Life with Rosie: The highs and lows of raising a racehorse

Helen Thomas

sep. 2010 · Allen & Unwin

Om denne e-bog

She was born in the wind, on a farm not too far from home, and on an unusually warm Sunday morning. In no time at all, we saw that this was a foal who wouldn't need much nudging, or urging, or hurrying along. Within half an hour, she was up and tottering across the straw on unsteady pirate's legs, making her way straight for the safety webbing, even before she had taken her first all-important gulp of milk. Her already steady gaze taking in her new world. And so life with Rosie began.'

Helen Thomas has long had a passion for race horses. As a teenager, her first high school overlooked Melbourne's most picturesque racecourse; she clipped tales of racing courage from the newspapers and dreamt of being part of the racing world. When she finally becomes the proud owner of Poetic Waters, the broodmare repays her leap of faith with a little foal called Rosie. A foal Helen hopes will one day make the grade as a race horse. But it's a tough, winding road from paddock to track and, despite the attention of stellar trainer Robbie Griffiths, Rosie's trek is marked by frustration as much as triumph.

Life With Rosie charts the blossoming of a young thoroughbred - and Helen's rite of passage as one of thousands of owners across Australia hoping that all the hard work, and just a little bit of luck, will lead her horse to racetrack success.

Om forfatteren

Helen Thomas is the author of three books about horse-racing: 42 Days at the Races, A Horse Called Mighty and Past the Post. She also manages a couple of young racehorses and ABC News Radio.