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Thoroughbred #46
Racing Image
Will Image ever behave herself on the track?
Melanie Graham's dream has come true -- a chance to ride Perfect Image in her first race. Image has been running great, and it looks like they may even have a shot at winning some big-time races.
But Melanie and the black filly's trainers have forgotten how unpredictable Image can be. When she's disqualified from her first race, they wonder if she has the temperament to race at all. How will Melanie prove that with a little special treatment, this very special filly can make it all the way to the Triple Crown?
176 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2001
262 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 7, 2016
really? change silks of the rival stable that were established in BOOK 1!?!?!!? Just no.
February 14, 2009
Obviously, just by looking at my shelves, you can see I read a lot of horse books. But this book, no. 46 in the Thoroughbred series, is one of my favourites. I'm not even sure why, the story just inspires me, and interests me. I remeber finnishing the last page and straight away wanting to start it again (if you knew me, you'd know I generally don't do that, i find it fun to start a new book after finnishing another).
I could of quite happily read this book over and over, and I think you should too.
I could of quite happily read this book over and over, and I think you should too.
November 23, 2024
Considering that the series has been in a free-fall to reading hell for the last ten books, this was about the last fun read. In a trashy kind of way. It's like the Ellio's pizza of YA horse books. This was written by Alice Leonhardt, who wrote a lot of the books dealing with Melanie.
As the title suggests, this book is about finally getting the cantankerous Perfect Image to her first race, just before she turns three. Originally, there had been no plans to race her at two. But, things have all gone to shit at Tall Oaks, since the owner (and Images' owner) went bankrupt. She can only keep two horses -- Gratis and Khan. Unless Image wins a race, she has to be sold.
The sudden bankruptcy of the once thriving Tall Oaks was actually one of the more realistic plot lines in the entire series. Stables can come and go faster than their horses. Such a stable comes to mind was that of MC Hammer's, or technically his father's stable. In one year, 1991, they had Kentucky Oaks winner Lite Light. The next year, he had the Fountain of Youth and and third-place Derby and Travers competitor Dance Floor. In 1996, MC Hammer was bankrupt, and all the horses were sold.
And then there's Calumet Farms, which WAS American Thoroughbred racing for decades, but mismanagement caused it to crumble, go bankrupt, and be sold. It was sold again, I don't know how many times. The new Calumet is far, far different from the old.
Anyway, the book focused on Melanie trying to train Image, and worked well for a fun read. I was just a little sorry when Alice Leonhardt left the series, since, for all of her flaws, she was like Steinbeck compared to Mary Newhall Anderson.
The only other significant happening in this book is that this the first time Cindy steps onto Tall Oaks. She's not impressed, since most of the grooms quit, leaving the horses standing in filthy stalls for days.
Oh yeah -- I think Melanie meets Jazz here. Kevin as a girlfriend named Lindsey.
We have a decent cover here, with the usual lack of proper jockeys' headgear and goggles, but we also get the wrong color for Image. She's supposed to be black, an extremely rare color in Thoroughbreds, but here she looks like an iron grey. Perhaps the artist ran out of black?
Other horses that appear in this book include Pirate, Dazzle, Fast Gun, Flashy Miss, Thunder Bones, Rhapsody, Crystal (who cost half a million and sired by real racehorse and superstud Key to the Mint, who died in 1996, which makes you wonder what year this book is supposedly set in) and Court Jester, the million dollar useless yearling that tipped Tall Oaks into bankruptcy.
As the title suggests, this book is about finally getting the cantankerous Perfect Image to her first race, just before she turns three. Originally, there had been no plans to race her at two. But, things have all gone to shit at Tall Oaks, since the owner (and Images' owner) went bankrupt. She can only keep two horses -- Gratis and Khan. Unless Image wins a race, she has to be sold.
The sudden bankruptcy of the once thriving Tall Oaks was actually one of the more realistic plot lines in the entire series. Stables can come and go faster than their horses. Such a stable comes to mind was that of MC Hammer's, or technically his father's stable. In one year, 1991, they had Kentucky Oaks winner Lite Light. The next year, he had the Fountain of Youth and and third-place Derby and Travers competitor Dance Floor. In 1996, MC Hammer was bankrupt, and all the horses were sold.
And then there's Calumet Farms, which WAS American Thoroughbred racing for decades, but mismanagement caused it to crumble, go bankrupt, and be sold. It was sold again, I don't know how many times. The new Calumet is far, far different from the old.
Anyway, the book focused on Melanie trying to train Image, and worked well for a fun read. I was just a little sorry when Alice Leonhardt left the series, since, for all of her flaws, she was like Steinbeck compared to Mary Newhall Anderson.
The only other significant happening in this book is that this the first time Cindy steps onto Tall Oaks. She's not impressed, since most of the grooms quit, leaving the horses standing in filthy stalls for days.
Oh yeah -- I think Melanie meets Jazz here. Kevin as a girlfriend named Lindsey.
We have a decent cover here, with the usual lack of proper jockeys' headgear and goggles, but we also get the wrong color for Image. She's supposed to be black, an extremely rare color in Thoroughbreds, but here she looks like an iron grey. Perhaps the artist ran out of black?
Other horses that appear in this book include Pirate, Dazzle, Fast Gun, Flashy Miss, Thunder Bones, Rhapsody, Crystal (who cost half a million and sired by real racehorse and superstud Key to the Mint, who died in 1996, which makes you wonder what year this book is supposedly set in) and Court Jester, the million dollar useless yearling that tipped Tall Oaks into bankruptcy.
September 28, 2015
Image konstrar fortfarande men Melanie börjar få henne under kontroll. Men Fredericka, ägaren, börjar inse att Image är ett litet problem och ger Melanie ett ultimatum. Image måste vinna nästa lopp som hon ställer upp i, annars kommer hon bli tvungen att sälja Image som avelssto åt Brad. Melanie har allt att förlora nu, hon måste strida för sin häst!
Otroligt spännande bok, och man satt på nålar ett tag! Säger inget mer :)
www.enradtill.blogg.se
Otroligt spännande bok, och man satt på nålar ett tag! Säger inget mer :)
www.enradtill.blogg.se
November 3, 2014
Reread.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews