Battleship: A Daring Heiress, a Teenage Jockey, and America's Horse
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5.0 • 2 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
Dorothy Ours's Battleship tells the moving story of a tough little horse, a gifted boy, and a woman ahead of her time.
The youngest jockey, the smallest horse, and an unconventional heiress who disliked publicizing herself. Together, near Liverpool, England, they made a leap of faith on a spring day in 1938: overriding the jockey's father, trusting the boy and the horse that the British nicknamed the "American pony" to handle a race course that newspapers called "Suicide Lane." There, Battleship might become the first American racer to win England's monumental, century-old Grand National steeplechase. His rider, Great Britain's Bruce Hobbs, was only 17 years old.
Hobbs started life with an advantage: his father, Reginald, was a superb professional horseman. But Reg Hobbs also made extreme demands, putting Bruce in situations that horrified the boy's mother and sometimes terrified the child. Bruce had to decide just how brave he could stand to be.
On the other side of the Atlantic, the enigmatic Marion duPont grew up at the estate now known as James Madison's Montpelier—the refuge of America's "Father of the Constitution." Rejecting her chance to be a debutante, denied a corporate role because of her gender, Marion chose a pursuit where horses spoke for her.
Taking on the world's toughest race, she would leave her film star husband, Randolph Scott, a continent away and be pulled beyond her own control. With its reach from Lindbergh's transatlantic flight to Cary Grant's Hollywood, Battleship is an epic tale of testing your true worth.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Ours's horse story, a history of racing in the 1930s, doubles as a profile of the DuPont family and its heiress, Marion, who was an extraordinary horsewoman. The action unfolds on multiple levels, from the story of a young British jockey, son of a legendary horseman, to the events leading to the remarkable victory achieved by Battleship, an undersized, feisty, and somewhat ugly horse. Sired by the famed Man o'War, Battleship was the first American winner at England's revered Grand National. Racing authority Ours (Man o'War) describes the difficulty of the course and how Marion entered Battleship, at what would be the apex of his long racing career, into contention despite advice from racing professionals who worried about his short stature and limited abilities for such a race. This glimpse into the privileged world of old-fashioned racing reveals the wealthy patrons and the unforgettable trainers whose passion prevailed in the often dangerous sport. One of Ours's strengths is her ability to bring races to life, and her chronology and characters depict a riveting, real-life soap opera. 8-p b/w photo insert.
