Landaluce: The Story of Seattle Slew's First Champion

Horses in History

by Mary Perdue, Jon White (Foreword)

When Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew retired from racing in 1978 to stand at stud at Spendthrift Farm, no one could be certain he would be a successful sire. But just four years later, his dark bay daughter Landaluce won the Hollywood Lassie Stakes by twenty-one lengths―a margin of victory that remains the largest ever in any race by a two-year-old at Hollywood Park. California horse racing had a new superstar, and Slew was launched on a stud career that would make him one of the most influential sires in North America. Like her father, Landaluce soon became a national celebrity, and was poised to become the next American super-horse. But those dreams ended when the two-year-old died in her stall at Santa Anita four months later, the victim of a swift and mysterious illness. Today, with her "I Love Luce" bumper stickers long gone, the filly has been largely forgotten.

In The Story of Seattle Slew's First Champion , Mary Perdue tells the story of a horse whose short but meteoric career could have changed racing history forever. Sparking comparisons to Ruffian, Landaluce helped elevate California horse racing to the national stage and could have been the first filly to ever win the Triple Crown. In telling this story, Perdue explores the lives and careers of Landaluce's breeders, owners, and trainer, D. Wayne Lukas, as well as her famous sire Seattle Slew―and shows not only how one filly captured the imagination of racing fans across the country, but also set the stage for another filly turned super-horse, Zenyatta, in the decades to come.

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Genres: Horse Racing

346 pages, Hardcover

Published July 12, 2022

Reviews

[Kim Wickens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mary Perdue's LANDALUCE is a remarkable book and a wonderful tribute to this "forgotten" champion filly. It is my favorite book this year. A page-turner throughout, Perdue brings Landaluce and her 1980s world vividly to readers. This wonder-filly was the greatest of her time, winning one of her races (the Hollywood Lassie) by as many as 21 lengths. One turf writer claimed Landaluce was the greatest racehorse of the century. Indeed, to limit Landaluce to the realm of fillys would be an injustice to her ability and potential. She was good enough to race--and potentially win--against the best colts/horses of her day and was poised for the classics, namely, the Kentucky Derby. She single-handedly paved the way for her sire Seattle Slew to become one of America's greatest sires. It was Landaluce's success that increased Slew's value as a sire and flooded his stallion roster. A filly with tremendous talent and courage, she was not only a champion on the racecourse, but an iconic inspiration who indelibly touched the lives of not only those close to her, but those who saw her run. One little girl later told the filly's trainer, D. Wayne Lukas, "I loved Landaluce just like you did."

The book isn't just historical horse racing facts. The reader meets the people who bred, trained, and rode Landaluce, and walks beside them throughout their exceptional journey with their once-in-a-lifetime racehorse. Hall of fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas was then an up-and-comer in Thoroughbred racing and his bond with Landaluce was one that could never be replaced. "She was the first thing I thought about in the morning and the last thing at night. She was my life."

This is an emotional book, but Perdue writes it coldly, as it should be, allowing the reader to feel his or her own emotions independent of Perdue's. Overall, the book is beautifully written with poetic phrasing that left this reader marveling. The book's structure is spot-on and rising tension keeps the pace at a Landaluce clip. Readers don't have to be horseracing fans, or even horse fans, to appreciate this love story to one of the greatest athletes of all time.