The Real Life Walshes

Did anyone watch the Belmont this past Saturday? I was excited to watch Sovereignty win it. He had an incredible Derby run, and then, after skipping the Preakness, danced his way excitedly through the post parade, and had a drawing-away, come-from-mid-pack epic win in the Belmont. I love when a trainer makes a call for the benefit of a horse's wellbeing, and Bill Mott keeping him out of the Preakness was definitely the right call, even if it meant there was no chance of a Triple Crown winner this year. And I especially loved, after the finish, watching Junior Alvarado love on Sovereignty, and then Journalism, as he and Umberto Rispoli praised one another's horses. Horse racing is dangerous, and can be a brutal industry, so I love when I see those involved show genuine care for their animals. 

But that's not the point of this post. 

Also in the field was Heart of Honor, ridden by a UK-based woman jockey. There's not too many female jockeys out there; exercise riders, yes, but race day jockeys, not so much. 

This is Saffie Osborne. Her dad, Jamie, is the trainer, and she's the jockey, and I said, "Oh my God, it's the real-life Walsh and Violet!" She's even a blonde. Come on, now. 

Obviously, they didn't win on Saturday, but getting a slot in a Triple Crown race is still a big deal, even if you don't come home with the hardware. Here she is riding Heart of Honor to a second-place finish in the UAE Derby. 

I've had more than a few readers express hope that I'll write a second gen series for Dartmoor, and let me say that while I'll never say never, I definitely do not have plans to do that as of right now. Any story about Remy would be heavily influenced by his and his family's ordeal in Lord Have Mercy, and I'm not looking to explore that given LHM's sales performance. Besides: the Dartmoor kid whose story I would most want to tell? Violet's. And I don't have any kind of club drama plot mapped out yet; only her personal journey, which I've started exploring my "Dartmoor Futures" blog series. 

The wild Belmont coincidence is: after her track accident, I envisioned Walsh taking Vi to Saratoga (where the Belmont is run), courtesy of Uncle Ian's money and connections, to see if she still wants to be a jockey. My plan is that, with her confidence badly rattled, Vi isn't ready to dive back into racing just yet. Instead, she takes on a difficult training job, working with an off the track Thoroughbred back in Tennessee, and eventually discovering a love for three-day eventing. Still a daredevil sport, but an individual one, without quite the same risks at the racetrack. 

Her romance, of course, as hinted at in the scenes I've written so far, is with Ash Teague. I don't know if/when I'll write any more of her (their) story, but the Belmont got me thinking Violet Walsh thoughts, for sure.