The Black Stallion's Filly (14 page)

Black Minx never blew or sweated profusely, even after her fast works. She had grown and filled out more during the long months Alec had been riding her. Her coat, too—short and glossy black—reflected her present good condition.

Alec realized that Henry had done a remarkable job in curing Black Minx of her bad stable manners and in making her what she was today. The gamble was whether or not she would hold her condition as her works became longer and faster. And how far could she hold her speed? Alec thought she'd go a mile, but he wasn't certain about her ability to go a mile and a quarter. The last quarter-mile of the Kentucky Derby called for more than stamina. It called for heart and courage, and the will to win. In these the filly was lacking.

Henry too must have had his doubts, for late one afternoon Alec found him reading the list of eligibles for the Kentucky Oaks. The Oaks was the “Derby for Fillies,” and was raced the day before the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. Fifty-six fillies had been nominated by their owners. Lady Lee was on the list. So was Black Minx. In most cases, a filly nominated for the Kentucky Derby was also nominated for the Kentucky Oaks. The reason was simple. Nomination fees were only fifty dollars for each race, payable in February, and the owners had until the first week in May to decide whether to enter their fillies in the Derby or the Oaks.

Alec knew Henry was asking himself the same
question that every owner of a filly mulled over at this time of the year and would continue to do until May.

Will the colts and the distance be too much for her in the Derby? In the Oaks she'll be racing against her own sex. The distance will be but a mile and a sixteenth, and much more to her liking. To start her in the Oaks will cost me only two hundred and fifty dollars, but the Derby means shelling out a thousand to start her. Sure, there's almost a hundred thousand waiting for the Derby winner. But maybe she won't win. There's close to twenty-five thousand dollars waiting for the filly who wins the Oaks. She's got a better chance of copping it. Twenty-five thousand dollars can buy a lot of hay. Yeah, I'd better think more about the Oaks and less about the Derby. But not right now. I got a lot of time to make up my mind. And there's no race like the Derby. I'd sure like to see her in the Derby. Well, if she looks right, maybe … yes, maybe. I'll let it go at that for now
.

And that was the reason Henry only shrugged his shoulders when Alec asked him if he was considering the Kentucky Oaks for Black Minx instead of the Derby.

Three more foals were born early the first week in April, and another was due on the fourth. These foals, together with breeding operations being in full swing, kept Alec too busy to think more about the Kentucky Derby or the Kentucky Oaks. But with all his help—Henry, his father and the three hired men—the work went smoothly. He was glad the foals were arriving on schedule. One more was to come soon. Then no others would be due until late May, allowing him time to spend the last week in April and the first in May at Churchill Downs. His father and the hired men would
take care of the farm operations during his brief absence.

Wednesday afternoon Henry restricted Black Minx's outing on the track to a three-mile walk. Later, in the barn, Alec and Henry discussed the Experimental Handicap to be raced in New York within an hour's time.

Henry said, “It'll be the first race for Eclipse and Wintertime.”

“How'd they winter?” Alec wanted to know.

“Good, from all I hear. Wintertime is reported to have done a mile in a minute and forty seconds on the farm track before being shipped to New York. But they say he didn't grow as much as was expected during the winter. He still stands at a little over fifteen hands. But he's filled out sidewise and developed more muscle.”

“And Eclipse?” Alec asked.

Henry's eyes lighted. “There's a colt!” he said.

Alec smiled. “Sure, I know. You like him and he was second only to Silver Jet as a two-year-old. But how does he look now? How'd he winter?”

“My friends at the track say he never looked better,” Henry confided. “He's sleek and in high flesh. Grew some, too, standing a scant sixteen hands. And solid, they say. He'd been turned out for a month in North Carolina. He rested and loosened up after all his hard racing last year. He started galloping the last of January and got on the farm track every day. He was shipped to New York a couple of weeks ago.”

“And how's he been working?”

“Get this, Alec,” Henry almost whispered. “He did six furlongs the other morning in a minute and eleven seconds! And my friends say that they were impressed
even more by the easy way he did it. Just as smooth as silk in action. No doubt about it,” Henry concluded. “He's fit and ready to run.”

“Then you think he'll have a good chance of winning today's race, even though he'll be carrying top weight of a hundred and twenty-five pounds?”

“Sure I do,” Henry said emphatically. “He shouldn't have any trouble at all with the rest of 'em.”

Alec considered the distance of the race. It was only six furlongs, three-quarters of a mile. He thought it too short a race for Eclipse. And certainly it wouldn't give them much of an idea of what the same horses might do over a longer distance. Well, they'd have just such a race in little more than a week. The Experimental Handicap was raced at two distances. Number One was today's race at six furlongs. Number Two would be held on the fourteenth and would be run over a mile and a sixteenth, a more revealing test for Kentucky Derby eligibles.

Alec turned to Henry, who was about finished with his grooming of Black Minx. “Don't forget Lady Lee will be in there today,” he said. “And she'll have only a hundred and eight pounds on her back.”

“Yeah, I know,” Henry said.

“I'm surprised she wasn't given a longer rest after all her winter racing.”

“I'm not,” Henry said.

“Why?”

“Her owner and trainer probably figure they've sidestepped the top colts long enough,” Henry explained. “They want to find out just what they've got in their filly. So they'll race her in both Experimentals and
a few other races as well. If they find that there are a couple of colts around that she just can't beat they'll save her for the Kentucky Oaks and other filly races, and skip the Derby.”

Alec nodded. “I see what you mean,” he said. “And today she sets out by meeting Eclipse and Wintertime.”

“Yeah.” Henry left the filly's stall after glancing at his watch. “It's not long before post time. Let's get to the television set.”

They started down the corridor but didn't get very far before Jinx, one of the broodmare men, appeared in the doorway. He called to them, “That young mare is foaling, and it looks like she might need some help!”

They broke into a run, Alec saying, “You go watch the race, Henry. I'll stay with the mare.”

“Not on your life,” Henry said. “It's her first foal. The race can wait.”

It took thirty minutes for the young mare to foal and become acquainted with her first son. They stayed close to her, making certain she realized what had happened and that this foal was hers. Finally she accepted the colt and the danger of her injuring him was over. She was an outside mare and the sire of the colt was a Kentucky stallion, but Alec and Henry treated mare and foal as they would their own. When they left the stall, Jinx was instructed to stay there a little longer.

They reached the television set only in time to catch the acclaim that was being given to the winner of the Experimental Handicap. A tall rangy filly stood in the winner's circle with flowers about her neck. It was
Lady Lee
!

The announcer stood beside her, talking to a small man whose round face was beaming.

“Sure, it's wonderful!” he told the announcer. “I never thought I'd own a horse like her. Not one that could beat Eclipse by three lengths and Wintertime by four. No, sir, I never did!”

Alec glanced at Henry. Lady Lee had beaten Eclipse soundly, and Wintertime had been still another length behind! He turned back to the screen.

Lady Lee's owner was saying, his face shining more than ever, “Oh, I'm just a little guy in racing. The Kentucky Derby? Well, I can hope, can't I?” He laughed. “I'm still too nervous over winning this race. Why, she was in front all the way! Did you see her? They never got close!”

At the close of the interview Alec turned off the set. “She must be a lot better filly than I'd thought.”

Henry grunted. He had been so certain Eclipse would win.

Alec continued, “You said last winter you liked her chances in the Derby.”

“I was only guessing,” Henry replied. “But from today's race it looks like maybe I was right. We'll know more when she goes a mile and a sixteenth against Eclipse. If she should trim him over that distance, well …”

“Things are getting hot,” Alec said as they left the attic.

On Saturday, April 14, Alec and Henry were back at the television set, awaiting the running of Experimental Handicap Number Two. This should be a race to
remember, and one with a direct bearing on the coming Derby. Anxiously and with little conversation between them, they whiled away the minutes before the horses appeared on the screen.

The horses were on their way to the post. There were seven in the parade, but Alec and Henry had eyes for only three of them. The announcer, too, realized that this race would be strictly a three-horse battle among Lady Lee, Eclipse and Wintertime. He therefore was giving his time and attention to them.

Lady Lee dominated the screen as he spoke of her achievements. She was very tall for a filly, almost sixteen hands, and light for her height. Rangy was the word for Lady Lee, for her long, thin legs carried a long, thin body. She was light brown and her head was as angular as the rest of her. Now, as she moved into a slow gallop, Alec and Henry noted the smooth strides which were in sharp contrast to her ungainliness at a walk.

The announcer was saying, “Lady Lee rocketed into the Kentucky Derby picture last week when she stunned a crowd of more than forty thousand people here with a walloping three-length victory over the favorite, Eclipse, who was and still is, despite the upset, one of the top favorites to win the Kentucky Derby early next month. However, if he loses again today to Lady Lee it will be another story.

“The overwhelmed crowd of last week is back today. They're asking themselves,
‘Is Lady Lee going to be another Regret?'
Regret, ladies and gentlemen, was the
only
filly ever to win the Kentucky Derby. Today's race then will give us an inkling as to Lady Lee's prospects in the May classic.

“But regardless of her fate, Mr. Robert Smith, owner of Lady Lee, is mighty well pleased with his filly, whom he bought as a yearling for a mere seven hundred dollars. He could not have found a finer investment for his money, and today there's about twenty-five thousand dollars more waiting for her at the finish. A few moments ago in the paddock I asked Mr. Smith what he thought of his filly's chances in today's race. He told me modestly,
‘We know she has the speed, but will she go the mile-and-a-sixteenth distance today in the face of such competition as she'll get from Eclipse and Wintertime?'
”

The picture shifted to a husky, powerfully muscled colt, his towering height well in proportion to his great body.

Alec heard Henry say, “That's him!” And the way he said it could mean but one horse, Eclipse.

Yes, Alec admitted to himself, this colt looked the way a Derby winner should look. He had the body and size to carry him a mile and a quarter or farther. And that he had speed had already been proved in his two-year-old victories over shorter distances. Alec's eyes remained focused on Eclipse, and presently he became aware of the similarity between this colt and Satan. Each had the same short thick neck and heavy head, the same muscular body which made every movement at a walk seem so ponderous.

Eclipse's coat was dark brown, so dark it was almost black. Yet in startling contrast he had lots of white on him, with a wide blaze running from forehead to nostrils and long white stockings on all four legs.

Alec listened to the announcer telling of Eclipse's
great races as a two-year-old and the high hopes his stable had for him this year. The announcer concluded with, “Back in the paddock Eclipse walked around the place as though he owned it. He showed not one bit of nervousness. His only outward sign of anxiousness was a kick or two while being saddled.”

Alec watched the husky colt. Eclipse wasn't showing any sign of nervousness now, either. And he walked as though he owned the track. Well, they'd soon know.

The picture swept down the line of horses, came to a stop, and centered on a close-up of another colt.
Wintertime!
He was a blood bay, solidly built but not too big. He wore a red blinker hood, and Alec noticed that the cup over the right eye was almost completely closed. He turned questioningly to Henry.

The trainer said, “Last year Wintertime had a tendency to run out, sometimes swerving abruptly, almost hurting himself and others. They're trying to correct that with one-eyed blinkers this year, and it seems to be working.”

The announcer, too, was telling of the colt's tendency to swerve during the running of a race.

“Wintertime ran straight in last week's race, so maybe his trainer, Don Conover, has licked the colt's bad habit of last year. Don tells me that in addition to the one-eyed blinker hood, he also has a run-out bit on the colt. This bit, ladies and gentlemen, is so designed that when the colt is running straight he has only a smooth plate against the right side of his mouth, but if he pushes out there are sharp prongs that are brought into play which stick him. It sounds cumbersome but it isn't. And if the bit keeps Wintertime in line he should
be a colt to reckon with in this race and in those to come.