Sidney Watters Jr., 90, Trainer of Champion Racehorses, Is Dead
By RICHARD GOLDSTEIN
Published: February 23, 2008
Sidney Watters Jr., the Racing Hall of Fame racehorse trainer who saddled the champion colts Hoist the Flag and Slew o' Gold, died Feb. 14 in Towson, Md. He was 90.
National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, 2005
Sidney Watters Jr.
The cause was complications of pneumonia, said his son, Eric.
In his 60 years in racing, Mr. Watters proved a versatile figure. He rode steeplechase horses, then trained champions in steeplechase and flat racing.
Although he never won a Triple Crown race, Mr. Watters trained two brilliant colts. Hoist the Flag was the 2-year-old male champion in 1970, but he sustained a career-ending injury while being pointed for the Kentucky Derby. Slew o' Gold, beaten in the 1983 Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes, blossomed during Belmont Park's fall championship series and was named the champion male 3-year-old.
Mr. Watters, who grew up on his family's farm in Monkton, Md., traced his racing roots to the Maryland hunt country and rode about 50 steeplechase winners at major events between 1935 and 1941.
After serving as an aerial gunner in World War II, he became a steeplechase trainer and won or shared six titles for the most victories from 1948 to 1973. He saddled the steeplechase champions Amber Diver and Shadow Brook and was the leader in earnings among trainers three times.
Mr. Watters was elected to the National Museum of Racing's Hall of Fame at Saratoga Springs, N.Y., in 2005 as a steeplechase trainer, but he was best known among most fans for his achievements in the far larger world of flat racing.
He seemed to have a once-in-a-lifetime horse in Hoist the Flag, who in 1971 was envisioned to be the first colt to sweep the Triple Crown races since Citation in 1948. Hoist the Flag had won five times and had finished first in his only other race, the Champagne Stakes, only to be disqualified for interference.
"I felt as happy as an olive in a martini," Mr. Watters said afterward.
But on March 31, 1971, Hoist the Flag's jockey, Jean Cruguet, pulled him up during a workout at Belmont Park when the colt took a misstep. He had fractured two bones above the ankle of his right hind leg. His life was saved by an operation, but he never raced again.
In 1983, Mr. Watters envisioned another shot at the Triple Crown with Slew o' Gold, a son of the 1977 Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew.
Slew o' Gold finished fourth in the Kentucky Derby after being bumped badly at the start, and he was second in the Belmont Stakes. But he matured in the fall at Belmont Park, racing against older horses. He won the Woodward Stakes, finished second in the Marlboro Cup and captured the Jockey Club Gold Cup to gain 3-year-old honors.
Mr. Watters retired from training in 1999. In addition to his son, of Monkton, he is survived by his daughter, Nonie Watters, of Leesburg, Va. His wife, Margaret, died in 1993.
Mr. Watters had been devastated by the premature ending to Hoist the Flag's career. But he was buoyed by the horseman's eternal optimism.
"I wanted to walk away from it all when he couldn't race anymore," Mr. Watters said 15 years later. "But time's a good healer, and I love this business. And you always think that this spring I'm going to get a great one, this spring I have a chance. And if not this spring, well, then the next one."
By RICHARD GOLDSTEIN
Published: February 23, 2008
Sidney Watters Jr., the Racing Hall of Fame racehorse trainer who saddled the champion colts Hoist the Flag and Slew o' Gold, died Feb. 14 in Towson, Md. He was 90.
National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, 2005
Sidney Watters Jr.
The cause was complications of pneumonia, said his son, Eric.
In his 60 years in racing, Mr. Watters proved a versatile figure. He rode steeplechase horses, then trained champions in steeplechase and flat racing.
Although he never won a Triple Crown race, Mr. Watters trained two brilliant colts. Hoist the Flag was the 2-year-old male champion in 1970, but he sustained a career-ending injury while being pointed for the Kentucky Derby. Slew o' Gold, beaten in the 1983 Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes, blossomed during Belmont Park's fall championship series and was named the champion male 3-year-old.
Mr. Watters, who grew up on his family's farm in Monkton, Md., traced his racing roots to the Maryland hunt country and rode about 50 steeplechase winners at major events between 1935 and 1941.
After serving as an aerial gunner in World War II, he became a steeplechase trainer and won or shared six titles for the most victories from 1948 to 1973. He saddled the steeplechase champions Amber Diver and Shadow Brook and was the leader in earnings among trainers three times.
Mr. Watters was elected to the National Museum of Racing's Hall of Fame at Saratoga Springs, N.Y., in 2005 as a steeplechase trainer, but he was best known among most fans for his achievements in the far larger world of flat racing.
He seemed to have a once-in-a-lifetime horse in Hoist the Flag, who in 1971 was envisioned to be the first colt to sweep the Triple Crown races since Citation in 1948. Hoist the Flag had won five times and had finished first in his only other race, the Champagne Stakes, only to be disqualified for interference.
"I felt as happy as an olive in a martini," Mr. Watters said afterward.
But on March 31, 1971, Hoist the Flag's jockey, Jean Cruguet, pulled him up during a workout at Belmont Park when the colt took a misstep. He had fractured two bones above the ankle of his right hind leg. His life was saved by an operation, but he never raced again.
In 1983, Mr. Watters envisioned another shot at the Triple Crown with Slew o' Gold, a son of the 1977 Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew.
Slew o' Gold finished fourth in the Kentucky Derby after being bumped badly at the start, and he was second in the Belmont Stakes. But he matured in the fall at Belmont Park, racing against older horses. He won the Woodward Stakes, finished second in the Marlboro Cup and captured the Jockey Club Gold Cup to gain 3-year-old honors.
Mr. Watters retired from training in 1999. In addition to his son, of Monkton, he is survived by his daughter, Nonie Watters, of Leesburg, Va. His wife, Margaret, died in 1993.
Mr. Watters had been devastated by the premature ending to Hoist the Flag's career. But he was buoyed by the horseman's eternal optimism.
"I wanted to walk away from it all when he couldn't race anymore," Mr. Watters said 15 years later. "But time's a good healer, and I love this business. And you always think that this spring I'm going to get a great one, this spring I have a chance. And if not this spring, well, then the next one."
Sidney Watters Jr., 90, Trainer of Champion Racehorses, Is Dead
By RICHARD GOLDSTEIN
Published: February 23, 2008
Sidney Watters Jr., the Racing Hall of Fame racehorse trainer who saddled the champion colts Hoist the Flag and Slew o' Gold, died Feb. 14 in Towson, Md. He was 90.
National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, 2005
Sidney Watters Jr.
The cause was complications of pneumonia, said his son, Eric.
In his 60 years in racing, Mr. Watters proved a versatile figure. He rode steeplechase horses, then trained champions in steeplechase and flat racing.
Although he never won a Triple Crown race, Mr. Watters trained two brilliant colts. Hoist the Flag was the 2-year-old male champion in 1970, but he sustained a career-ending injury while being pointed for the Kentucky Derby. Slew o' Gold, beaten in the 1983 Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes, blossomed during Belmont Park's fall championship series and was named the champion male 3-year-old.
Mr. Watters, who grew up on his family's farm in Monkton, Md., traced his racing roots to the Maryland hunt country and rode about 50 steeplechase winners at major events between 1935 and 1941.
After serving as an aerial gunner in World War II, he became a steeplechase trainer and won or shared six titles for the most victories from 1948 to 1973. He saddled the steeplechase champions Amber Diver and Shadow Brook and was the leader in earnings among trainers three times.
Mr. Watters was elected to the National Museum of Racing's Hall of Fame at Saratoga Springs, N.Y., in 2005 as a steeplechase trainer, but he was best known among most fans for his achievements in the far larger world of flat racing.
He seemed to have a once-in-a-lifetime horse in Hoist the Flag, who in 1971 was envisioned to be the first colt to sweep the Triple Crown races since Citation in 1948. Hoist the Flag had won five times and had finished first in his only other race, the Champagne Stakes, only to be disqualified for interference.
"I felt as happy as an olive in a martini," Mr. Watters said afterward.
But on March 31, 1971, Hoist the Flag's jockey, Jean Cruguet, pulled him up during a workout at Belmont Park when the colt took a misstep. He had fractured two bones above the ankle of his right hind leg. His life was saved by an operation, but he never raced again.
In 1983, Mr. Watters envisioned another shot at the Triple Crown with Slew o' Gold, a son of the 1977 Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew.
Slew o' Gold finished fourth in the Kentucky Derby after being bumped badly at the start, and he was second in the Belmont Stakes. But he matured in the fall at Belmont Park, racing against older horses. He won the Woodward Stakes, finished second in the Marlboro Cup and captured the Jockey Club Gold Cup to gain 3-year-old honors.
Mr. Watters retired from training in 1999. In addition to his son, of Monkton, he is survived by his daughter, Nonie Watters, of Leesburg, Va. His wife, Margaret, died in 1993.
Mr. Watters had been devastated by the premature ending to Hoist the Flag's career. But he was buoyed by the horseman's eternal optimism.
"I wanted to walk away from it all when he couldn't race anymore," Mr. Watters said 15 years later. "But time's a good healer, and I love this business. And you always think that this spring I'm going to get a great one, this spring I have a chance. And if not this spring, well, then the next one."
By RICHARD GOLDSTEIN
Published: February 23, 2008
Sidney Watters Jr., the Racing Hall of Fame racehorse trainer who saddled the champion colts Hoist the Flag and Slew o' Gold, died Feb. 14 in Towson, Md. He was 90.
National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, 2005
Sidney Watters Jr.
The cause was complications of pneumonia, said his son, Eric.
In his 60 years in racing, Mr. Watters proved a versatile figure. He rode steeplechase horses, then trained champions in steeplechase and flat racing.
Although he never won a Triple Crown race, Mr. Watters trained two brilliant colts. Hoist the Flag was the 2-year-old male champion in 1970, but he sustained a career-ending injury while being pointed for the Kentucky Derby. Slew o' Gold, beaten in the 1983 Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes, blossomed during Belmont Park's fall championship series and was named the champion male 3-year-old.
Mr. Watters, who grew up on his family's farm in Monkton, Md., traced his racing roots to the Maryland hunt country and rode about 50 steeplechase winners at major events between 1935 and 1941.
After serving as an aerial gunner in World War II, he became a steeplechase trainer and won or shared six titles for the most victories from 1948 to 1973. He saddled the steeplechase champions Amber Diver and Shadow Brook and was the leader in earnings among trainers three times.
Mr. Watters was elected to the National Museum of Racing's Hall of Fame at Saratoga Springs, N.Y., in 2005 as a steeplechase trainer, but he was best known among most fans for his achievements in the far larger world of flat racing.
He seemed to have a once-in-a-lifetime horse in Hoist the Flag, who in 1971 was envisioned to be the first colt to sweep the Triple Crown races since Citation in 1948. Hoist the Flag had won five times and had finished first in his only other race, the Champagne Stakes, only to be disqualified for interference.
"I felt as happy as an olive in a martini," Mr. Watters said afterward.
But on March 31, 1971, Hoist the Flag's jockey, Jean Cruguet, pulled him up during a workout at Belmont Park when the colt took a misstep. He had fractured two bones above the ankle of his right hind leg. His life was saved by an operation, but he never raced again.
In 1983, Mr. Watters envisioned another shot at the Triple Crown with Slew o' Gold, a son of the 1977 Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew.
Slew o' Gold finished fourth in the Kentucky Derby after being bumped badly at the start, and he was second in the Belmont Stakes. But he matured in the fall at Belmont Park, racing against older horses. He won the Woodward Stakes, finished second in the Marlboro Cup and captured the Jockey Club Gold Cup to gain 3-year-old honors.
Mr. Watters retired from training in 1999. In addition to his son, of Monkton, he is survived by his daughter, Nonie Watters, of Leesburg, Va. His wife, Margaret, died in 1993.
Mr. Watters had been devastated by the premature ending to Hoist the Flag's career. But he was buoyed by the horseman's eternal optimism.
"I wanted to walk away from it all when he couldn't race anymore," Mr. Watters said 15 years later. "But time's a good healer, and I love this business. And you always think that this spring I'm going to get a great one, this spring I have a chance. And if not this spring, well, then the next one."
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