Horse Racing: And Still Champion

HORSE RACING

They said he was ready for the pastures. But Owner Allaire du Pont was not listening—not when they were talking about Kelso, her four-time Horse of the Year, winner of 33 races and $1,641,127. He was seven years old now, had won only two cheap allowance races all year, had finished fifth, 14 lengths behind that new champion Gun Bow the last time he ran in a stake. Mrs. du Pont simply ignored it all and sent her “Kelly” out to run again.

With a lucky yellow ribbon tied to the headband of his bridle and 128 lbs. (including Jockey Milo Valenzuela) on his back, Kelso lined up with Gun Bow and three other rivals for the 1⅛-mile Aqueduct Stakes, first of New York’s late-season weight-for-age races. “He’ll beat Gun Bow, you wait and see,” insisted Mrs. du Pont. Few in the Labor Day crowd of 65,066 agreed with her. They sent Kelso off at 2-1, his longest odds in 19 months. The odds on Gun Bow: 1-2.

“Go After Him.” Trainer Carl Hanford gave Valenzuela only one order: “If nobody else runs with Gun Bow on the pace, you go after him.” But by the time the field had rounded the clubhouse turn, Gun Bow had opened up a four-length lead. In the backstretch, the gap was five lengths. But now, for the first time all year, Kelso was running as though he enjoyed it—with the flat, powerful stride that he inherited from his famous great-grand-daddy, Man O’ War. Valenzuela sensed it: “Suddenly, he was the old Kelso again. Suddenly, I knew we were home.” So did the fans. “It started way back there on the backstretch,” said Jockey John Rotz, who was riding a distant trailer. “That racket—I never heard anything like it.”

Through the last turn the two horses pounded, and Gun Bow’s lead began to shrink—to three lengths, then two, then one. “I knew he was coming,” sighed Gun Bow’s jockey, Walter Blum. “I could hear his hoofs, and I could hear the crowd. I thought—well, I thought my horse could let Kelso come up and then draw out.” Desperately, Blum went to the whip. Relentlessly, Kelso kept coming. At the top of the stretch, he ranged alongside. “Got you!” Valenzuela yelled—and at the wire Kelso was three-quarters of a length ahead.

Unfinished Business. In the grandstand, mutuel clerks watched incredulously while bettors tore up losing tickets on Gun Bow and hugged each other with delight. Allaire du Pont dashed around the winner’s circle, kissing everybody in reach. And what was Kelso doing? Trotting calmly off to the barn to catch up on his sleep. After all, there was still some unfinished business to attend to—a small matter of $38,737. With $1,711,132 already in the bank (including his day’s pay of $70,005), that was all that stood between the sturdy old champion and the biggest victory of all: passing Round Table to become the No. 1 money winner in thoroughbred racing history.