Current article:
The heart-stopper
By Julie Findlay
Yakima Meadows, 1994. My prized horse was running in the feature race that day, the
Baze Handicap. He had just come off a win in the Penney Handicap, on his way to Horse
of the Year honors. Amber Jett is his name and on that day in that race I almost had my
first heart attack.
Everything went well in the paddock and on post parade. Once he was in the gate,
my nerves kicked in. The rider who was on him will remain unnamed, unless of course you
remember this yourself! Things were going great; this was a long race.
Into the first turn, he and IM Portit with Vicky Aragon were head and head going very
slow fractions. Around the far turn, Jett drew off from the field. Then when they turned
for home, he had a three-length lead and was ready to draw off when the rider dropped
the inside rein and Jett veered toward the rail.
My heart stopped. Everything suddenly went into slow motion. Then when I thought he
was going over the rail, the rider regained control and pulled him back onto course.
IM Portit made one final try at him, but to no avail. Jett won by 3! He went on to win
a total of 20 races in his career and made $187,000. He is now retired and living the
life as a pasture pet!
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