Excerpt from my book, Racing With My Shadow
Winning at Aqueduct
On the same day that I won the daily double, there was an incident which caught the attention of the horsemen—and got me on television.
I was on the lead going into the far turn when I heard a jockey screaming behind me. What was wrong?
As the panicked rider moved up along the rail inside my horse, I could see the problem clearly: jockey George Martens’ reins were dangling, no longer attached to the bridle. He was helplessly out of control.
The turns on the inner track at Aqueduct are very sharp. Without a jockey being able to steer, the centrifugal force at high speed can send a horse straight to the outside rail.
If he didn’t gain control now, he would cut in front of all the horses and riders directly behind us and they would fall. It was an accident about to happen.
My reaction was instant. I couldn’t leave him helpless. No way. “Don’t worry, Georgie. I’ll get you through the turn,” I yelled back, slowing my filly down in order to hold him in.
Now, George was next to me, on my inside. His filly bounced off mine, as we went around the turn. She kept trying to bear out sharply coming off the turn, but my filly was in her way, forcing her to stay down on the fence and not cross out in front of the entire field of horses.
I reached over and grabbed her by the bit, guiding her away from me, and safely out of the turn. As we straightened away into the stretch I let go and yelled to George, “Okay, you’re on your own now!”
Wouldn’t you know his horse kept on going straight and won the race! We finished second.
This incident caught the attention of the horsemen. Top trainer Frank Wright approached me after the race. Not only did he train some good horses, he was also the host of television’s “Racing from Aqueduct.”
Frank found it hard to believe that an apprentice rider had acted so swiftly in the face of danger—that a 17-year-old bug rider with less than a year’s experience of racing—had known what was happening and taken control of the perilous situation.
He asked if I would like to be his guest on the Saturday evening racing show. Would I ever! This was the very same television show I had watched every week since the day I decided to be a jockey like Steve.
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