The Washington times., 1938-03-19


be staying a few months after
valeting a carload of horses that
had been cc~lpaigning on the
Eastern tracks.
Ranch belonged to Jackson Bill
ings, the Wall Street fellow, who
used it a couple of times a year
and the rest of the time left it
to his manager, Jack Shafter. to
run. First week I was around
Shafter came back from Calltor-
MIA, where he'd been with the
wife and youngster. Gil Shafter
was a little shaver of IL or 13
then, a wiry young gamecocK.
He came out to the barn early
the day after the family got back
and perched himself on the corral
fence while was exercising some
yearlings.
Know what I'm gonna be when
I grow up?" Gil announced after
we had got acquainted. "A Jockey,
that's what"
"Oh, yeah?" I remarked, not
much interested. "a Jockey, eh?"
Eyes, sir. Say, I met Jimmy
Bledsoe down at the racetrack."
HIS AMBITION
"You did, did you?"
"Yes, I did, and some day I'm
gonna ride horses in stake races
Just like he does. Yes, sir. Pop
took me to the Jockeys room. Gee,
its swell"
well. Gill" 1 said, IF you're
aiming to go into any business,
there's no use shooting anywhere
except at the top. Jimmy Bledsoe
Is about as keen a rider :"
Say, do you know Jimmy 5led'
soe?"
Do I know Jimmy Bledsoe?
Didn't I practically wet-nurse the
boy from the time his old man
got kicked by a -tallion dowI in
the bluegrass? Well, sir, something
in the eagerness of little Gil sort
Of drew me to him"
Gil" I said, do you really
want to be rider?"
DO 1? Oh, boy!"
GOES INTO TRAINING
After that the boy and were
pals, I told him that the thing
he'd have to do first off would be
to harden the muscles Of his wrists
and forearms until they were
toughter than steel.
A prancing thoroughbred that's
Farin' to go takes some handling.
So he started. He got his pop to
set up a horizontal bar out by the
barn and he went to work on it.
He exercised hours every day.
WORKING HARD
I had to go back East come fall
but by the time left little Gil was
doing his stint every morning run
ming some of the Billings horses
around the quarter-mile oval on
the ranch.
1t was 18 months or so before
! got back to Wyoming. Mean
while, I ran into Jack Shafter
here and there and I always in
quired about the kid.
Looks like I started something
the day I took the boy into the
Jockey quarters at Santa Anita
and introduced him to Jimmy
Bledsoe," said the old man. You
never saw a youngSter work so
hard in your life.
When next saw Gil he had
taken on a little weight, not too
much, and he was barbed wire on
two legs, hard and brown and
tough. observed with approval
that stable dirt was incrusted un-
der his fingernails like it usually
gets with a boy that lives with
horses.
"How's it go?" I asked Gil.
"See what you think" he re-
torted. Watch me breeze a half
with Black Molly"
.e wasn't perfect, far from it. But
he was good. What I liked about
OIlO way 1lC I1d11OICu 11utISC11 Wd0
the impression you got that when
he was riding he was really a part
Of his mount.
GETS A JOB
I'm gonna ask Mr.. Billings for
O job" he announced.
And I'll sure say a word for
you, Gil, if I get chance"
He got the job, and from then
on for the next season or two was
Just one of a horde of exercise
boys, you see cluttering up any
rack track.
Happened I was around Nara
gansett and New Orleans, the New
York tracks and so on and didn't
see much of Gil. But didn't want
to miss the Handicap that year, so