Synopses & Reviews
Patrick Smithwick has written an unusually moving memoir about growing up in the hell-bent-for-leather world of Thoroughbred racing as the son of Hall of Fame steeplechase jockey A.P. Paddy Smithwick. Racing My Father is the story of a son working alongside his father throughout summer mornings, and then hopping in a hot car, windows up, heater blasting so his father can sweat off a few more pounds and driving his father to the track where the races will be held in the afternoon. Paddy Smithwick was a natural. He was a charismatic figure. He was the greatest steeplechase rider in America in the 1950s and '60s, winning all the big races, leading the country in races won four times, dominating the sport with his style, ability, heart, and gentlemanly demeanor. Patrick Smithwick is also a natural. As a jockey, he won steeplechase races. As a writer, he's won awards. There are hints of the innocence of Huck Finn as Smithwick starts off his account of serving his apprenticeship with his father. The innocence ends when his father is paralyzed in a bad fall. Yet, the youthful Smithwick helps his father work his way back into racing, and the father-son, trainer-rider team ends up in the winner's circle at Saratoga Springs. Smithwick has recreated his own Yoknapatawpha County with its gritty backsides and polished clubhouses, its knotty characters and sleek racehorses. Racing My Father is not just another horse book. It is a fast-paced memoir ranking in the stakes race category with Russell Baker's Growing Up, Frank McCourt's Angela's Ashes, Annie Dillard's An American Childhood, and Beryl Markham's West With the Night. Racing My Father is a breathtaking ride over hurdles, with a whipping anddriving finish, that catapults the father-son team of Paddy and Patrick Smithwick back into the winner's circle.
Synopsis
Becoming a steeplechase jockey takes great courage, especially when following in the footsteps of a legendary father. Growing up, Patrick Smithwick idolized his father, A.P. Smithwick, considered the greatest steeplechase jockey in America at the time. In this compelling memoir, Patrick Smithwick recalls how his father's success shaped his own ambitions and dreams. Despite witnessing the pinnacle of the sport, the younger Smithwick started his own journey without a leg up. He mucked stalls and lived in tack rooms, learning the sport from the bottom up. After his father was severely injured in a racing accident, young Patrick did not sway from pursuing his dream. Though he may not have reached the career heights of his father, Patrick Smithwick succeeded in carving his own niche as a top steeplechase rider.