Seabiscuit Page #6

that horse out?

When he wakes up, l guess.

Geez!

For crying out loud.

The whole track?

l just want him to do it once

with nothing in front of him.

Yeah, but l can't see

out there.

That's all right. He can.

Come on, Tom. Tom, please.

Why do you always

have to do this? Sh*t.

Oh, great.

Jesus Christ.

Wow.

Oh, my God.

Tim.

Hey.

Pumpkin. Hey.

How you doing, Pumpkin?

Are you shy?

Hey, Red?

Oh, my gosh.

Yeah. Guess l should have

used you as a jockey

instead of a groom.

No, no. lt was...

That was great.

Look, l'm in a little trouble.

l got this horse over

in Annex, and l been trying

to sell a share of him.

Tough times and all?

l was wondering if maybe

you'd breeze him for me.

lf folks saw Red Pollard...

Yeah. l'll breeze

your horse for you.

lt's on.

Good.

Just take him

for five furlongs

at around a minute one.

Can he do that?

Should.

Try it now.

Okay, try it again.

Easy! Easy! Easy!

Look, most of the damage

was restricted to his leg.

How bad is it?

God, l don't know.

lt's shattered.

Eleven, twelve breaks.

Something like that.

We're gonna have to operate.

Just sit tight for me.

Well, we're all done.

He'll always limp,

but it looks like

he's gonna walk again.

Will he ride?

No, he's not gonna ride.

You're sure?

He won't ride.

But he's gonna walk.

You take care.

Thank you.

Hey.

You should see

the other guy.

You're gonna be fine.

Couple of months,

you're gonna be up

and around like new.

l'm the one who makes up

the stories, remember?

Well, yeah.

Maybe a little

longer than that.

Yeah.

Look, l think we're gonna

have to scratch.

No. No, don't scratch.

Son, he's a great horse,

but he can't run by himself.

Don't scratch.

Call Woolf.

Son, nobody's riding...

lt's okay.

Call him.

Are you gonna scratch?

No, we're not gonna scratch.

Red Pollard wants

Seabiscuit to win this race

more than anything

in the world.

He wouldn't let us scratch.

Thank you much.

l appreciate it.

You're welcome.

The lceman cometh!

What a pinch hitter.

Why, it's like getting

Babe Ruth off the bench.

Nerves of steel,

ice water in his veins.

Why, George Woolf is...

lrrelevant.

They can get

the Four Horsemen

of the Apocalypse

as far as l'm concerned.

Won't make any difference.

War Admiral

is a superior horse

with superior breeding.

Doesn't matter

who the passenger is.

He's got a strong

left lead, Georgie.

Banks like

a frigging airplane.

But he might need help

switching to it,

so ease him off the rail

just before the turn.

Like you did

in the Gold Cup.

Exactly.

He needs a good warm-up,

so take him out slow.

When you do ask him,

don't use the whip.

Just flick it twice,

show him it's there.

He'll know it's time.

Right.

And never on the left side.

They hit him on the left side

when he was a baby.

l wish it was you, Johnny.

Come on.

l'll be right there with you.

Great. Now, show him the stick

at the quarter pole,

and he'll give you

a whole new gear.

Okay, now,

force him to that left lead

a little earlier,

and he'll give you even more.

Great.

Now, shut the door.

Okay. You know how Smith

wants you to fight for

the lead by the first turn?

Well, yeah. We were

working with that bell.

l was a little nervous

about that.

No, no, it's fine.

But you gotta give it up

on the backstretch.

Give it up?

Give him back the lead.

He fights for it, Georgie.

lf you bring him head to head

with that other horse,

and he looks him in the eye,

there's no way

he loses that race.

You just hold him

through that final turn

and let him get a good look

at the Admiral.

Then let him go.

lt's not in his feet, Georgie.

lt's right here.

By 10:
00 a.m.,

the closest place to park

was 15 blocks away.

The volume of refreshments

alone was staggering.

Seventeen thousand gallons

of lemonade.

Sixty thousand hot dogs.

Two thousand kegs of beer.

NBC broadcast the race,

and businesses around America

scheduled a half day of work

so their employees

could hear the call,

thanks in part to a missive

fired by Mr. Howard

only the day before.

Look, l know this is

a fancy track and all,

but l think they ought to

open up the infield,

so normal folks

can come see the race.

You shouldn't have to be rich

to enjoy something like this.

Seabiscuit entered the race

a 2-to-1 underdog,

but you would never know it

from the growing noise

in the infield.

Get your program!

By the time it was over,

more than 48 million Americans

would hear the call.

Okay, it's still

kind of soggy at the rails,

so try to keep him

out of there.

There's a dry tractor tread

about five feet

out off the fence.

l walked the track

this morning.

Good. Good.

Now, he ought to break

just like we worked on.

But there's one more thing.

What? Let him catch me

on the backstretch?

You're not the only one

who knows this horse.

Safe trip, George.

And a short one.

Let's go, Sam.

Good luck, George.

Thanks, Nick.

Charley!

George.

The two jockeys have

acknowledged each other.

lt's a quick hello,

like boxers touching gloves.

Come on, George.

This is no time

for small talk.

Both the horses are now on

the main track, and you can

hear the roar from the crowd.

There he is!

lt's Seabiscuit by a nose,

now by a head.

He's leading War Admiral,

pressing on him a neck behind.

They fly

toward the clubhouse turn.

Who will be into it first?

lt's Seabiscuit heading

the turn first and driving

for the backstretch!

Now, coming out of the bend,

it's Seabiscuit

with a two-length lead

coming into the backstretch.

lt's Seabiscuit by two.

Now, back him off, son.

Back him off. Back him off.

Come on back, George.

Come on, come on, come on.

Now on

the backstretch, Seabiscuit

still with a two-length lead.

Come on, Georgie.

Don't fool around.

l sure hope you're right,

Red. Here we go.

Easy, Pops.

God damn it, Johnny.

lt's now War Admiral!

lt's War Admiral!

lt's Seabiscuit

and War Admiral,

neck and neck

as they go into

the homestretch!

Close, Pops. Easy, Pops.

That's it.

Come on.

lt's Seabiscuit.

Now War Admiral! Now

Seabiscuit! Now War Admiral!

Not going now, Pops.

Now Seabiscuit!

Now War Admiral!

Do it.

Do it now. Come on, George!

Turn him loose.

Turn him loose.

Do it now, George!

So long, Charley!

Turn him loose!

Here comes Seabiscuit!

lt's Seabiscuit by a length!

Come on, Biscuit!

Seabiscuit!

Yes! Yes! Yes!

Congratulations.

Amazing.

Congratulations.

Thank you.

lceman, you did it.

How does it feel?

Well, l just wish my good

friend Red Pollard was

up here today instead of me.

He will be.

This concludes

our radio broadcast

of the race of the century.

Now a word from our sponsor,

the American Oil Company.

Money can't buy

a finer motor oil...

Easy does it.

Watch it.

Watch those wheels.

All hail

the conquering hero.

Yes, folks, he's back.

The little engine that could.

No more match races

for this little pony,

because, quite frankly,

they're all out of matches.

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