"The big horse," in racing vernacular, is the animal that brings
fame and fortune to a stable. He's the heavyweight champion, the
All-American quarterback, the four-legged Michael Jordan of the
barn. Seabiscuit was once Tom Smith's "big horse." A generation
ago, Secretariat was Lucien Lauren's. In 2003, Funny Cide was
Barclay Tagg's. In sixty years as a trainer, P. G. Johnson had
never had one -- until Volponi.
P. G. Johnson was a blue-collar wizard, a hardscrabble tough guy
who had come east from Chicago, determined to make his mark on New
York. And he did. He became leading trainer at all three New York
tracks -- Saratoga, Belmont, and Aqueduct -- as well as at
Florida's Tropical Park. And he did it without ever winning a
Triple Crown or Breeders' Cup event, or having "the big horse."
"I never knew how to kiss rich people's asses, and I got too old
to learn. If no owner was going to give me a big horse, I figured
I'd have to find one myself," he said. He did that, in his
seventies, buying a mare for $8,000, breeding her to a $20,000
stallion, and in 1998 producing Volponi, the horse that would
change his life.
In October 2002, weakened by surgery and radiation treatment for
cancer, P. G. watched Volponi -- the longest shot in the field at
43 to 1 -- bring home more than $2 million by winning the Breeders'
Cup Classic, the richest race in America.
The following summer at Saratoga, McGinniss -- journalist,
investigative reporter, and horse racing obsessive -- began showing
up, more "Tuesdays with Morrie" than "Guys and Dolls," at P. G.'s
barn in the predawn hours to listen to the inside racing stories
and lore P. G. had gathered. McGinniss came to appreciate that
Johnson wasnot only a stellar horseman but an American original
whose wit and wisdom carried far beyond the confines of the
racetrack.
As for Volponi, the big horse had given P. G. the perfect Disney
ending with the Breeders' Cup victory, and, indeed, Disney soon
bought film rights to P. G.'s life story. "He'll be even better
next year," P. G. had said, but by the time McGinniss got to
Saratoga, Volponi had not won a race in nine months. His faith
undiminished, P. G. continued to race Volponi against the best, at
Saratoga and beyond, until in the end it came down to the 2003
Breeders' Cup Classic in Santa Anita, a race only one horse in
history had ever won twice. As fires burned in the Southern
California hills, Volponi -- with Funny Cide's jockey, Jose Santos,
in the saddle -- ran the last race of his life.
This book is about what happened that day, about what came
after, and about much of what had come before. It's the most
exciting, rewarding, and heartwarming story about the world of
horse racing that you'll ever read, by one of America's finest
writers, at the top of his form.
General
Imprint: |
Simon & Schuster
|
Country of origin: |
United States |
Release date: |
July 2007 |
First published: |
July 2007 |
Authors: |
Joe McGinniss
|
Dimensions: |
138 x 215 x 21mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Paperback - Trade
|
Pages: |
272 |
Edition: |
Ed |
ISBN-13: |
978-0-7432-6114-2 |
Categories: |
Books >
Sport & Leisure >
Sports & outdoor recreation >
General
|
LSN: |
0-7432-6114-3 |
Barcode: |
9780743261142 |
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