"Against the Odds"

Who is this guy? A more recent photo, end of post. Left click to enlarge.

I just finished "Against the Odds" and recommend it highly. Hope that the author considers my use of his photo's as a promotion of his excellent book.

This is a ghost written autobiography describing the atypical life, the son of a dentist standing 5'5" and his 5'1" wife producing a young son who went on to become one of the great jockeys of our time. The story of Cigar alone makes this book worth reading. We get an inside look as to how the 16 race win streak happened taking us actually aboard the mount, and then the loss with number 17 in the Pacific Classic where our author is unable to quite bring himself to relate that he blew the race by chasing Siphon in suicidal fractions (1:09.2) and then getting predictably passed by a closer in the stretch. The jock and trainer Bill Mott had wanted to avoid Siphon running away as he had in a recent race against Geri when Geri was unable to catch that speed ball. They only remembered after the race that they had Cigar instead of Geri.

But, that error in the Pacific Classic was one of the few by this jock. We saw it on TV time and again, and the rides are described in the 2005 book. The TC races of Hansel, sneaking through in a perfect pace scenario to steal the 1993 KY Derby aboard Sea Hero; the back to back BC Classics in '91 and 92 one running away with Black Tie Affair and then the stealth victory in '92 aboard the 99-1 Arcangues. Here's a typical description that you get, and one that will be relevant to my "warming up" posts:

The 1995 Donn Handicap at Gulfstream: "The race was on from the first jump. I had thrown down the gauntlet. Mike (Smith) was going to have to use Holy Bull awfully hard and ask him to run unmercifully fast if he was to make the lead. We fairly flew into the first turn.
This is a blast! I thought. This is what racing is all about.
I knew Holy Bull was great. He had already proved that to me when he beat me on Concern in the Travers. As Holy Bull exerted pressure with every stride, I was about to find out how good Cigar was.
Just about the time we hit the backside, there was a loud pop amid the pounding of hoofs, Mike cursed. Suddenly, Holy Bull was nowhere to be seen
I knew what had happened.
No time for sympathy or sorrow. Time to change plans. If Holy Bull had broken down under the strain of the pace, what toll might it take on Cigar?
While it was imperative that I slow him down, only so much could be done. I had given him the signal to go,go,go. He had taken it. He wasn't giving it back.
To late to change your mind, jock.
Given the ease with which Cigar was traveling, I started to think, Maybe he can keep this up. To my delight, he did, coasting by five and a half lengths.
But the result was bittersweet at best..." (Note: Holy Bull snapped a tendon.)

It's ghost written, but this sounds like Jerry Bailey. The whole book does. It's an enjoyable exercise for any racing fan, and valuable for trainers, owners and other competitors by giving everything including racing strategies, the whys and wherefores from the great jock's eyes. The story of Bailey's early substance abuse with alcohol (Against the Odds) backgrounds all of this as does his conquest of alcoholism.

I might have preferred a bit more detail here and there, some instructions on riding, how'd Bailey learn it, e.g., how did he get into it, how to control horses, get stride efficiency, speed, etc. Such details are omitted, and the book basically is just a story, quite decently written and very entertaining.

Training: I timed the weather. We'll be doing farm breezes tonight before the rain tomorrow then presumably its on to Eureka Sunday with the oldsters.
Art:
6/18/07 Mon. Off. Rain.
6/19/07 Tues. riderless in Astride Paddock just playing. some short bursts.
6/20/07 Wed. 5x3f riderless at 16sec/f. How do I know it was 16sec pace? Bill O'Gorman judges time by counting strides between furlong markers. Me, after years of timing Tom Ivers type workouts I recognize time. Horse did this on his own and was stronger than last week. Ten Min walk under tack. Jerry Bailey aboard Arcangues below.