Nearctic
Back when Val d’Argent became a permanent fixture in our lives I was writing for Gallop, the popular weekly Japanese horse racing and breeding magazine with a million-plus readers. My series, titled Supreme, focused on stories of prominent racehorses and their families. It was a marvelous assignment and I shall be forever grateful to editor-in-chief, Kunio Serizawa and my translator, Jiro Ohara.
When we sent the van to bring Val d’Argent back to the farm I was working on the story of the great Nijinsky for my Japanese audience. Since I had written Northern Dancer: the legend and his legacy, I obviously knew a lot about Nijinsky’s sire, Northern Dancer. However, Nijinsky’s grandsire, Nearctic, proved an enigma. One, I reasoned, could easily be solved. I was wrong.
Before long I began to understand that the old mystery and my young, crazed horse were somehow connected. Still finding the truth about Nearctic proved the most difficult assignment of my career. It was also the most rewarding.
To conclude there were those who did not want this story told, after the publication of Dark Horse: unraveling the mystery of Nearctic, I received hate mail. Unsigned, of course…
…. to be continued