Horse of a Different Color: A Tale of Breeding Geniuses, Dominant Females, and the Fastest Derby Winner Since Secretariat - Softcover

Squires, Jim

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1586481800 ISBN 13: 9781586481803

Publisher: PublicAffairs, 2003

Synopsis

Everybody in the thoroughbred horse business wants to win the Kentucky Derby, but the odds on making it to the winner's circle at Churchill Downs are about 35,000-to-1. How did a former Chicago newspaper editor bring together the stallion and mare and breed the winner of the world's most famous and important horserace? Jim Squires's Horse of a Different colour tells the story of his wild ride from absurdity to glory at the pinnacle of horseracing success alongside Monarchos, the charismatic gray colt blessed with the extraordinary speed, poise, and stamina necessary to carry his motley band of human handlers to the highest level of their profession. Squires takes you on an exciting journey through the close-knit and secretive world of horse breeders, buyers, sellers, owners, and trainers. And his hilarious tour of racehorse culture ends with a blazing sprint down the homestretch of the second fastest Derby in history in the company of a crowd of Kentuckians driven mad with "Derby Fever."

About this title

Review:

Former Chicago Tribune editor Squires (The Secrets of the Hopewell Box, 1996, etc.), a horse breeder since 1990, relates how Lady Luck took a shine to his Two Bucks Farm and gave him a Kentucky Derby winner. Of the 30,000 thoroughbred foals born every year, only 15 to 20 run the big race. Squires, who poured his golden parachute from the Tribune into his Kentucky farm, gives a vivid account of how otherwise sane and sober people can devote their lives to this quixotic endeavor. Starting with his childhood fascination with the type of beauty found in horses and human females, Squires rapidly turns to today's thoroughbred establishment, a world made up of "bloodstock agents, pedigree specialists, sales consignors, farm and racing managers, veterinarians, mating advisers, agents, and consultants of every stripe." From here, he traces the genesis of his Derby winner, Monarchos, offspring of "two castoff descendants of royalty hooking up in a quest for restored respectability." A blizzard of details about horse auctions, foreign ownership, dealers, sales, weanlings, yearlings, and stakes follows, for a time obscuring the trail of Monarchos. The reader who struggles on, however, is rewarded with a thrilling end. The haze of facts and figures resolves into an old-fashioned horse race, with heroes, villains, favorites, and Monarchos, saddled with 10-to-1 odds and a genius of a jockey. Squires has the gift for good, toothsome storytelling; his give-and-take relationship with his wife, "the dominant female," adds a certain savor, and his unabashed admiration of the look of a certain breeder in her tight jeans adds salt. A promising start, muddled middle, and heart-pounding finish. (Kirkus Reviews)

About the Author:

Jim Squires has been breeding and raising horses in Kentucky since 1990. From 1981 to 1989, he was the editor of the Chicago Tribune. He is the author of two previous books. A Tennessee native, Squires lives with his wife Mary Anne at Two Bucks Farms in Versailles, Kentucky.

About this edition

• Publisher: PublicAffairs
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 1586481800
• ISBN 13: 9781586481803
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 339