IPPY Award Bronze Medalist for Juvenile FictionBenjamin Franklin Award Finalist for Young Readers Fiction (8-12)Winner of Mom's Choice Gold MedalKirkus 2012 Best of Indie Selection Written from the horse's point of view and filled with authentic details, this young adult novel chronicles the life of a well-bred Thoroughbred racehorse destined for greatness. After a promising--and winning--start on the path to the Triple Crown, a series of bad-luck events end Raja's racing career, and he finds himself pulled into the random world of off-the-track Thoroughbreds. His odyssey takes him from the breeding farms of Ocala, Florida, to the stakes races on the Kentucky Derby trail; from competing as a show jumper on the "A" show circuit to becoming a member of the New York City Mounted Police and witnessing the horrors of the livestock auction. Finally, Raja finds himself in a stable belonging to a retired steeplechase jockey and his 16-year-old niece, where he finally has a chance to realize his destiny.