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 “Landaluce: 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.
"There is no more powerful force in racing than the promise of greatness, and no racehorse in history promised more than Landaluce, the filly who won her first five starts by a breathtaking 46 lengths and evoked comparisons to the best runners in history. Here, author Mary Perdue takes readers on a riveting journey not just through Landaluce's two years on earth, but across decades of horse racing
Tim Layden, writer-at-large at NBC Sports
"One of the more difficult things to achieve as an author is to take a life and career cut way short and stretch it into a full-length book. Although the brilliant Landaluce raced only five times before her tragic death, Mary Perdue has been able to tell her story in great detail and keep the reader enthralled throughout. Although it does not have a feel-good ending, it is a feel-good story about
Steve Haskin
"As the West Coast version of Ruffian, Landaluce deserves a full-throated telling of her story. Mary Perdue is up to the challenge, providing us with the tale of the transcendent filly's feats and the inner feelings of her human connections. A sensitive and well-researched presentation of the heights and tragedy that accompany great Thoroughbreds."
