The Black Stallion's Blood Bay Colt by Walter Farley

He is, himself, a jockey, and while jockeys in general want nothing to do with harness racers, to whom they refer as “tail-sitters,” he is intrigued and offers his assistance to Tom and George. He has heard a lot of good things about the now three-year-old colt. Alec, the current owner of the Black, Bonfire’s sire, has come to see how Bonfire is doing. They are experiencing money problems once again and desperately need Bonfire to race well - and to get prepared to race at and win the Hambletonian, the most famous harness race of them all, which is only a couple of weeks away.Įnter Alec Ramsey, stage left. Jimmy’s good friend, George, is there to be Jimmy’s surrogate, since he is not at one hundred percent, and to help Tom care for Bonfire and get him prepared to race. Jimmy Creech, Bonfire’s owner, is recovering from stomach problems and the ulcer surgery he had in The Black Stallion’s Blood Bay Colt, but he is still pretty sick. The Black Stallion’s Sulky Colt opens with Tom Messenger still on as the driver and trainer of Bonfire. “Sulky” does not refer to the temperament of Bonfire, but rather to the type of cart that he and other harness-racing horses pull.

As much as I liked The Black Stallion’s Sulky Colt, at first it took a little getting used to the shift from having Tom Messenger, George, and Jimmy Creech around as much as they were in The Black Stallion’s Blood Bay Colt. Alec and Henry were both written about by Farley in the original The Black Stallion and others in the series, which come before his novels about Bonfire. All of the major characters from Farley’s previous book, The Black Stallion’s Blood Bay Colt, are here once again, with the addition of two people in particular: Alec Ramsey and Henry Dailey, who take over as the two main characters. Bonfire’s racing exploits continue in The Black Stallion’s Sulky Colt by Walter Farley.

The Black Stallion's Blood Bay Colt by Walter Farley