For date night this week,my wife and I attended the movie Secretariat. A well told story, the movie covered the life of "Big Red" from anticipated birth to the winning of the last race of the Triple Crown (outstanding time and winning margin of 31 lengths).
I was with my late father,(at a hospital just after he lost a leg to PAD) in Brisbane, Australia,in 1973 listening to the broadcast of that race. I remember well Dad's comment "He's got the bit between his teeth and not even the finishing post will stop him." My father was a lifelong racing fan who spent his years after retiring from sugar farming as a very successful punter because he knew his horses better than they knew themselves. For a man for whom half a nose (in a photo finish) was enough for victory, he could recognize hearts of champions who gave their all. For a man with a very limited education, he always surprised me with his global knowledge of racing. He lived a life where hard work, breeding and form will win out. An artifical leg for my father for his remaining twenty years, was his means of going farther and faster.
Secretariat is a story of a woman's drive and ambition, to achieve the impossible because of her dogged belief in a horse and herself. The relationships of Penny Chenery, her family and her colorful trainer, Lucien Loren, make this movie very watchable. Life is about finding out how far you can go and what you can achieve. See Secretariat and you will be encouraged to "run your own race".
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