including King’s Bishop.
All she did was rally from last place running a amazing 22.00 FLAT final quarter to rally from dead last and run over them as if they were common horses. Trust me they weren’t! I so clearly see Angel Cordero asking her on the far turn, and she wheeled out to the middle of the track – just exploding down the middle of the track. At this class, it was the most exciting stretch effort I have ever seen from a filly or colt in an high stakes handicap!
Rememberances from Aqueduct…Seattle Slew…
🏆 1978 Stuyvesant Handicap — Full Summary
The Fall of 1978 produced two of my most memorable and favorite recollections, and this one is my absolute favorite from Aqueduct. Seattle Slew took the lead immediately in the Stuyvesant Handicap run on November 11, 1978 and dusted a solid group of Handicap horses as if they weren’t even there. The horse that ran 2nd, Jumping Hill had just set the track record at Calder Race Track by more than a second (if memory serves me) at the distance of 1 1/8, after shipping into Calder from Santa Anita where he had an excellent past performance. This gelding was solidly on the upswing!
The visual on this race was amazing to me, as Seattle Slew ran to the front carrying 134 lbs and Angel Cordero in the saddle, looking like a sprinter, as he went down the backstretch he never let up, and then in the far turn, he seemed to be increasing his speed – he was in a one horse race, with himself! He never went near the rail, preferring to stay well out toward the center of the track, so there was NO SAVING GROUND, He spotted the field tons of weight, he gave them the rail trips to save energy, but it was just his way of teasing the weaker competition.
He was (and is) the fastest horse up to 1 1/4 mile I have ever seen, probably beyond that. Absolutely the fastest Miler I have ever seen, faster than Justify or Flightline – in my view – and I would have loved to see a race of Seattle Slew, Secretariat and Affirmed duke it out at 1 1/2 mile. Watching that splendid speed and strength in Seattle Slew helped make me a forever fan of this great sport.
Date: November 11, 1978 Track: Aqueduct Racetrack Race: Stuyvesant Handicap (G3) Distance: 1 ⅛ miles Surface: Fast dirt Final Time: 1:47 2/5 (1:47.40) Winning Margin: 3¼ lengths Jockey: Ángel Cordero Jr. Weight Carried: 134 lbs (conceding 19 lbs to runner‑up Jumping Hill)
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