CARDSTON, Alberta, July 18 (UPI) -- Horse-racing great Seabiscuit and the jockey who rode hm to fame, George Woolf, have been immortalized in bronze in Canada.
The life-size statue created by Don Toney was unveiled Saturday at Remington Carriage Museum in Woolf's hometown of Cardston, Alberta, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported.
Saturday would have been Woolf's 100th birthday. The jockey died in 1946 at age 35.
The bronze piece, commissioned for $150,000 by Jack and Ida Lowe, depicts Woolf aboard Seabiscuit heading to victory by four lengths over War Admiral in their monumental 1938 match-up at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md.
"When I was a kid growing up in the 1930s, George and Seabiscuit were household names," said Jack Lowe, an area rancher.
"I always felt George needed recognition for what he did -- to come from nothing and achieve so much -- and that's what we hope to accomplish with this statue. The bronze is a beautiful piece of work and I think people are going to be in awe when they see it."
As Seabiscuit, a decided underdog, galloped past War Admiral, Woolf shouted to his competitor, "So long, Charley!"
"This statue captures an incredible moment of unexpected triumph in a story that many people do not realize has a strong Alberta connection," said Lindsay Blackett, minister of culture and community spirit.
