Out of the Clouds
The Unlikely Horseman and the Unwanted Colt Who Conquered the Sport of Kings
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By David Rosner
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In the wake of World War II, as turmoil and chaos were giving way to a spirit of optimism, Americans were looking for inspiration and role models showing that it was possible to start from the bottom and work your way up to the top-and they found it in Stymie, the failed racehorse plucked from the discard heap by trainer Hirsch Jacobs. Like Stymie, Jacobs was a commoner in “The Sport of Kings,” a dirt-poor Brooklyn city slicker who forged an unlikely career as racing’s winningest trainer by buying cheap, unsound nags and magically transforming them into winners. The $1,500 pittance Jacobs paid to claim Stymie became history’s biggest bargain as the ultimate iron horse went on to run a whopping 131 races and win 25 stakes, becoming the first Thoroughbred ever to earn more than $900,000. The Cinderella champion nicknamed “The People’s Horse” captivated the masses with his rousing charge-from-behind stretch runs, his gritty blue-collar work ethic, and his rags-to-riches success story. In a golden age when horse racing rivaled baseball and boxing as America’s most popular pastime, he was every bit as inspiring a sports hero as Joe DiMaggio and Joe Louis.
Taking readers on a crowd-pleasing ride with Stymie and Jacobs, Out of the Clouds — the winner of the Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award — unwinds a real-life Horatio Alger tale of a dauntless team and its working-class fans who lived vicariously through the stouthearted little colt they embraced as their own.
Genre:
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"Out of the Clouds is more than the story of a single horse, a single trainer, and their unlikely rise. The whole mid-century world of grit and cigars, of prize fights and thick New York accents--guys and dolls--is in these pages. The book is as much about the big picture as it is the close-up."The Wall Street Journal
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"The best racetrack books make you fall in love with a horse and become enthralled with the people around him, and that's exactly what Out of the Clouds does. It's a galloping tale of a misunderstood horse and horseman who navigated thoroughbred racing with guts, hunches, and a touch of magic."Joe Drape, New York Times bestselling author of AmericanPharoah: The Untold Story of the Triple Crown Winner's Legendary Rise
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"I was stunned and pleased by Out of the Clouds... an engaging story of a man's life, his nature, his wisdom, and the prolonged success born of talent, dedication, and compassion."Edward L. Bowen, former editor-in-chief of TheBlood-Horse and author of author of 20 books onThoroughbred racing
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"Two of Thoroughbred racing's greatest rags-to-riches stories--chronicling the rise of trainer Hirsch Jacobs and his champion, Stymie, from the lowest rungs of the sport to its loftiest peak, the Racing Hall of Fame--are here woven together in a tale further inhabited and enriched by some of racing's most legendary gamblers and characters, from high-rolling Arnold Rothstein to journalist Damon Runyon. Out of the Clouds is a colorful, engaging account of their racetrack world."William Nack, bestselling author of Secretariat
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"A sensational book...When it comes to history and colorful characters, Out of the Clouds is right up there with Seabiscuit, and is as riveting a racing/history book from start to finish as I have ever read."Steve Haskin, The Blood-Horse
- On Sale
- May 29, 2018
- Page Count
- 320 pages
- Publisher
- Hachette Books
- ISBN-13
- 9780316432214
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