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Recent Victory of Shows Pride Recalls Strange Story Attendant to His Birth Foaled in Freakish Manner 1 ► With Front Legs Crossed Over Upper Part of Body CHURCHILL DOWNS, Louisville, Ky., May 15. — During the past several weeks at Churchill Downs, thousands of words were written concerning the seventy-third running of the Kentucky Derby. These included the owners and the trainers of those thoroughbreds entered in the Derby and of the parentage of the horses themselves. However, on the Monday following the running of the Derby, a horse by the name of Shaws Pride won the sixth and featured race by two and a half lengths, recalling to a few veteran horsemen as strange a story of the foaling of a thoroughbred as can be remembered. Shaws Pride, a seven-year-old bay gelding, by Opossum — Lang, is owned and trained by Ralph W. Shaw, of Benton, Illi- ► nois, and has been the pride of the Illinois horseman since an eventful afternoon in June 1940. In the early part of that year, Shaw met Dr. C W. Johnson of Plainsville, Illinois, who tried to sell him a horse. Not being particularly interested in purchasing a thoroughbred, Shaw finally relented and bought from Doctor Johnson a mare named Lang, who was in foal at the time. The mare dropped her first foal in the aforementioned June of 1940, and so arrived Shaws Pride. When the colt was foaled, its front legs were crossed over the upper part of the body, in yogi fashion, and the head was extremely large. When Shaw went up to his house to get a pistol, in order to destroy this freak of nature, he was stopped by his wife, Lola, who pleaded with him to let her try her hand at reshaping the colt. With a bucket of hot water and several towels, Mrs. Shaw performed her ardent task, and much to the surprise of everyone concerned, the colt lived, and was up and able to nurse within 10 days. Shaw didnt break this colt until a three-year-old. He then went to Fairmount Park in Collinsville, Illinois, where Shaws Pride started in several races, placing twice, before bucking and developing a severe cold and a head abscess. After these ailments were treated, the colt was turned out on the 60-acre Shaw farm and he did not race again until the spring of 1945. As a five-year-old, Shaws Pride returned to active campaigning at Fairmount and Dade Park, and he was victorious in five straight races — three at Fairmount and two at Dade. After this, Shaw was offered approximately ,000 for his colt, who was 14 times in the money before encountering a bit of poor racing luck and finishing unplaced. Having been turned out for the winter, Shaws Pride once again returned to the racing warfares last year and enjoyed his most successful season. The gelding won six feature events around the smaller tracks, placed four times and showed six thirds to his credit in 24 attempts, a very splendid record, indeed, for a horse who was almost destroyed immediately after birth. Upon completion of this racing season, Shaw refused offers on the horse ranging upward from 2,000. Ralph Shaw was very impressed with Shaws Prides initial effort this year and, if circumstances are favorable, the trainer and the horse that bears his name will race on the Chicago circuit this summer. However, it is sure that this useful thoroughbred will make a creditable showing wherever Shaw chooses to campaign.
