Chapter 12

 CHAPTER 12  

 Picargo  

 

 Racing is full of hard‑luck stories, and few remind punters more clearly that certainty is always fragile.   

 Morphettville horseman Bill Smart earned punters’ respect with a small stable built on quality rather than quantity. When Smart’s money came for one of his runners, the punters followed.  

 

 Smart knew he had a good horse, one that turned heads in morning work on the city track. Riders, trainers, and rival stable staff all found themselves stealing glances toward the young horse from stall number nine.  

 

 Smart’s stablehands were as tight-lipped as he was whenever anyone asked about the horse’s breeding. Whether they knew the details or not, he was simply referred to as number nine.  

 

 As the debut approached, old Bill Smart could no longer keep the name quiet: Picargo.  

 

 Smart had picked out a routine maiden at Murray Bridge to begin the horse’s career. He had delayed revealing the name for as long as possible, but once the markets had opened, the secret was out.