By JENNIE REES
The (Louisville, Ky.) Courier-Journal

Given his health problems since the tragic accident that left Bill Shoemaker a quadriplegic, the news that he died Sunday was not a surprise, but it was a shock. That's the way it is with legends.

Shoemaker, who rode his last race at age 58 in 1990, no longer was the world's winningest jockey, having been passed in 1999 by Laffit Pincay. But no rider was as well known. If a guy on the street could name only one jockey, it was Willie Shoemaker.

He was the complete package, down to a name that was a headline writer's dream. How many times did "The Shoe Fits" appear in newspapers across the country? From trainers and jockeys who knew Shoemaker, the response Sunday was the same: He was smart, knew where he was at all times in a race - and there was something about him that made horses run lights out.

"I really can't tell you what it was," said Don Brumfield, who called Shoemaker "the best" he rode against. "If I'd known what it was, I'd have tried to do it, too. He didn't force them to do it. They just ran for him."

Beyond his 8,833 wins, two Shoemaker races are entrenched in racing lore: a win and a defeat in the Kentucky Derby.

In 1986, at 54, he came in to ride Santa Anita Derby third-place finisher Ferdinand for his pal, trainer Charlie Whittingham.

Shoe was considered past his prime, but you never would have known it on that glorious afternoon. Running last after breaking on the rail, Shoemaker patiently threaded Ferdinand through traffic. His winning move came when he shot through a narrow opening - beating Pat Day and Rampage to the hole - in the upper stretch. Ferdinand won by 2 1/4 lengths over Bold Arrangement.

The ever-stoic Shoe admitted having a few tears in his eyes as he went into the Derby's hallowed winner's circle for the fourth and last time, 21 years after his previous score.

"I thought, 'Well, old Jack Nicklaus did it, and I did it too,'?" Shoemaker said.

Except that when Shoemaker became the oldest rider to win the roses, he was eight years older than Nicklaus, who had just won the Masters.

Shoemaker was equally well known for his nose defeat on Gallant Man in the 1957 Derby.

Gallant Man had the slimmest lead over Iron Liege at the sixteenth pole when Shoemaker raised ever so slightly. Though he immediately dropped back down, he could not overtake Iron Liege again. In an eerie happenstance, owner Ralph Lowe had told trainer Johnny Nerud several days earlier that he dreamed Shoemaker lost the race by misjudging the finish line.

With the class and straight-shooting style that marked his life, Shoemaker accepted responsibility. He was suspended for 15 days. Lowe kept Gallant Man out of the Preakness while the jockey was suspended. They then won the Belmont by eight lengths.

Shoemaker won only one Breeders' Cup race, but it arguably was the greatest Classic ever, with 4-year-old Ferdinand beating Alysheba by a nose in an epic matchup of Derby winners.

One of Sunday's best stories came from Brumfield, who said Shoe was asked to ride Native Street in Florida in early 1966 but instead was playing golf. Brumfield picked up the mount, and after the filly won a stakes, she was headed to the Kentucky Oaks. Knowing Shoe could get the mount back with a mere word to the trainer, Brumfield asked him not to say anything. Shoe laughed - and stayed silent. Brumfield won his only Oaks.

What I'll also remember about Shoemaker is how, after his Ford Bronco plummeted off an embankment in 1991 to break his body but not his soul, he refused to complain. He was happy to be alive, to see his daughter grow up, to be training horses.

Asked whether he was mad at God, Shoe responded, "No, I might need him sometime."