Battleship: A Daring Heiress, a Teenage Jockey, and America's Horse

Battleship: A Daring Heiress, a Teenage Jockey, and America's Horse by Ours, Dorothy. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9780312641856.

The moving story of a tough little horse, a gifted boy, and a woman ahead of her time. The youngest jockey, the smallest horse, and an unconventional heiress who disliked publicizing herself. Together, near Liverpool, England, they made a leap of faith on a spring day in 1938: overriding the jockeys father, trusting the boy and the horse that the British nicknamed the "American pony" to handle a race course that newspapers called "Suicide Lane." There, Battleship might become the first American racer to win Englands monumental, century-old Grand National steeplechase. His rider, Great Britains Bruce Hobbs, was only 17 years old. Hobbs started life with an advantage: his father, Reginald, was a superb professional horseman. But Reg Hobbs also made extreme demands, putting Bruce in situations that horrified the boys mother and sometimes terrified the child. Bruce had to decide just how brave he could stand to be. On the other side of the Atlantic, the enigmatic Marion duPont grew up at the estate now known as James Madisons Montpelier―the refuge of Americas "Father of the Constitution." Rejecting her chance to be a debutante, denied a corporate role because of her gender, Marion chose a pursuit where horses spoke for her. Taking on the worlds toughest race, she would leave her film star husband, Randolph Scott, a continent away and be pulled beyond her own control. With its reach from Lindberghs transatlantic flight to Cary Grants Hollywood, Battleship is an epic tale of testing your true worth.