By Dick Jerardi
By Friday morning, we all just wanted the week to end. The news, none of it good, began Tuesday with the announcement of the death of Maryland training legend King T. Leatherbury, whose greatest horse, Ben’s Cat, made such a mark at Parx Racing, with three wins in the Parx Dash and two more in the Turf Monster, that the horse is in the Parx Hall of Fame.
On Thursday, in quick succession, came an announcement that the beloved Afleet Alex, winner of the 2005 Preakness and Belmont Stakes and a horse with Philly connections all around, had been euthanized the week before due to old age and that the wonderful trainer John Shirreffs, who made such a positive impression when he made his first trip to Parx last September with eventual Pennsylvania Derby winner Baeza, had passed away unexpectedly at his California home.
Leatherbury won 6,508 races in his career, fifth all-time. Parx Hall of Famer Scott Lake is sixth with 6,471 wins. King T. was a master of the claiming game on the tough Maryland circuit. He understood the value of speed figures before just about anybody in the training business. He thought differently than most of his contemporaries and had outsized success because of it.
The King had become kind of an afterthought until Ben’s Cat emerged near the end of his career and catapulted the trainer right into the Racing Hall of Fame. Ben’s Cat started 63 times with 32 wins, 9 seconds, 7 thirds and $2.6 million in earnings. The horse, a grass sprint specialist, won an incredible 26 stakes. It was Leatherbury’s work with Ben’s Cat that made the racing world rediscover what was there along – a master trainer with a unique understanding of and place in the sport.
Afleet Alex and Shirreffs have each been nominated to the Racing Hall of Fame this year. Whether they make the final ballot will be up to the HOF Committee.
The Parx connections with Leatherbury, Shirreffs and Afleet Alex are obvious – through all those Ben’s Cat wins, Baeza’s Pa. Derby and the prominent position among Parx owners for Chuck Zacney, the driving force behind the Alex group.
Shirreffs, of course, is best known for his work with Hall of Famer Zenyatta. It was a masterclass in management, patience and realizing the potential of a race horse. All she did was win her first 19 races and come agonizingly close to finishing her career 20-for-20 before coming up just short in her rally against Blame in the 2010 Breeders’ Cup Classic.
Her rally in the 2009 BC Classic at Santa Anita is absolutely one of the sport’s great moments of the 21st Century. Once Zenyatta’s streak began, every one of her races was appointment viewing. She was always way back early and you always knew she was going to make a big rally. The question was: would she actually get there in time? The answer was always yes until the last race which actually may have been her very best. Zenyatta was so good that day she was voted Horse of the Year over Blame.
Shirreffs was so intent on winning the Pa. Derby with Baeza that he brought the horse from California to Parx a week before the race. Baeza had been chasing Sovereignty and Journalism all year and the trainer desperately wanted a big one for his talented colt.
“Today was one of the most exciting races I have ever participated in to tell you the truth and that includes races that included Zenyatta,” Shirreffs said afterwards. “This was like ‘prove yourself today.’ And he did. Because of all the hope we had for Baeza, all that buildup and working at the barn. It was just like ‘this is it today.'”
I had been around Shirreffs during the Zenyatta run, but did not really get to spend much quality time with him. That changed in the run up to the Pa. Derby and I will be eternally grateful. What a nice, genuine, engaging man he was. There was no ask too great as we got ready for our annual Pa. Derby telecast. Listening to his stories was like a walk back in time. John Shirreffs was a great man and, if he makes the Hall of Fame ballot, he will absolutely get my vote.
I covered every Triple Crown up close from 1987 to 2017. The most fun was definitely 2005. It was because of Afleet Alex and the crew surrounding him, especially owners Zacney and Joe Lerro and jockey Jeremy Rose.
They all insisted you enjoy the ride right along with them. And did we ever – from Hot Springs to Louisville to Baltimore to Long Island, Oaklawn Park, Churchill Downs, Pimlico, Belmont Park. Alex won the Arkansas Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes. He finished third in the Kentucky Derby behind longshots Giacomo (that man Shirreffs again) and Closing Argument, but proved decisively in the final two legs of the Triple Crown that he was the best 3-year-old in the 2005.
As good as Afleet Alex was on the track, and he was really good, the non-stop party away from the track may have been even better. What happened in Hot Springs stays in Hot Springs, but there were just all those snapshots from clubhouses and restaurants and bars in all those places that will remain.
It was more exhilarating than exhausting. The stories mostly wrote themselves. You just had to be there.
That we were there for the careers of King Leatherbury, John Shirreffs, and Afleet Alex is simply a gift to savor now and forever.
