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Landaluce didn’t just win. She crushed her rivals. In five career starts, she won by a combined margin of 46½ lengths, including a 21-length victory in her first graded stakes race — a margin rarely seen in American racing history.

Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas, who would later train dozens of champions, described Landaluce as mind-boggling — so fast and so efficient in her movement.

She was also named the 1982 Eclipse Award winner as the best 2-year-old filly, an honor she received posthumously, after death had already taken her.

A Triple Crown Daughter Born for Greatness

Her talent was no accident. Landaluce was the daughter of Seattle Slew, the 1977 Triple Crown winner and one of the most influential sires in racing history.

Lukas recognized her potential when he saw her at the 1981 auction. He convinced owners Lloyd R. French and Barry Beal to purchase the filly for US$650,000, a staggering sum at the time.

Just one year later, when she arrived at Hollywood Park to begin her two-year-old campaign, Landaluce repaid that investment with performances that exceeded even the highest expectations.

Lukas still remembered the day legendary jockey Angel Cordero Jr. first tested Landaluce. He was told to take it easy — about 48 or 49 seconds for a half mile.

The result? 44 4/5 seconds.

An absurd time for the very first workout of a young horse. From that moment, whispers about her wild speed spread quickly throughout Hollywood Park.

A Debut That Announced a Superstar

On July 3, 1982, Landaluce made her racing debut. She immediately proved the rumors were true: she led from the start and won by 7 lengths in a time of 1:08 1/5, an extraordinary figure for a two-year-old.

One week later, the world witnessed one of the most dominant performances in filly racing history — the Hollywood Lassie Stakes.

Landaluce didn’t just win. She flew home 21 lengths in front of her rivals. Lukas later compared the performance to Secretariat’s Belmont Stakes.

Everyone was preparing to see her in the Hollywood Starlet, and Lukas had even planned to challenge the colts in the Hollywood Futurity.

The Arrival of a Silent Killer

One week before the Starlet, Landaluce developed a fever. At first, it was thought to be minor. It was later revealed that she had contracted Colitis-X, a deadly condition that had once nearly killed her father, Seattle Slew.

Her condition worsened every day. There was no cure. No time.

“It was a virus that attacked all her vital organs. We had no chance,” Lukas said.

On the morning of November 28, 1982, the day of the Starlet, Landaluce collapsed in her stall. Lukas, who was there, tried to hold her — but Landaluce went down, and her head fell into his lap.

Within seconds, she took her last breath. In the arms of her trainer.

“It was very hard. I couldn’t forget it for a long time,” Lukas recalled.

He was not the only one broken by her loss. One of her grooms was later found crying inside Landaluce’s empty stall.

A Greatness That Was Never Finished

The racing world mourned. Reports of Landaluce’s death even appeared on national TV news — something rarely seen for a racehorse.

She was buried at Hollywood Park, and later, when the track closed in 2013, her remains were moved back to her birthplace, Spendthrift Farm, Kentucky.

Today, the legend of Landaluce lives on as proof of how extraordinary greatness can appear suddenly and disappear just as fast.

Even after five decades and dozens of champions, D. Wayne Lukas summed up what Landaluce meant to him:

“I’ve trained many champions, and Landaluce sits at the very top. She was one of the most special.”

(Source: America’s Best Racing)