The grandstands and clubhouse of Churchill Downs erupted like a volcano as fifty thousand racing fans jumped up and down, emitting a crescendo of sound when Hit the Bid crossed the finish line one yard ahead of her closest competitor. The filly had come from eighteen lengths off the pace to run down the fastest colts in thoroughbred racing—claiming the title to the most prestigious horse race of the year.
Gallo watched as a trackside reporter working for ABC Sports pushed his way into the owner’s box with a cameraman and a soundman in tow. He would be the first to get a post-race interview with Ritchie Gallo.
“Ritchie!” he shouted, flashing dazzling teeth at the camera as he pushed a microphone into Gallo’s face. “This place is going ballistic after that heart-stopping race. How are you feeling right now?”
“Oh man, what can I say? Right now, I have tears in my eyes. I just can’t believe the performance of this filly for the last two years. She never gives up, she never quits—she just loves to run, and it’s a blessing to be able to watch her.”
“She got off to a slow start, and for quite a while, it didn’t look like she had much of a chance.”
“Yeah, she came out of the gate on the wrong lead, and it took CJ a few seconds to get her stride back in tempo, but CJ really knows what she’s doing on this horse—she paced her really well right up until she asked her to run.”
“Ritchie, I can’t get over the fans’ reaction to this filly.” As he said so, the crowd went wild in the background, and the cameraman briefly panned sidelong to catch the countless women holding signs saying, “GO HTB – GO CJ!”
“It’s got to be really rewarding to see so much support from the public, and especially so many fans who aren’t normally into thoroughbred racing.”
“Oh yeah, it’s really amazing. They lined up an hour ahead of time to see her walk from the stables to the paddock, and fans were ten deep around the paddock watching her dance and pose for them. This horse really feeds off this stuff—she likes people, and she understands that people like her, and it just emboldens her to give it everything she’s got.”
“Ritchie, a lot has been said and written about your jockey, CJ Jamieson. She’s been honest about the fact that she has some mental challenges, but it certainly doesn’t seem to be something that prevents her from winning races.”
“Nah, CJ is a great young lady and rider. She doesn’t crave the limelight like Hit the Bid, but once she’s in the saddle, the two of them seem to have some sort of mind-meld, and they just turn into superwomen. She’s done a great job assisting me in training the horse as well as bringing the filly home to the finish line.”
“This is the last big race of the year—the voting for the Eclipse Award will be held very soon. Is she the horse of the year?”
Ritchie smiled. “You tell me, brother!”
“Well, I think it’s pretty hard to argue that she isn’t. Congratulations, Ritchie Gallo, and now we will send it out to the track where Mary Tierney is catching up with our winner.”
CJ watched as reporter Mary Tierney rode out to the backstretch, where an escort rider held Hit the Bid’s reins in preparation for the interview.
“CJ, what a great race! It was an unbelievable ride. There was a real display of girl power here at Churchill Downs today! Hit the Bid was the only filly in the race, but she beat the most talented field of colts to run this year. How do you feel, now that you’ve won?”
Tierney extended a microphone in CJ’s direction, holding it there while CJ bent over, hugging the filly. “I’m speechless; I just don’t know what to say. She’s such an amazing horse.”
“You got off to a slow start, and as you came through the far turn, you were still eighteen lengths behind the leaders. You were dead last for three-quarters of the race. How did that happen?”
“Well, she was a little jumpy in the gate because there was some chaos being created by the colts on either side of us. Then, for some reason, she broke out on a left lead as opposed to the right. We gave up some ground right away, and I had to tap her on the right shoulder a few times to get her to change leads—but once she made the change, she was running effortlessly. I really hadn’t planned on being that far back, but I just took my time and let her gradually move closer to the pack.”
“As you entered the far turn, you were still last, but you began to reposition Hit the Bid in order to make a stretch run.”
“Yeah, I was able to cut the corner and move down inside. She responded well to the maneuver—at that point, she still wasn’t in high gear.”
“CJ, I’ve got to take my hat off to you. You showed great calm and poise to hold your position and be patient rather than have the horse run farther than she needed to. Only when you reached the straightaway did you angle out so you didn’t lose much ground.”
“Thanks, Mary. I was actually thinking about splitting horses as we came through the turn, because she becomes more aggressive when she splits horses, but the colts came back together, shutting off the move. She’s so agile, she just skipped over their heels and moved outside. At that point, we just accelerated down the stretch. It was kind of funny, because as the crowd began to roar, I thought she was going to stop in the middle of the stretch and pose for pictures, so I had to get on her a little bit and get her to focus on the finish line. If she hadn’t lost her focus for a few strides, we would have won by a bigger margin, but then the finish wouldn’t have been as exciting. She really knows how to generate drama and please the fans.”
“CJ, do you think Hit the Bid is the horse of the year?”
“She’s the horse of the year, by a long shot. The only race she ever lost was her maiden outing, and since then, she has consistently beaten the best fillies, mares, colts, and stallions in the country. To me, she’s the horse of the decade!”
“Well, I think there are a lot of people in the racing industry who agree with you after the performance she put on today. Good luck, CJ! And enjoy the win. Back to you guys in the broadcast booth!”
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