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kathymartin9237

kathymartin9237

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

Battleship: A Daring Heiress, a Teenage Jockey, and America's Horse - Dorothy Ours BATTLESHIP is filled with detail and is a fascinating look at life in the 1930s especially in the horse country of the East Coast. It tells the story of Marion duPont Somerville Scott who was a fascinating woman who routinely listed herself as a home maker on her travels but who was a horse breeder and horse trainer who, along with her brother Will, did much to set the landscape for American horse racing. It is also the story of a horse. Battleship is the descendant of Man o'War who made his mark by winning the Grand National at Aintree. He was an unlikely winner because of his small size and his advanced age but he was a spectacular horse. Finally, it is the story of the jockey - Bruce Hobbs - who rode Battleship in his historic victory. We meet him as a child and watch him grow as a rider under the tutelage of his horse trainer father Reg. The picture of the riding and racing scene in England between the wars was well described. The book is filled with detail and, because of Marion's second marriage to actor Randolph Scott, Hollywood celebrities. It is also filled with other horse loving socialites who were friends of Marion. I liked the details about her friendship with Noel Laing and Carroll Bassett.Readers with an interest in horseracing, the 1930s, or the lives of the rich and famous will enjoy this well-researched and documented story.