This chapter talks about the spring of 2020 when Mighty Heart came back to Woodbine as a 3-year-old from New Orleans. He had had two less-than-stellar races there, racing erratically and bearing out. He had a new groom at Woodbine, Siobhan Brown. COVID-19 had set in and racing was delayed.

A Mighty Ride

Soft brush in hand, Siobhan Brown makes short strokes starting behind Mighty Heart’s ears, down the colt’s neck to his shoulder. Long passes of her brush begin at the horse’s withers, down his back and his powerful hindquarters. It is just after 5:30 a.m., and Brown has already been at work at the Josie Carroll barn for over an hour. Brown likes to get an early start in getting the horses she grooms for trainer Josie Carroll ready for training, but ‘Willie,’ the nickname given to him by Jennifer and Brown’s friend and fellow groom, Linda Davis, is still snoozing. Most days, Brown will just work around a prone Mighty Heart, cleaning his stall while he continues to nap.

Once Mighty Heart is up and ready to go, exercise rider Des McMahon puts on the colt’s saddle and bridle and heads out to the track for the morning gallop. Brown grabs the colt’s feed tub and water bucket for a quick rinse. The colt’s stall will be fluffed up with fresh bedding of pine shavings and his hay net plumped with fresh fodder.

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