seabiscuit

The PBS doco Seabiscuit screened here last night to coincide with the start of the Spring Racing Carnival. What a wonderful thing - a perfectly told story of the alchemy of chance and timing that brought the key players together, the human drama unfolding with the triumphant chronicle of the horse. It was so moving, boynton was rather teary.
Last time we heard references to Seabiscuit we did that reflex comparison to our own legendary horse Phar Lap. At first, boynton carried that mindset - certain comparisons are uncanny - but soon found the American version so involving that it transcended the need to compare or keep our bearings.
The author Laura Hillenbrand's Seabsicuit site has a link to Norah Pollard's site, daughter of jockey Red Pollard, with samples from her book of poetry Leaning In

Did you urge on your bay in tongues?

And finally boynton just heard a reporter on ABC radio give a hot tip for Derby Day: Wear Layers

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Comments: seabiscuit

What she said. Good doco. Hope for us all ... 50 races before first win. Fear that the Hollywood version will be aimed at gratuitously ratcheting up the Kleenex usage many fold.

"a hot tip for Derby Day: Wear Layers" ... on t'other hand my tip is "Lay Wearers".
Posted by Sedgwick at November 1, 2003 05:27 PM

Your tip happens on the tipsy lawns in the tipsy late afternoon of the first tipsy tuesday of november, don't it?
Posted by boynton at November 1, 2003 07:02 PM

I, too, was made wobbly of lip and glistening of eye., boynton. I knew Sea Biscuit was HUGE in US folklore, but, knowing nothing of his story (and that of his heroic hoop), I found myself barking proletarian solidarity at the telly as he took on that strutting boojie spooner War Admiral.
Posted by Rob Schaap at November 1, 2003 10:16 PM

and (to quote the hoop) 'made a Rear Admiral out of him'.
Yes that was one of the keys to the story's appeal. Puts the "great Aussie Battler' myth into a wider folkloric context, doesn't it.
I suppose (in 'equine immortatlity' terms ) Phar Lap (sadly) wears the Died Too Young saddle-cloth in comparison.
Posted by boynton at November 2, 2003 02:50 PM