A wonderful novel about an extraordinary real-life racehorse - and so much more

Horse by Geraldine Brooks
£18.99, published by Little, Brown Book Group

This historical novel begins with the simple discovery of a discarded painting and from this point Pulitzer Prize winner Geraldine Brooks carefully intertwines three stories focused on a legendary racehorse, one "so handsome that the best equestrian artists vied to paint him".

We are first introduced to Theo, a Nigerian-American art historian with an interest in equines and the antebellum south who stumbles across an oil painting of a white-socked horse in Washington DC. The horse in question is Lexington, one of racing's most prolific sires.

Set in 2019, the modern-day narrative grows from Theo's romantic relationship with Jess, a Smithsonian scientist. While Theo attempts to uncover the true history of unsung black horsemen, Jess studies Lexington's bones after they are recovered from a dusty, old attic.

Brooks moves seamlessly between different times and places, and another strand of the novel is set in 1950s New York. It follows an edgy gallery owner called Martha Jackson, who becomes similarly obsessed with a painting of Lexington with mysterious provenance.

The story following Lexington's racing career is the driving force of the novel, which flicks between his record-breaking career on the track and afterlife in art. The link is provided by an itinerant young artist who makes his living painting racehorses in 1850s Kentucky.

A member of the racing press, the artist socialises with mega-rich owners (and slave owners) but is more comfortable with Jarret, the enslaved young groom who forms a bond with Lexington as a foal that carries the horse to record-setting wins across the south. His is a turbulent yet important tale, highlighting the too often forgotten contribution of black horsemen to the burgeoning US racing industry.

The attention to historical details is impressive, but what stands out most is the characterisation of Jarret. When Lexington is sold, Jarret is sold with him and, while the horse goes from strength to strength, so too does his groom. They are viewed as property and, while it is not enough to earn his freedom, Jarret develops as an individual.

This enables him to skirt around the atrocities faced by other slaves for the duration of the novel but, after Lexington is sold, there is a brief period when Jarret finds himself picking cotton at a plantation, which shows how easily his life as a groom could be taken from him.

The racecourse scenes are particularly evocative and the glamour of carriages arriving with well-dressed ladies and old-fashioned wagers between country gentlemen is juxtaposed against the cut and thrust of the races in which Lexington's unrivalled power is well conveyed.

While taking a degree of creative license, Brooks stays fairly true to the historical detail. Lexington was known as the best racehorse of his day and was retired due to poor eyesight before being crowned top sire in the US 16 times. His famous offspring include Preakness.

The novel is far from reliant on racing, though, and peaks with the outbreak of the civil war. On one perilous night, Jarret is forced to make gut-wrenching decisions to survive and protect Lexington.

This imaginative work of fiction is wonderfully written and skilfully structured. The characters are easy to connect with too, although Martha, Theo and Jess might have been developed a bit more, and the overall narrative is impactful and engages the reader throughout.

Yes, this is a novel about a legendary racehorse, but it offers much more than that. It highlights the injustice of slavery, emphasises the power of art and ends with a harsh reminder of the inequality that still exists more than 100 years after Jarret's extraordinary life story.

Read more reviews here

A welcome addition on racing history to any racegoer's collection

Masterful work from some of racing's most expert experts (sorry, Mr Gove)

The jumps season is coming! Pick up your copy of The Big Jump Off, packed with everything you need to get you excited for the 2022-23 National Hunt season. Free in the Racing Post on Monday, October 17, it's got 72 pages of unbeatable content including ante-post tips, guest columnists, divisional analysis and much more