I kept saying to him, “It’s all right. It’s all right.” Knowing it wasn’t all right.
The X-rays showed nothing. The vets began to build hope, one by one. And then the one. You could see it in their eyes, their fingers, their movements, their tones. A few more images. The air coming out of the place with each snap and each image.
A lot of words. A lot of explanation. I began to tune them out.
“You know where I’m going with this…”
Yeah, I knew. I know.
Broken shoulder.
Ashley Randall gave him a hug. I gave him a hug and a kiss on his forehead. We loaded up an empty van and drove silently back to the track.
I feel responsible. I let him down. He never let us down. An overachiever, all racehorse, all go, all the time. Four wins this year. And gone far too soon.
Goodbye Jimmy Dan.
