watch the race?” Gianni inquired.
“We have a box, don’t we?” Chet asked.
“So does Jeff, in a different area, though. Jeff can get a little superstitious about certain things, so if he does well with his horse in the sixth race, I’d be willing to bet that he’ll want to stay in the same spot for our race. So I may join him there, or wherever he’s headed.”
Chet had not quite finished desert when he began to tell Gianni a story about the superstitions of a certain well-known trainer. As he spoke, a mixture of key lime and chocolate moved about in his open mouth.
“They say this guy is so superstitious that he can never stop the gas pump with any combination of the number thirteen on the meter, you know, like thirteen dollars, thirteen g-g-gallons. So if he tops off his tank at thirteen something, he keeps pumping the gas, right on the pavement, until it hits fourteen.”
“You know the story of the Kentucky Derby Trophy?” Gianni asked.
“What about it?”
“They changed the trophy in 1999 for the 125 th running so that the horseshoe on the gold cup has the open end pointed up instead of down. It was done because superstition decrees that if the horseshoe is turned down, all the luck will run out.”
“Really? No shit?”
Gianni felt for the knot in his necktie, straightened it, then fastened the top button of his navy blue, cotton suit coat. “I have some people I need to see. I’ll see you in the paddock before the race. Let me take care of the bar tab and leave something for our waitress. The buffet is on the house, I guess you know, so it’s just the drinks and her tip.”
Gianni fully expected to pay but was surprised that Chet didn’t even raise a token objection or offer to contribute. Instead, Chet summoned the waitress one last time. “How about a coffee, dear?”
Gianni looked at Chet and thought,
My new partner— a slob and a skinflint, too
.
GIANNI WAS HAPPY to leave Chet behind and find Jeff Willard in the paddock area before the race. Jeff seemed more nervous than usual, and even Chiefly Endeavor seemed a little more high-strung, his dark bay coat beginning to lather in the sun. Rafael Bejarano would ride Chiefly Endeavor again this time, and Jeff put his arm around the jockey and said, “Leave him covered up, behind some horses, but not too far back. If he’s running mid pack on the backstretch, I’ll be happy. You’ll know when to make the move.”
By the time Chet waddled into the paddock, the jockeys had already taken their mounts and the horses were parading around the cramped Gulfstream paddock. Chiefly Endeavor pranced in line with the others, then exited the paddock and prepared to join his lead pony out on the main track.
As Chiefly Endeavor left the paddock, a fan shouted loudly, “Go Rafael, you’re the man.” Bejarano smiled at the fan and raised two fingers in a “V” sign.
Gianni and Chet followed their trainer to a box just off the finish line, near the sixteenth pole. As Chiefly Endeavor walked by for the post parade, his rear legs gave a sideways cow-kick in the direction of his pony, causing the pony and rider to trot away.
“He’s never done that before,” Gianni said. “What the hell is wrong, Jeff?”
Jeff said nothing and remained focused on the post parade of horses, alternating his gaze from binoculars to the track. Chiefly Endeavor seemed to settle once his lead pony trotted away. Five minutes later, the relatively small field of seven horses lined up in the gate, and the announcer began his call of the race.
THEY’RE ALL IN LINE. AND THEY’RE OFF AND RUNNING IN THE FLORIDA DERBY. BROTHER BIRD BREAKS WELL, FOLLOWED CLOSELY BY ATONED…OH, NO— CHIEFLY ENDEAVOR HAS STUMBLED AT THE GATE, HE STUMBLED BADLY AND IS NOW WELL BACK BEHIND THE OTHER HORSES.
“Damn it! Is he all right?” Gianni said. He stood up and continued to follow the horse’s every stride through his binoculars.
SO IT’S BROTHER BIRD, CONTINUING TO SET THE PACE
Katie Porter
Roadbloc
Bella Andre
Lexie Lashe
Jenika Snow
Nikita Storm, Bessie Hucow, Mystique Vixen
Donald Hamilton
Lucy Maud Montgomery
Santiago Gamboa
Sierra Cartwright