Swale (horse)

Swale
Sire	Seattle Slew
Grandsire	Bold Reasoning
Dam	Tuerta
Damsire	Forli
Sex	Colt
Foaled	April 21, 1981[1]
Died	June 17, 1984(1984-06-17) (aged 3)
Country	United States
Colour	Dark Bay/Brown
Breeder	Claiborne Farm
Owner	Claiborne Farm Silks: Yellow, Yellow Cap
Trainer	Woody Stephens
Record	14: 9-2-2
Earnings	$1,583,660
Major wins
Breeders' Futurity Stakes (1983) Belmont Futurity Stakes (1983) Saratoga Special Stakes (1983) Young America Stakes (1983) Hutcheson Stakes (1984) Florida Derby (1984) Triple Crown race wins: Kentucky Derby (1984) Belmont Stakes (1984)
Awards
U.S. Champion 3-Yr-Old Colt (1984)
Honours
Aiken Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame (1985) Swale Stakes at Gulfstream Park

Swale (April 21, 1981 – June 17, 1984) was an American

. He is best known for winning the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes in 1984. He died eight days after his win in the latter race.

Background

A son of the 1977

.

Racing career

1983: two-year-old season

At 2, Swale broke his maiden at Belmont Park on July 21, 1983. Next out, he was entered in the Saratoga Special Stakes, and in the muddy going at Saratoga Race Course, won the race with jockey Eddie Maple. After finishing third in the Hopeful Stakes at Saratoga, Swale went undefeated the remainder of his two-year-old campaign, with wins in the Belmont Futurity Stakes, Breeders' Futurity Stakes, and Young America Stakes.

1984: three-year-old season

At 3, Swale won the

The day before departing for Baltimore for the Preakness Stakes, Swale worked seven furlongs in 1:24, galloping out the mile in 1:37 1/5 at Churchill Downs, then shipped to Baltimore on Monday and worked a half-mile in a swift :46, galloping out five furlongs in :59 3/5 two days before the big race. That Saturday he ran an uncharacteristic seventh in the Preakness Stakes. Swale came back to win the longest and most gruelling of the U.S. Triple Crown races, the Belmont Stakes.^[3]

Death

On June 17, 1984, eight days after the Belmont Stakes, Swale collapsed and died en route to his stall following a bath.^[4] He was buried at Claiborne Farm. "A statement issued by the New Bolton Center of the University of Pennsylvania's School of Veterinary Science, where extended tests had been run on samples and organs from Swale's body, said that an area of fibrosis on his heart had been discovered in recent days. The statement said that Dr. Helen Acland, the center's head pathologist, had "found a very small area of fibrosis" below the aortic valve and that "lesions of this type can produce an arrhythmia in the heart, which can be fatal."^[5] The investigation into the cause of death of the racehorse Swale inspired the SWALE explanation-based learning system which detects and explains anomalies in stories.^[6]

Honors and awards

Swale posthumously received the

for 1984. He earned $1,583,660 during his two-year racing career.

The

, was named in his honor.

Pedigree

Pedigree of Swale (USA), bay or brown colt 1981^[1]

Sire Seattle Slew	Bold Reasoning	Boldnesian	Bold Ruler
			Alanesian
		Reason To Earn	Hail To Reason
			Sailing Home
	My Charmer	Poker	Round Table
			Glamour
		Fair Charmer	Jet Action
			Myrtle Charm
Dam Tuerta	Forli	Aristophanes	Hyperion
			Commotion
		Trevisa	Advocate
			Veneta
	Continue	Double Jay	Balladier
			Broomshot
		Courtesy	Nasrullah
			Highway Code

See also

• List of racehorses

References