MAGICAL ALBERT

This second volume of a memoir focuses on a champion horse’s son and his bumpy path to the harness racing oval.

After a successful harness racing career, 8-year-old Illusionist, called Lusi by Lumsden’s family, retired in 2009 to become a broodmare. In January 2014, she had already given birth to two fillies. Now, she was carrying her first colt. Two weeks before her due date, Lusi ran into trouble, and Magical Albert was delivered prematurely by cesarean section. The veterinarian asked Lumsden and her husband, Dave, which one they wanted him to save, the mare or the foal. Dave told him Lusi came first but to try to save both. Magical Albert spent almost two weeks on a ventilator and months lapping up a special formula. But mother and son both survived and thrived. Over the years, inspired by Dave’s passion, the Canadian couple had been buying, racing, and selling horses. Lusi was different: They knew they would always keep her. Lumsden’s memoir/primer on standard-bred harness racing traces the couple’s transformation from horse owners to horse parents. The growing herd became part of their family. “Mingling with horses had never come naturally to me,” the author writes. “Despite ten years of practice, I wasn’t comfortable around the great beasts.” The birth of Magical Albert changed that: “Face to face, Albert and I became locked in a silent, intimate exchange. The kindness in the depths of his expressive gaze signalled the beginning of a friendship.” Lumsden felt a shift in her “perspective on life and…approach to all major decisions.” A scientist by profession and inclination, she opened herself up to the acceptance of the unpredictable, becoming an author along the way. The personal story is intriguing, but the horses are what really shine in this memoir—their individual personalities, quirks, and tenderness. Some of Lumsden’s most riveting passages give moment-by-moment details of key races. Readers can feel the excitement of Magical Albert’s ultimate commitment to victory: “Suddenly, Magical Albert seemed to notice the competition. Our boy dug in at the rail and stretched his neck at the finish line.”

Eloquent and informative; will especially appeal to horse lovers and racing fans.