Excerpt from my book, Racing With My Shadow
On opening day at Monmouth Park, I won the second race.
It felt great. My riding had drastically improved from the previous summer here, when I began as a jockey; I was a New York rider now, and it showed.
I wasn’t the only seasoned apprentice to come to Monmouth Park. David Ashcroft, the leading apprentice in Florida, was also here.
My first conversation with the 17-year-old apprentice was out by the pool next to the jocks’ room. I watched him dive off the low board and swim to the side.
I caught him glancing over at me to see if I was watching. Now, he was headed for the high diving board. He was cute. He had blonde hair and freckles.
David dove into the pool again. And again. Over and over he dove, showing off all his different moves. As he climbed out of the pool, I called over to him.“Where are you from?”
He grinned. “New Mexico.”
I liked his accent. He sounded like a cowboy.
David picked up his towel and sidled over toward me. He was shivering. “Whew! That water’s coooold. Wonder if they’ll ever put the heat on.”
I smiled and shrugged.
David sat down on the lounge chair next to me. He said, “I read about you winning all those races in New York when I was down in Florida. When I read that you were coming here, I wondered if you rode as good as they said. I watched you win the second race. You ride good for a girl.”
“Thanks. I read about you, too, in the Racing Form. You did good in Florida. You like it there?”
“I love Florida.”
My first instincts about David were good. There was nothing phony about him. I didn’t feel threatened by him, nor did I feel doubtful of myself as we talked. We were both jockeys, and that was safe.
As we discussed our riding careers, I felt something more going on between us. I wasn’t sure what it was, but it felt different. It didn’t feel threatening or bad.
My heart was going a little faster as he spoke, especially when he smiled at me. David seemed shy, and yet sure of himself at the same time. I enjoyed listening to him.
We talked about our career plans. David was going back to Florida when the New Jersey tracks closed for the winter.
“Well,” I said, “Hopefully, I plan to ride in New York again this winter. I love riding there.”
“I hate New York,” David said with a frown. Then his expression changed. He grinned, his green eyes sparkling mischievously. “No, you won’t find me ridin’ there ’cause I’m just an ole country boy.”
And with that he stood up, rolled his eyes, and fell backward into the pool.
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2 replies on “…from Chapter 29: David, Just An Ole Country Boy”
I was galloping horses for PG Johnson in Ocala when David came to work for us on recommendation of the farm trainer. He was light and breezed everything. His brother Curtis was good rider on the Maryland circuit. PG turned David loose in NY on Water Malone. He tried to control David’s wins to maximize his bug. Alas , David got impatient at his limited opportunities,went off to Maryland,got going good.Then got hurt at Calder in Fla. Such a sad shame. Wide eyed squeaky clean nice kid.
David did very well in Florida before coming up to Monmouth Park in the summer of 1980, where we met. I don’t believe he rode in Maryland. He did start with PG Johnson! David worked on a farm in Ocala for Bob Melton, maybe, before you met him. I never met Curtis, but heard he was a good rider.