THE BOUNTY OF ILLUSIONIST

A debut memoir recounts the joys and anxieties of caring for a champion racehorse.

Over the course of her illustrious five-year career, Illusionist, a “classy bay mare” known to her owners as “Lusi,” had 140 starts in harness racing and earned over $1 million. Dave, the author’s husband, owned the horse since she was 3 years old. The book recounts the Ontario couple’s time spent at the track and the period following Lusi’s retirement from racing, when she became a broodmare. The timeline of the memoir is cleverly fractured, interspersing memories of Lusi’s race-day successes with her later battle to survive following a difficult C-section that left her and her new foal, Albert, fighting against tough odds. Lumsden’s former work in clinical practice allows her to describe each medical development in matter-of-fact detail while simultaneously relaying her worries as a compassionate caretaker. Candid in tenor, this work covers every aspect of Ontario’s standard-bred horse racing industry, discussing the “stress-free” methods adopted in training, relationships with co-owners, finances, and emotional strains. The author drip-feeds details of Lusi’s and Albert’s progress as the story develops, which makes for compelling reading as the audience roots for their recovery. Lumsden’s no-nonsense reporting of facts creates a sense of immediacy: “Time was of the essence. Intestinal strangulation and twisting meant a risk of bowel death and surgical removal.” This approach can also prove gruesome: “Blood-soaked gauze sheets and stainless-steel objects surrounding the pus-filled centre of the infection.” Her blunt delivery is tempered by moments of tender introspection, as when the author depicts an emotional breaking point: “I cried for the horses’ lives I could not control. I cried for my husband, who had done all he possibly could.” Lumsden also demonstrates an endearing descriptive style, particularly in her effortless use of similes—at one point, she describes a foal following its mother “like the tail of a kite.” A slight criticism would be that those unfamiliar with harness racing would have benefitted from an introduction that describes the sport. Illustrated with photographs from various sources throughout, this keenly observed memoir offers an insider view that will be of particular delight to fans of Illusionist.

A powerfully compelling and moving story of a remarkable racehorse.