"Hey!" "Hey!" "Daddy, you know..." "You know what I saw?" "It was the most fantastic thing." "Come look." "My son." "Hey, look, son." "I'm really busy." "But I'll tell you what I do need." "I need some good luck." "OK?" "OK, Mr Lucky, I think it's time we divvy up the loot." "Look at all of these things." "What a night!" "What do you think of this?" "This is pretty, here." "I'd better take those." "Try that." "Isn't that pretty?" "I'd better keep that." "That's pretty nice." "I think I'd better take that." "No, you shouldn't have that." "Here, I'd better take that." "You're a little too young for that." "Oh, look at that watch." "Hey, I'd better take that." "That's a pretty watch." "I think it's about time I got myself another knife." "So I oughta give you this." "You never know when a knife might come in handy." "You want some gold?" "There's lots of gold." "You know, I'll bet this is the most valuable piece here." "It's Bucephalus, the magic horse of Alexander the Great." "A long time ago, this king was gonna kill Bucephalus, because he was so wild the king couldn't ride him." "He had Bucephalus brought into a big arena." "And people came from all around, cos they wanted to see this horse that was the biggest, the blackest and the strongest, the most beautiful horse that ever was." "King Philip goes walking' out there, looked at his men and said "Kill that horse."" "Just then, a voice called out from the edge of the crowd." "It said "I can ride that horse."" "Everybody looked around, they said "Who said that?"" "They looked over and it was a little kid, just about your size, just about your age." "And King Philip looked over and he said" ""Son, if you can ride that horse, you can have that horse."" "Hm?" "So Alexander walked out into the big arena, and standing' in the middle of the arena was Bucephalus." "He was big and he was strong." "And he was pawing' the ground, and there was fire in his eyes." "There was smoke comin' out of his nose, and he went..." "And Alexander walked up, and then quick as a cat he jumped up on his back." "He grabbed hold of that long black mane, and away they went, just like lightning." "And he jumped right over the crowd, all the way over the stand, and went ridin' out over the hill." "Everybody said "Phew!"" "Smoke comin' out of his nose!" "Fire in his eyes." " Fire in his eyes!" " That's the way I heard the story." "Here." "I want you to have this." "Bucephalus." "Dad?" "Dad, what's goin' on?" " Ow!" " Alec!" "Alec, come here!" "Take it easy." "Just take it easy." "We'll be OK." " What's happening?" " I don't know." "Here, put this on." "Here, put this life vest on." "Come on." "It's OK." "Here, tie the bottom." "Tie the bottom." "Argh!" "Let's get outta here!" "Hang onto that rail!" "Stay right there!" "Right there!" "I'll be back." "Stay there." "I'm gonna go help these guys." "Don't move." "Hang on." " Help!" " Hey!" "Alec!" "Dad!" "Help!" "Dad!" "Alec!" "Dad!" "Alec!" "Help!" "Help!" "Help!" "Help!" "Hey!" "Hey!" "He saved my life." "I can't leave the island without him." "He'll die without me." "Black!" "Black!" "Come on!" "Black!" ""Ode to Alec Ramsey"." "I think that I shall never see" "A boy as brave as Alec Ramsey" "Hunger and thirst and fear and pain" "He lived because his heart had aim horse as black as night to day" "A beast, a god, with whom he did stay" "They slept on the sand and played in the ocean" "And rode over the island in a singular motion" "Now, here he sits, a hero among boys" "With the love of a horse, much more than mere toys" "I'm very happy to have my son back." "Thank you." "I wish you could have saved his father, too." "You're kind of a pretty horse." "Black!" "Black!" "No!" "No!" "Black!" "Come back!" "Alec!" "Whoa!" "Yes, I saw a black horse." "It ran thataway!" "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa." "Hey!" "What happened to you?" "Everything." "Everything?" "Well, that's a whole lot." "Can't be everything." "Oh, you lost a black horse." "Yeah, yeah!" "Have you seen him?" "Do you know where he is?" "Napoleon?" "Did you tell me you saw a black stallion?" "Well?" "What did he say?" "He says "Well..." "not really far from here."" "Just past the dairy..." "there's a big black barn." "Then you see a long bunch of skinny trees that you walk along." "Then you go right by a morning star." "And you keep following that star, and you see a large patch of green grass." "Then you stop, and then you listen, and pretty soon you'll see just what you been looking for." "Hey, Black!" "Black?" "Black!" "Black, it's you!" "Oh, I want you." "You OK?" "I knew it was you!" "What do you think you're doin' over there, sonny?" "I'm gettin' my horse!" "And you're a thief." "You're a big, fat thief!" " Nobody's a thief." " You are!" "I said, nobody's a thief." "Who you callin' a thief?" "This is my place, and I'm thinkin' that that's my horse." "No!" "He's mine." "Hold on, son." "Now, wait a minute." "You hold on there." "Now, what are you gonna do here, buddy?" "What are you gonna do?" "Easy!" "Easy." "Well, maybe he is yours." "But, you know, I spent all last night trying to catch this wild horse here." "All night, I spent." "You're just lucky I got him, instead of the police." "Hear me?" " He kicked a garbage man?" " Yeah." "He's somethin', all right." "Hey, did you have any breakfast?" "Henry, I think he likes it out here." "Tried cows." "It didn't work." "Five in the morning." "Chickens." "They just about drove me nuts." "Huh!" "Chickens!" "Well, look, if you... if you clean this stall up in here real good... and you, you know, get it fit for him, I could let you have it." "Red cards, red cards..." "I've got too many red cards." "Hey, Henry, is The Black fast?" "He's fast." "Fast enough to be a racehorse?" "Alec, that Black is a desert horse." "He's fast, all right." "Sure, he's fast." "But he hasn't got any papers." "Fast or not, I don't think they'd ever let him run." " Henry, can I ask you a question?" " Sure." "Why did you stop training?" "I got tired." "Do you think you'll ever..." "try it again?" "Sure I do." "Sure." "It's work." "Worth... worth it, though." "Hold on to him good." "Stay in the centre of him." "Turn him around the other way." "The other way, son." "Bring him in and turn him around." "Now send him down around here." "Hah!" "Hah!" "Hah!" "It comes as no surprise that again this week, both Sunraider, the fiery red stallion from the West, and Cyclone, the sleek grey from the East, have won their races with ease." "And they have won with monotonous regularity." "But... hey, hey!" "..." "let's see these two champions run head to head." "And perhaps horse fans will be treated to the match race of the century." "This is... hey, hey!" "...Jim Neville from Belmont." "...lo0kin' this way." "Not lookin' this way." "Lookin' straight ahead." "That's right." "Hah." "Hah." "Hah." "You wanna see what's comin' in back of you, look under your arm." "Not over here." "Not over your shoulder." "Under here." "You see what's goin' on - down there, all around you." "And you can scoot and boot." "Understand?" "Then you've got..." "you've got your balance." "Pick 'em up." "Keep your knees in close when you put your stirrups on." "Check down underneath here, too." "See that you get that leather outta your way." "Pull it back in there underneath, so that your knees..." "Nothin' in the way, here." "OK." "All right, now you're up." "Now you're up." "Feel that?" "Feel that in your legs?" "Hm?" "Feel it pulling on your legs back here?" "Huh?" " Mm-hm." " OK." "Look ahead, down the lane." "Down the lane." "No, you don't jump straight up and down." "Just try and keep your body as still as possible, cos he'll be movin', see." "He'll be makin' that rhythm." "You just go on with him, see." "No, no, you don't have to pump him." "Just... just... just kinda go straight ahead with him, huh?" "Just like you're..." "No, like you're throwin' it away, like this." "Throw it away." "That's right." "Throw it away." "That's right." "Look, when a horse starts out of that gate, you've gotta remember this." "You don't want him to outbreak you." "You know what that means?" "When a horse starts to settle, they open that gate... wham!" "Like that." "And some of them just scat... wow!" "So you grab a handful of mane." "Just before he says "Go", wham, so he don't outbreak you." "Because, you open that gate, and you'd just be sittin' in midair." "You understand?" " And Black can outbreak you." " Right." "I mean, he can move right on out there." "You know, Alec... secrecy... that's the key word." "Yeah." "OK." "Don't just say OK." "I mean, know what I'm talking about." "You and me, we have a secret." "Now listen to me." "We'll just make this a real easy workout." " All right." " Get him used to this place." "Jake and I'll be right over here, with Napoleon." "Now, you go down to the half-mile pole and watch me." "I'll start you by dropping my hand." "Then I want you to work him for... for a half-mile, see?" "Then breeze him for a half mile, then pull him up nice and easy." "Now go down to the half-mile pole and watch me." "Come on, let's go!" "Too much horse for your boy." "Jake, listen." "He's gonna be all right." "Come on, Nappy, let's go." "Whoa, whoa." "Go on!" "That way!" "Go on, get him." "Pull him up!" "Pull him up, Nappy!" "On the inside." "Pull him up!" "Come on, Jake." "Hey." "Hey, your hand's hurt." "You... you all right there?" "Yeah, I'm OK." " Yeah..." " Henry, I'd better walk him now." "All right, go ahead." "Cool him out, son." "Oh!" "Did you get what I got?" " Heh-heh!" " Right on the button." "Jake, that horse has got speed he ain't even tapped yet." "Well, you're..." "What are you tryin' to say?" "You're not?" "!" "You are outta your mind!" "That monster has no more business being out on this track with class." "He's fast, but he's wild." "You saw him zigzaggin' all over the course." "Yeah..." "And what about his papers?" " He ain't got any." " He ain't...?" "That's taste." "What are you gonna do, hitch him up to a plough?" "No." "I..." "I got an idea." "A match race?" "Cyclone?" "Oh, you... you are too much." "You are really too much!" "You got me thinkin' kind of crazy, too." "Squeeze my hand." "I wanna try something here." "You feel that?" "That's a pretty good grip." "It's not bad." "We're gonna have to work on your grip." "You know what I used to use when I was a rider?" "I used to use this ball." " What does a ball do?" " It strengthens your hand." "No matter what you're doin', through the day, use this ball." "Let me see you do it." "Next time you grip my hand, we'll see a difference." "I have the hottest racing news of the year." "Hold onto your hats, folks!" "The most sensational match race, between Cyclone from the East and Sunraider from the West, is set for the afternoon of August 15, at Santa Anita." "They'll go over two gruelling miles to prove which is the greatest champion." "This is... hey, hey!" "...Jim Neville from Belmont." "Well, whoever you are... here we go." "It's open." "Sure is quiet in here today." "Anything wrong with that?" "The Black, he... he just... he wouldn't play." "He just stands there and..." "looks out into the rain." "Maybe The Black is blue today." "You ever think of that?" "Blue?" "Rain, man." "Rain." "Rain, see." "We're gonna show everybody that he's the fastest horse in the world." "You think you know that animal?" "Yeah." "I know him." "Well..." "I don't know." "Hm." "I get a funny feelin'." "I feel right now that you'd better let that horse stay wild, Alec." "It's his soul." "Easy, Black." " He ain't gonna show." " I don't wanna hear that." "He'll show." "He'll show." "He'll be here." "He probably doesn't even remember us." " He'll be here." " We're ancient history." "I tell you, he's gonna be here." "He's busy." "He's a little jumpy, Henry." "Come on, work him." "Get him out there." "Henry!" "Are you OK?" " Where'd he get you?" " Yeah." "On my arm." " Here?" " On my..." " It's not broken?" " No!" "Leave it alone." "He just nicked me." "Will you please stop...?" "All right." "All right." "All right." "It's him." " It's him." " No." "It's him, by God." "I tell you, it's him." " Yeah." "Over here." " Yeah, it's him." "All right." "All right, give him..." "Give him a leg up." "All right." "All right, Alec." "Remember, this is our big chance." "It's up to you, OK?" "All right, go ahead." "Take him out." "Come on, bring him on." "Come on!" "Hey!" "Hey, he's out cold." "Get him out of that mane." "Hold him steady, will you?" " Got him." " Give me your knife." "Whoa, sonny." "Where'd you get this animal?" " Good boy." " Here." "I got them, I got them." "Watch yourself." "Whoa, boy." "Yeah." "What happened?" "Did I fall off?" "No." "No, you hung on..." "you hung on like a champ." "What happened?" "Where's The Black?" "It's all right." "Don't worry about it, he's fine." "He's over in the van with Nappy." "We did good, didn't we?" "You did great." "You did great." "You all right?" "How did you like what you saw?" " Well, I wasn't disappointed." " Disappointed?" "!" "Come on, you never saw a horse run like that in your life." "Yeah, this could put you back in the action, huh, Dailey?" "Don't try to get hard with me." "You know I never liked it." "I need this race." "I need it bad, and you can do it." "Huh?" "Will you do it?" "If that horse goes like that with a kid, what about a real rider?" "The race!" "Nice going, kid." "You got guts." "I said Cyclone and Sunraider are the fastest horses." "I'll eat those words, because I've seen another horse that defies the imagination, that runs like a demon possessed, at speeds beyond belief." "He's never run a race, but he could be the greatest sensation in racing history." "So I here challenge the owners of both Cyclone and Sunraider to meet this... this mystery horse in their upcoming match race." "This isn't a joke." "This mystery horse is real, and I'll stake my reputation on it." "This is... hey, hey!" "...Jim Neville from Belmont." "Do you know any good j-jockeys?" "Real good, famous jockeys?" "There's a lot of 'em." "George Wolf, the Iceman." " Iceman?" " That's just what they call him." "Georgie Wolf." "They call him in the newspapers the Iceman, because he sits chilly on a horse." "That means he sits there and he can wait." "He's studying' the horse." "He'll be up there, ridin'..." "Up there, ridin', goin' on with him." "Do you know what I mean?" "He's sittin' up there, studying' him." "Just studying' him." "Studyin' him." "Just studying' him." "Then, when it's time to make his move, they say "Ah!"" ""Here comes the iceman!"" "Mom, do you want me to m-mow the lawn or wash the dishes or somethin'?" "Sure, yeah." "Well..." "Why don't you make all the beds and vacuum in here too while you're at it?" " Mom, have you read this here?" "See?" " What is it?" "Oh, yeah." "This is more about that mystery horse, isn't it?" "Boy!" "Remember last year when they gave away aluminum ballpoint pens for this?" " The Black is the mystery horse." " It amazes me, the lengths they go to to get people to go to a horse race." "And I'm gonna ride him." " I'll get it." " What?" "What did you say?" "Wait, wait." "Alec." "Alec, wait a..." "One more second." "What did you just say?" "Say that again." "The Black is the mystery horse and I'm gonna ride him." "Alec, that horse is not the mystery horse." "And even if he were, you're not gonna ride him." "It was a secret." "I told you as soon as I could." "You're not supposed to keep secrets from your mother." " Someone's at the door." " I know!" " Mrs Ramsey..." " Oh." "The Black is the mystery horse, and you're gonna ride him in a race." "Oh, well." "Well, well, well!" "Isn't this just fascinating timing?" "What's been going on between you and that horse?" " I'd like to know." " Guess you've been talking to Alec." "Well, I have been trying to!" "Would you like to tell me something about this?" " I'd be very happy to." " Well, come in." "Please!" "Well, it's... it's quite a..." "quite a long story, Mrs Ramsey." "I'm sure it's a long story." "But you've gotta be kidding." "You think I'll let him ride in a race?" "My son could get killed." "Oh, I..." "I think you could be exaggerating a little bit, Mrs Ramsey." "I'm not exaggerating!" "Don't lie to me, Mr Dailey." "You're willing to risk his life?" "I am not." " Mrs Ramsey..." " I lost a husband." "I'm not losing a son." "Oh, I wouldn't..." "I wouldn't hurt that boy for anything in the world." "What kind of dreams are you filling up his head with?" "Huh?" "It's much more than just a race." "Your son has his... his heart set on it." "Goodbye, Mr Dailey." "Goodbye, Mrs Ramsey." "So what happened to the new deal, huh?" "The clean slate?" "Alec, I can't let you do it." "I can't let you ride in a horse race." "It's ridiculous!" "I'm sorry." "What is that?" "Alexander the Great's horse." "Dad g-gave it to me." "Just before the storm." "It reminded me of..." "The Black and me." "Alexander's father..." "gave it to him... before he died." "I was... in the water." "I couldn't breathe." "It was dark, and... 'an" "I yelled out for Dad, but..." "I looked up and... there was The Black." "And I grabbed onto him." "He saved your life, didn't he?" "Oh, Alec." "What am I gonna do?" "I gotta ride." "OK." "Neville planned the publicity, huh?" "I'll bet the mystery horse don't even show." "I'll beat him." " I heard Mendoza's just come in." " Who's missing from the room?" " That beats him, right there." " Yeah." "Who rides him?" " Where does that jock get them silks?" " Looks like he's ready for Hallowe'en." "It sure does!" "Rider number one up." " Number one, sir." " Number one, add two pounds." " Got that, George?" " Add two." "Rider number two." "Thank you." "Rider number three." "Number three?" " Number three?" " How do I look?" " Number three, please." " I don't think he's gonna show." " It's been a joke." " ...rider number three." "Well!" "Ha!" "The mystery rider." "Hop on the scale." "He's not strong enough to go two miles." "No way." "He's too small." " Rider on the scale, please." " He's on the scale, sir." "He's on the scale?" "Add it on." "OK." "All right." "OK, take him out." "All right, bring him right on out." "Sunraider, ridden by Doug Piper." "And the black horse, the mystery horse, is number three." "...East-West Classic, two miles." "They'll come by the stands one time, then around again." "Excitement centres on the mystery horse." "He's moving on the mystery horse." "There's some problem with the mystery horse." "Cyclone keeping the pace." "They're on the final turn now." "He won!" "The mystery horse won!" "This... this, ladies and gentlemen..." "This horse has got a leg like iron." "It's gonna be all right, son." "Henry!"