Original subtitles

CALE: There used to be horses in that barn.

At least, that's what my grandfather says.

We're probably the only horse farm in Lexington, Kentucky,

that doesn't have one horse.

Not one.

BEN: It might rain.

Pat said it'd be a good day for me to come down to the diner.

BEN: Yeah, well...

LILLY: Just be breakfast and lunch, three days a week.

BEN: So if you're working down at the diner,

she comes home from school to nobody, or what?

Well, Pop lives right next door.

I mean, I know you two don't talk much,

but he and Cale get along real well...

And... And what?

You know you've been promising her for months

that you would take her to work with you.

And I will. I will, Lil, but not today, honey. I got a big race.

LILLY: Well, what am I supposed to tell her?

BEN: I don't know, you tell her I was running late

and I just didn't have time to wait for her.

You tell her.

Honey, I'm going to work.

All right, get in. I don't wanna be late.

There you go.

Fifty-eight and one.

All right, send Sonya. Don't let her out,

I just wanna watch her action.

I like him.,

Her.

I like her too.

BALON: Can I get a bucket of multigrain in stall number three, please?

Good morning, sir. Good morning.

Balon, you remember Cale?

Sure. She doesn't come around anymore.

Wow, honey, you've gotten so big.

Senorita, buenos dias.

BEN: Eddie, let's take a look at Goliath's Boy.

That means good morning. Morning.

He's got legs like steel. Take him in.

Whoa, whoa, whoa! What do you got there? You got some candy?

BALON: Hey, Sonya. There you go, Sonya.

Oh, yeah. That's Sonya.

She likes candy.

Sonya likes Twizzlers? Yeah.

Well, who's this?

Got a new jockey?

Manny, this is my daughter Cale.

Oh, hey.

Manolin Vallarta.

The greatest jockey in the world.

Fattest jockey in the world.

Fat? Chacho, I'm too tall to race.

Look at you, man. Look at these clothes. This is a barn, not a disco.

Ooh!

He likes the way I dress.

Now, you see your daddy?

You see how he's feeling the legs? You see that?

Yeah, well, we just wanna make sure the horse is sound and healthy.

Your daddy always say you listen to a horse, he'll tell you how he feels.

Okay. Thanks, Mark.

Okay, come on.

ANNOUNCER: We are calling for trainer Gary Mandela.

Gary Mandela, please contact the office room.

BEN: Oh, boy, I'll tell you, I don't know.

The leg feels fine, but she keeps, she keeps jumping at that.

She wants to get back in her stall.

She never does this, ever. Is she gonna race today?

Of course she's gonna race today.

Hello, Mr. Palmer.

Nice to see you. Wasn't sure you were coming today.

I don't believe I've ever met...

Prince Tariq Abal.

Well, well, Sonya is just as pretty as she is fast.

Sir, I'll meet you at our box after I talk with my staff.

All right, what's the story here?

Well, she's acting funny

and some heat in that right front this morning.

I'm not sure she wants to run today.

I don't feel any heat in that leg, what'd the vet say?

Well, the vet and the paddock judge, both took at a look at her,

they passed her as fine, but...

Well, good. That's all that matters.

Sir, I'm just saying I don't think she should go today.

Prince Tariq flew his personal 737 8,000 miles for what?

I don't know, to win the Jansen Handicap, I guess.

To beat his brother Sadir.

Tariq only flies in when he can see one of his horses

run against one of his brother's horses.

Palmer, we're messing with a champion two-year-old here

who's won her first two races this year.

Well, this'll make three.

She's a little star, no doubt about it.

She's a lot more than a star, Everett.

Look, I'm just listening to the horse.

She's telling me she could do better with some rest.

Well, you'd do better by listening to me.

Look, she's a nice horse.

But I've spent millions of dollars

developing a stable of horses for Prince Tariq

so that he can beat his brother.

Now, I know you got big plans,

but just do your job.

Okay?

Daily maintenance,

overseeing the workouts, your job.

Picking her races, my job.

Are we good?

Yeah, we're good. Good.

She's the morning-line favorite.

Let's go.

Tell one of the Mexicans walk her around to settle her.

Okay, Mark.

You heard the boss. Let's go.

ANNOUNCER: The Jansen Handicap now coming onto the track.

In at number two, Ocean Blend carrying two pounds over weight...

You own a horse, sweetie?

This is just for owners.

Cale. Cale.

Hey! Hey!

See her, honey? Look at that. Number five, right there.

That's our girl.

CALE: Think she'll win?

I got $10 that says she's going to win. Whoo!

ANNOUNCER: From the Wishman Stables, here's Rapid Cat.

Dark Fire on one of the outside gates.

Here we go, baby.

ANNOUNCER: And away they go.

Easy. Nice and easy now.

MANNY: Yeah, yeah, she's fourth! Come on, sweetheart.

Yeah. Go, Sonya!

Well, maybe this is your day, honey. Come on.

Bring it home, baby.

Come on, Sonya.

Oh, Manny.

Hold her down, man. It's okay. I got it here.

VET: Cannon bone. Look, I'm sorry, Ben, we got to put her down.

She all right?

Manolin, Eddie... Whoa!

Easy, girl. Easy. Come on. It's okay.

Not here, not here. Take her back to her stall, but not here.

Come on. BEN: Attagirl.

Ben, I can't put her down until you sign this.

No, Dan, I want to get some X-rays taken.

Cale, come here. Come on. Stay out of the way.

What's the point, Ben? She's finished.

Easy!

I do not believe this. I told him.

What? What'd you tell me?

I warned you she wasn't right.

You put the saddle on her. What? Wait a minute.

Look, I understand, it's sad when these things happen in the racing business.

Sad? Yeah, sad.

This is an athlete.

Well, then you just knowingly killed a $750,000 athlete.

Fellas, we need to make a move here.

PALMER: Tell me. It's her cannon bone, Mr. Palmer.

You pushed her. She'd have run in the Breeders' Cup. She was special.

Well, now she got a broken leg and it's over, so let it go.

You don't care about anybody, do you? Horses or people.

Well, in fact, I do, Ben.

That's why I'm giving you the opportunity to find a new job.

You firing me? That's right.

And you can take your Mexicans with you.

They're men, Palmer. They got names.

You owe me money.

You'll get your check first of the month like everybody else.

No, you pay me now. $9,000 for the last three months.

Here's six.

Six. Take it or leave it.

I'll leave it. We agreed on nine, you're three short.

You wait for a check. I'm not waiting for a check...

For God's sake, would you please put that horse down!

BEN: Dan, Dan, Dan, wait.

I'll take the 6,000 and the horse.

$6,000 and a dead horse and I never have to hear from you again?

That's right. PALMER: Take your money.

Sedate her, Dan. Put her down heavy for the night.

PALMER: It'll cost you $400 just to dispose of her body.

BEN: Balon, hook up a trailer, would you?

You've got a hard head, Ben, just like your old man.

Cale, go on out to the truck.

Living in that horse farm with no horses.

Balon... Manny, take her out to the truck, please. PALMER: Delusional.

It's like a disease with you Cranes.

PALMER: Gotta get out of here before it rubs off on you.

BEN: Manny. Yeah.

Go get the old man. Tell him it's an emergency.

All right, Balon, need the heavy winch

and the tow and easy sling to get her in this stall.

BALON: Okay, where's that? BEN: It's in the back stall there.

BALON: Oh, okay, I got it.

Where have you been? God, I've been so worried. Honey.

What's going on? I had a horse go down.

Oh, my God.

Need anything else, boss? Yeah, give Balon a hand back there, will you?

BALON: Manny? Balon.

POP: What can you geniuses be calling an emergency at night in the rain?

This about a horse?

Good night.

I never ask you for anything.

That's right.

I haven't heard from you in months.

That's why your business is so great.

I got a filly in there with a broken cannon bone, Pop.

Thoroughbred?

Racer?

Put her down.

You had a horse with a shattered cannon bone once.

You harnessed it up somehow so it couldn't move,

the leg healed and that horse was fine.

That was a long time ago.

You were just a little boy, Benjamin.

But I remember it. It worked.

He was an old lead pony.

Healed just enough to walk around for a few more years

before I finally put him down.

Which is what you'd do if you had any sense at all.

Let's get her in the stall.

Cale.

I'm going to need to help them, Mom.

Cale, I'm going to spend the night with her.

You go on inside with mom now.

All right. BALON: Right up there.

Yep, get up on higher. All right, Manny?

BEN: You get up to the big winch? BALON: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Let's hook it up. Come on.

DOCTOR: Was it a hard fall?

Hard enough.

She didn't get bumped or anything. She just went down.

DOCTOR: That's the one from the track. And my X-rays confirm it.

It's a spiral fracture of the cannon bone.

BEN: But it is non-displaced.

She'll never race again?

No, honey. But she might walk again.

There's a chance. It's up to her.

Try and keep her calm. Stable rest.

That cast I put on her should hold.

We're gonna go really easy on her, Doc.

DOCTOR: Let's stay close on this. BEN: You got it.

All right, let's pull all the harness stuff.

Put the straps, pulley in the tack room.

Ben, when Mr. Palmer fired you, us yesterday, well...

Well, we all don't have no jobs.

I'm sorry, guys. I forgot. Here.

There's 1,000 each.

What's wrong?

Well, we train racehorses, right?

And she's not going to race no more, so...

So why we're gonna hang around to help you get a broken racehorse to walk?

You know who this horse was sired by?

Dreamcatcher.

You know who that was?

Pop, who was Dreamcatcher?

Won the Dubai World Cup in '96.

Won seven of 11 graded stakes and over three million dollars.

We get her healed enough to breed her to a decent stud,

sell that yearling for... I don't know, maybe...

If it's a colt with good confirmation, maybe 300.

BEN: $300,000.

You two be interested in a piece of $300,000?

MANNY: Yeah.

How about it, Pop?

BALON: Okay, looks good to me.

All done.

BEN: Take it up.

Got it?

Good girl, good Sonya.

MANNY: Easy, easy, girl.

Easy, girl.

Come on.

One, two, three.

KID: Bye, Cale!

One, two, three!

Okay, that's good. That's good, okay.

BALON: She's great.

MANNY: She can't breathe? BALON: She's okay.

Whoa, whoa, whoa! You all right?

Fine. Huh? You okay?

She kick you?

BALON: Come on. It's okay, honey.

How is she?

She's okay.

What were you doing? She's not a pet, Cale.

She's what I do for work now, so you're gonna have to leave her be, all right?

CALE: Sorry.

You sure you're all right?

Fine.

LILLY: Here you go. Thank you.

You make all that money and get to eat as much pie as you want?

Yeah, you can't find a better job.

Manny's gonna take me to watch him ride a racehorse.

And then tonight, I'm gonna muck out Sonya's stall.

I'm thinking about painting it.

Nice to have a horse, huh?

Especially after dad said,

"There will never be another horse on this farm as long as I live."

Did Pop tell you that?

Don't you listen to everything Pop says.

There's two sides to every story.

Pop said dad's the best horseman.

Says he has a gift.

Well, that's true.

We all know that's true.

CALE: Hey.

Hello.

Whoa, Zephyr. Whoa, boy.

Thanks, Mike.

What'd you think about that? That was fast.

Nice boots.

Ah! Thank you.

I exercise a couple of horses for a few owners.

Pretty cool, huh? Yeah.

You ever ride in races?

Couple of times I did.

But no more.

Why?

Uh...

I have bad dreams.

Three years ago I got my first real race.

I ran fifth.

What was the name of the horse?

Downtown Swing.

It was amazing.

Did you ever ride him again?

Yeah. In our second race, I was flying into that first turn.

And then I looked under my arm to see if I was clear on the rail.

When I looked back up, there was a horse swerving into me.

My left foot came out of the iron, I fell to the ground

and I got run over by three horses.

Broke both shoulders, sternum,

four ribs, punctured a lung.

You never raced again.

You know, at night, when I fall asleep,

I dream I'm in a big race on a very fast horse.

And I look to my left foot, it slips out of the iron and I begin to fall.

But before I hit the ground, I wake up.

But you still exercise racehorses.

Yeah. Just...

It's just me and the horse

alone on the track.

Free. No one to bother us.

It's much better that way.

I'm sorry about your nightmares, Manny.

It's okay.

It's God's way of telling me no more racing.

Good night.

From mom.

I'm good. Just put it down there.

Cale?

Will you grab that roll of wire underneath the fence there?

Yeah.

You can just hang on to it there. Okay.

Pop said this farm used to be beautiful.

This farm was beautiful.

Two hundred acres. One of the nicest in Versailles.

See all that over there? Yeah.

Well, that was ours.

Pop's owned some really nice race mares.

Big, beautiful female horses.

Waveland, Blue Jezebel and Miss Moffet.

That's right.

Pop said he built those stalls and filled them with horses.

Yeah, he made a good living selling yearlings.

But you wanted to keep the yearlings and race them, right?

Well, it got kind of hard

watching horses born on this farm

go on to win big races for somebody else.

So you got Pop to keep some of the yearlings so you could train, race them.

You don't just keep them, Cale. They're not free.

I'm going to brush down Sonya.

Cale Crane.

Yes, ma'am?

Are you working on your creative writing assignment?

Yes, ma'am.

What's your story about?

It's about a king and his castle

and a magic horse.

BEN: Easy.

Bye.

She can stand on it. Not for long, but she can stand on it.

I'll run a couple more tests in the morning, Ben,

but I don't see any reason she can't breed. She looks good.

You helped her, Cale. She's gonna have a baby. Yeah!

I'll see you Friday.

Well, I'm gonna call in a favor.

Go, Cale.

Go.

So where are you going?

Gonna go see an old friend.

About a stud for Sonya?

Yeah. About a stud.

You wanna come?

Yeah.

I'll come.

Fusaichi Pegasus. He won the Kentucky Derby.

Do you see him? That's Fusaichi.

Giant's Causeway.

Johannesburg. He won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile.

You learn all that from Pop, too?

He's a beautiful horse.

Hey, Bill.

It's good to see you.

Good to see you. This is my daughter, Cale.

CALE: Hi. Nice to meet you, Cale.

Nice to meet you, too.

So, Ben, you call me two months ago telling me

you got this race mare, needs to be covered, you need a favor

and then I don't hear from you.

Well, it's been a pretty long road with that filly, Bill,

but she's ready to go now.

So you still gonna be able to help me out here?

Right over here.

All right, ladies and gentlemen,

are you ready for the world's greatest stud?

Come on, Todd. Bring him on out.

That's not...

What is that? BILL: This here's Thunder Pants.

Honey, Thunder Pants is a teaser pony.

He's gonna help Sonya get ready to

go into the breeding shed with a stallion.

Thanks, Bill.

Hey, Cale, wanna meet the stallion I picked for you?

Cale, meet Grand Slam.

Grand Slam?

Unbelievable.

So, what do you think?

Well, I think it's Grand Slam.

Everyone at Ashford has a lot of respect for your family.

I explained your situation and they want to do you the favor of a lifetime.

Bill, I just... I don't know what to say.

Say you'll have your filly here first week in May.

You got it. That week's the only shot you get.

Okay. He's booked till next year.

And you got to send me half of the 15,000 by the end of the week, and...

That's 15,000?

Well, Grand Slam's normal stud fee's 200,000.

We're waiving that completely. Yeah, I know.

The 15 doesn't even cover our cost in insurance.

BEN: No, no, Bill, it's an amazing offer. I just didn't, you know...

I'm wondering, though, if maybe I couldn't, you know,

give you a share in the foal,

maybe to cover all the expenses, whatever they are.

BILL: We just don't do that, not in a case like this.

Are you saying you want to call it off?

No, Bill, I just...

Bill, I don't have the money.

I'm sorry, Ben. I didn't fully know your situation...

No, that's okay, Bill, listen, I really appreciate the try.

I'm gonna call. All right? Thanks.

Let's go, honey.

POP: I've never seen Grand Slam up close.

CALE: He's got muscles everywhere.

What'd he say?

He's a horse.

I know. What'd he say?

"I am a great champion."

"When I ran the ground shook,

"the sky opened and mere mortals parted."

"The way to victory.

"And I met my owner in the winner's circle."

"Where he put a blanket of flowers on my back."

You remembered that?

Sport of kings, you know that?

They call horse racing the sport of kings.

So when are you gonna take me to the races?

I don't go anymore. Haven't been in years.

So I can take the Racing Form and The Blood-Horse, right?

Your dad doesn't want me teaching you about horses.

So I should leave them?

You should stuff them under your shirt.

Okay.

Cale, in that cabinet above the sink...

Yeah.

...is there a coffee can?

Mmm-hmm.

Bring it to your dad, would you? Sure.

Good night. Good night.

Pop wanted me to give this to you. Thanks, hon.

I'm eating my dessert in the barn. All righty.

BEN: What the hell is this? POP: Coffee can.

You expect me to use it? It's the only flavor I got.

You're unbelievable. There's almost $20,000 there.

You watched me sell this farm off bit by bit till there was nothing left.

Why are you doing this?

Damned if I know.

Breed the horse, Ben.

Picking up that filly was the gutsiest thing I've seen you do in years.

Don't talk to me about guts.

I took the biggest swing I could and I struck out.

And you gave up. I'm broke, Pop!

What do you expect me to do? I expect you to take the money,

trust your instincts and breed the horse.

You told me to put her down.

But you didn't, did you?

'Cause you're a horseman. Oh, don't blow smoke...

Are you gonna spend your life

shoveling horse squat for sheiks?

Or are you gonna get back in the game?

Don't think I don't know what's going on here with you and Cale.

It's in her blood, Ben.

Cale's a beautiful kid.

And I don't want this life for her,

so stop filling her head with horse stories.

Horse stories are all I got.

Good, then keep them to yourself.

I'll pay you back when the foal sells.

Any chance you'll keep the foal?

Race him or her?

No, we're gonna sell the foal,

but still have Sonador.

Sonador?

Yeah. It's her full name. Sonador.

Sonador.

I think it's Spanish.

Spanish for "dreamer."

Good night, Dreamer.

Okay, I got it.

I'm going to Pop's.

Lil, how many days they give you down at the diner?

I got Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

But I could take more.

Palmer called around. Pretty much shut me out everywhere.

I can't find any work.

I'm gonna have to take down the sign.

The real estate sign?

It's all been sold.

Only land we got left to sell, we're sitting on.

Here's the first letter of foreclosure.

Morning. DOCTOR: Hello, Cale.

MANNY: Hey, Doc. Balon. Manny.

BALON: Sonya's gonna make us some money, huh?

This horse, she gonna make a special baby, huh?

Is Ben around? Yeah, I'm right here.

All right. Just got off the phone with Bill.

We're back on. MANNY: Oh, yes!

Gonna breed her to Grand Slam. BALON: Ah-ha!

Ben, I've completed my tests and I've got some bad news for you.

What?

She's infertile.

She's not gonna have a baby now?

No, honey, she's never gonna have babies.

I'm sorry, guys.

I'm sorry, Sonya.

It's okay.

It's almost dawn.

You've been up all night.

What was I thinking, Lil? Trying to breed that horse?

Cale loves that horse.

That's good 'cause that little filly just ruined us.

That little filly is the best thing that's ever happened around here.

Oh, come on, Lil.

Since she's been in that barn, we have a family.

For the first time in years.

Look, I'll work seven days a week at the diner

if it means that you'll spend time with your daughter.

Can't you see how much she wants to be with you?

And I know that your dad disappointed you,

but that does not mean that you have to disappoint her.

It's nothing to do with my father...

No, It's everything to do with your father.

You're wrong. The truth is,

if Cale hadn't been with me that night

I'd have left that horse on the track

and let them put the horse down.

And I'd still have my job.

Cale, I...

Cale?

Come on, Cale.

Honey, can I come in?

Come on, let's just give her some time.

LILLY: Cale?

Come on, honey. Open the door. Please.

Honey, come on. She'll come downstairs when she's ready.

We're gonna run away.

We're gonna run far away.

There you go.

We're just gonna go for a little walk.

Cale...

Stop, Sonya!

Sonya, stop!

Hang on, Cale.

Cale!

Dad, she won't stop!

I can't make her stop!

Cale, hang on!

Please...

Cale! Cale!

Jump.

Jump!

I got you. I got you.

I got you.

You all right? You okay?

CALE: Yeah. BEN: Huh?

I got you, sweetie.

I got you.

BALON: Stop the car. Stop the car. BEN: Go ahead.

Is she okay? She's all right.

Oh!

It's all right, baby. It's okay.

Are you okay, honey? Yeah.

Huh? Yes, I'm okay.

Hey, Ben?

BEN: Yeah.

Ben... Hey!

How's Cale doing? She's all right.

She okay? Yeah. She's...

She's fine. Oh, okay.

Uh, could we talk to you for a minute, boss?

Right. How's Sonya?

Uh, she was running back and forth along the fence and, uh...

Yeah?

We were following her in the truck...

Balon, did she break down?

How bad is she? MANNY: Well, in the truck it said

that she's about, uh, I don't know a quarter mile.

And, well, she, um...

She was getting faster and faster.

MANNY: Yeah. She's looking pretty strong, sir.

BEN: What are you...

You saying she should race?

You can go ahead and load her up, Joe.

Mariah's Storm broke her leg the same way as Sonya.

Same fracture, same location.

Who's Mariah's Storm?

She was a great racehorse. She sure was.

Made a big comeback, too.

Mmm-hmm. Came back and beat Serena's Song in the graded stakes.

When I saw Sonya's X-rays, I thought I ought to show them to you, Ben.

That bone is healed. Oh, yeah. That leg's good.

Now, getting her back into racing shape, that's up to you.

Good luck.

Thanks a lot, Doc.

Bye. Bye-bye.

Well, she's not favoring that leg.

How's she look?

She looks big.

Big as in strong?

No, big as in fat.

That's mean.

That's mean. You shouldn't say that.

Must've been eating too many popsicles.

What? What?

You didn't know I knew about that, did you?

37 and two. 37 two.

36.

What do you think?

Well, in five weeks,

best she's done is three furlongs in 37 seconds.

Not fast enough to win much, is it?

Maybe a cheap claimer at Bluegrass Downs.

She was a graded stakes horse.

Now she's a claimer.

It might be a good idea to run her in one.

See if she perks up in a real race.

Yeah, I've been thinking about that.

You don't think anybody would claim her, do you?

Would you buy a horse that broke its leg?

You know, she might win.

Could be easy money.

ANNOUNCER: And away they go. Came away to a beautiful start.

And Super 35 from the extreme outside.

Coming from behind is Sonador.

Major Easy, down along the inside, is the one showing the best speed.

Her leg looks pretty good. Yeah.

ANNOUNCER: They make their way around the first turn and head onto...

Come on, Sonya. Come on, Sonador!

Every step. Come on. Come on. You see her?

ANNOUNCER: Back in fourth in this race, Sonador.

And Sonador's now on the move on the outside.

Then we have back in fifth, All For Nothing.

Come on, baby.

Come on, Mike, change your lead now.

Go! Come on, girl.

On the inside comes Obvious Favorite.

Come on, Sonya, only three furlongs to go now.

She's coming up!

Major Easy and Obvious Favorite are nose to nose.

Show her the stick now. Get her out of there.

Come on, girl! Whoo!

ANNOUNCER: Major Easy and Obvious Favorite come to the wire together.

Come on, Sonya.

Major Easy and Obvious Favorite...

LILY: Third!

Third. Yeah.

That's great.

Minute 13 seconds. Little slow, but it's the beginning.

You know, if Mike wouldn't have been boxed in,

I think she would've won, sir.

Whoo!

Third place. So what'd she get?

$1,100.

Sonador. Ben Crane? Yeah.

Claim.

What? You got to be kidding me.

Claimed?

Wait a second. Hang on a minute.

You said she wouldn't get claimed.

Cale, listen to me. What was the tag?

How much did you get for her?

15,000.

You just sold Sonador.

I don't believe this.

Cale...

I wasn't trying to sell Sonya.

Out of 100 horses that could have been claimed tonight,

you know how many got claimed? Two.

Do you understand that you got to claim the horse

before the race is even run?

I just figured there's no way

anybody'd take a chance on a filly that had already broken her leg.

I guess there was some chance.

She's gone.

She was a good horse, Cale. I'm gonna miss her, too.

Please don't treat me like a little kid.

You were just trying to get some of your money back.

I get it, it's business.

That's right, it is.

But I wasn't trying to sell Sonya, okay?

You lied to me.

You said I'd always have Sonador. You stood right there and said it.

You raced her and she got claimed.

Well, welcome to the world of horse racing, Cale,

where everything doesn't end up the way you want it to.

She wasn't for sale.

Every racehorse everywhere in the world,

right now, is for sale.

Get that.

She wasn't just some racehorse.

She was our horse.

I told Pat that I was gonna work the dinner shift tonight.

Remember. You said you could go to Cale's school for Parents' Night.

8:00. I got it.

All right.

Have a good time.

WOMAN: "My shirt was wet and it smelled like French toast.

"So even though I threw up,

"I was happy my dad took me to the firehouse.

"The end."

Thank you, Miss Richardson.

Thank you.

Ben Crane. Yes, ma'am.

I'd love you to read Cale's story. It's very inventive.

It's right there in the blue folder.

Come on up.

"Once upon a time there was a noble king.

"He lived in a beautiful castle overlooking green fields.

"An evil storm cast darkness over his castle.

"And before he knew it,

"dark knights had begun to take away his kingdom

"one piece at a time.

"But our king was a warrior

"and he knew that if he could find his magic horse,

"he could restore the kingdom to greatness.

"He was not like most kings. He was quiet and kind.

"Everyone loved the king, which he may not have known.

"He searched and searched and finally rescued his horse from a raging river.

"But by the time he'd freed his horse,

"his kingdom was gone and he had given up.

"But the horse knew better than he.

"The horse took him over mountain ranges

"and across raging rivers.

"When it finally looked like they would die, the horse

"asked him to trust him.

"The king didn't know if the horse had really spoken to him

"or he just hadn't had anything to eat in a few days."

"Not soon after, the horse attempted to climb a mountain

"so steep the king was sure it would be their deaths.

"But the horse reached the top.

"And at the top, they found his kingdom restored.

"All those who loved him, greeted the king with pie and coffee.

"By Cale Crane."

Can we keep these? TEACHER: Yes.

I read your story tonight at school.

The stupid one about the king?

Yeah, the stupid king.

I made mistakes, Cale.

I'm sorry.

So you like the stupid king?

Yeah, I like the stupid king.

I love the stupid king.

He loves you, too.

Ben, there's some guy here to see you.

Cale. Mmm-hmm.

I got Pop a new goat.

Wanna go out there and pull him out of the trailer?

Thanks a lot.

Sonya! Sonya!

You came home!

I'm so glad you're back.

How'd you get her back?

Well, it wasn't just me. Pops helped out, too.

I did?

Let's just say we're both out of coffee for a while.

All right, I got all the paperwork here.

Cale, we put 51% of Sonador in your name.

So from here on out, you make all the decisions.

Don't worry, I got you in there at 39%.

Balon, you and Manny can split the other 10, huh?

What are you saying, Ben?

Well, I'm saying as soon as she signs this paper,

the new owner of Sonador is Cale Crane.

Welcome to the race business. Congratulations.

You work for her now.

Ooh.

Okay, boss.

Me? What's it gonna be?

Come on. Let's go, senorita. Come on.

Do you want me to warm her up?

And then push her a little for three furlongs? Or maybe four?

You just want us to blow her out today, right?

Then we can start to build her up. Huh?

Um...

Yeah. Let's just blow her out.

BEN: Appreciate it, Bob.

If anything comes up, you let me know, huh? All right. Good night.

Hey.

You're up kind of late.

Been reading all of Sonya's records.

She won over 200,000 in graded company.

Oh, yeah, I know.

Qualifies her for a lot of stakes races.

I was looking through the conditions book.

Well, I'm sure you'll figure something out.

I want you to help me.

I want you to help me train her.

I see.

Well, you'd be getting a trainer.

What is it I'd be getting?

10%.

Twenty. Fifteen.

Done. Sign here.

BEN: Straight across. Not too tight.

That's it. There you go.

Come on, girl. Come on.

Get up. Let's go.

All right, here we go. Hello.

Here we go. Hello.

I want to thank everyone for coming.

And I've scouted all of Sonador's possible races

and I've picked one I know she can win.

ALL: Really?

BALON: Isn't that good? And when is this race?

Saturday, October 29th. Mmm-hmm.

Gotten the best jockey. His name is Manolin Vallarta.

Well, I'm Manolin Vallarta.

LILLY: Great idea.

You once told me you were the greatest jockey in the world

and I believe you.

Thank you, Cale. Thank you, but I can't. I'm not ready.

I'm...

"Fat and I got to slim down." Right, Manny?

I'm sure the 29th of October is the same day

as the running of the Breeders' Cup Championship, isn't it?

Biggest day in racing.

Yeah, but Breeders' Cup is, what, eight races worth $14 million?

I don't think you want to run in a race

on the same day as the Breeders' Cup.

You're right.

We shouldn't run in a race the same day as the Breeders' Cup.

That's why we're going to run in the Breeders' Cup.

Whoa!

That's ambitious.

BEN: Well, you know, you can't just

show up with your horse at the Breeders' Cup, honey,

and say "Hey, I'm here. I want to run in the Classic."

It doesn't work that way. Be nice if it did.

Do you know what the selection process is?

BEN: Uh, 14 horses.

First seven are graded stakes wins, points, I don't know.

Last seven are...

No. No, I don't, really.

The last seven they base on overall performance during the year.

But they do have the ability to make a judgment call.

I'm going to take a shot.

It's a long shot, but why not Sonador?

Why not us?

MANNY: Why not Sonador? That's right.

LILLY: Yeah. Whoo!

BALON: Well, we're going to the Breeders' Cup.

LILLY: Did you really not know how the last horses were chosen?

No, I didn't. Why would I? I never been there.

But if Sonya does get in,

I can tell you there's gonna be huge fees for a race like that.

So, you know, this is a pipe dream.

Remember dreams, Ben?

Well, this one's Cale's. Help her live it.

I want to, Lil. I do.

I'm just saying that this isn't gonna happen, that's all, honey.

So what? So what?

Just let it take her as far as it can.

All right.

Five furlongs in 101 and change.

Well, that's better, but...

She was breezing, Dad. Don't worry.

CALE: They're good.

They look good.

CALE: Mmm. Hey, guys.

Oh, wow, you guys got my favorite.

Balon, where's mine?

Yummy.

Looking for agua?

This is an orange? Mmm-hmm.

It looks like a painted golf ball.

Manny, run her a little closer to the rail.

Don't look at me. The donuts are not that good.

Oh, no! Give me another jelly.

No, here, here. Backup.

CALE: Oh! BALON: Are we lucky?

Good girl. Yes. Come on.

Come on, Sonya.

BEN: Cale?

I'm up. I'm up.

SADIR: But, sir, my horse, Rapid Cat,

is the son of Storm Cat, the best sire in the world.

He deserves to run in the Breeders' Cup.

Mr. Sadir Abal,

Rapid Cat is 18th on the point list. We've got 14 spots.

There's not much hope for Rapid Cat. Next.

Is Mr. Cale Crane here?

I'm Cale Crane.

Why don't you stand up?

Miss Cale Crane.

Well, miss, your horse Sonador

has 20 points and that puts her 16th on the list.

Though I see that last year she had 42 points.

Yes, sir.

She'd have that many points this year, except she was injured.

She was injured? Well, do you have a vet's report says she's sound?

Right here, sir.

Thank you. You're welcome.

RACE OFFICIAL: Now, you know there are 14 horses that get to run.

And your horse got a shot.

But to enter this horse in this race,

there's gonna be a fee of $40,000.

Did you bring a check?

I mailed it.

Today.

Well, let's just say that the panel determines that Sonador belongs in this race.

Now, there's another $80,000 in fees

that's gonna be due on October 26th.

You prepared for that?

PALMER: She'll mail it to you.

Yes, sir, I am.

Final selection will be at 11:00 a.m. tomorrow.

We got a deal? We got a deal.

Congratulations.

My knight in shining armor's come to rescue me?

Bye. I'm gonna take off. WOMAN: All right.

LILLY: I'll see you tomorrow. WOMAN: See you later.

Is Cale with Pop?

Yeah, they're going over race strategies.

She going to get in?

Selection's in the morning.

How did Cale do in front of the committee?

Truth? It was rough.

She got kicked around pretty good.

Why are you smiling?

'Cause she kicked right back.

Yeah, she reminds me of somebody.

You were right, Lil.

It was great just letting her try.

So you're saying that I'm smart?

I'm saying you're smart and beautiful.

You think she has a chance of getting in.

There's a chance.

And the entry fees are $120,000, okay?

Did you hear me?

Why are you smiling?

I feel like I'm on a date.

BEN: Cale?

Time for bed, honey.

Well, that works a little better than a bucket now, doesn't it?

Yes.

So how much you're gonna bet on Sonador to win the Classic?

Don't you think she can win?

Well... You gotta think she can win.

What's the harm in thinking she can win?

Say, "I think she can win."

I think she can win.

Good.

She needs to hear you say that.

I would like to see you run against those boys.

RACE OFFICIAL: May I have your attention, please?

As chairman of the Breeder's Cup, I am proud to announce

the field for the 22nd running of the Breeders' Cup Classic.

We start in alphabetical order.

A.P. Flyer.

Argus.

Bicycleman.

Bijoco.

Chief Balaz.

Full Of Flight.

Goliath's Boy.

Grand Duke.

Icondoit.

In The Rooms.

Note's Weasel.

On The Hops.

And our last two runners are,

Point Twice...

...and...

Sonador.

POP: Way to go.

BALON: No. No. I gave it away.

MANNY: You gave it away!

You don't even know the joke.

BALON: I can't believe I just did that.

PALMER: Well, I had to see for myself.

It's amazing.

Well, it's good to see the Cranes all in one spot.

Pop Crane. The famous Pop Crane.

Evening, fellas.

How can we help you?

PALMER: Well, you have to ask yourselves

how much it's worth to you

to have this broken filly

finish 14th in a field of 14.

How much you really want to embarrass yourselves.

'Cause we all know that this horse

has got no business in that race.

Ben, I, uh...

I feel bad about what happened between us.

No, look, honestly, I do.

And I'd like to make it right.

I'll give you,

oh, 20,000 in cash for her.

20 grand? Yeah.

Let's see. Manny, that's $1,000 for you.

$1,000 for you, Balon. Whoo!

MANNY: A whole 1,000 for me?

I guess I could get me a couple of steak dinners now, huh?

Maybe some wine, maybe some tube socks.

BALON: $1,000 for me, too?

I could buy me a thousand pair of dollar underwears.

Wait, my share's about eight grand.

I've only got 20 invested. Where do I sign?

$40,000.

All right?

I brought my guys and a trailer with me.

So your luck is changing.

I know what you paid for that horse.

Are we done here? Not my horse, Everett.

Hmm?

Well, what do you say, honey?

I'm not selling her.

Okay, I found my other pocket.

All right? And you listen to me.

This is your last chance.

I have a certified check for $100,000.

And if you take this offer,

I'll give your dad his job back.

I can't believe it.

The Cranes have finally won one.

Dad?

If it was me...

I'd tell him to take his money and his empty trailer

and get the hell off our farm.

But...

That's just me.

So you're running big colt, Goliath's Boy, in the Classic?

That's right. Goliath's Boy is the favorite.

And when he wins the Cup,

it'll be my fifth horse of the year.

Do you think Goliath's Boy remembers what Sonya's butt looks like?

Why?

'Cause it's all it's gonna be seeing of her on race day.

BALON: That's a good one, kid. That's funny, ain't it?

PALMER: Suit yourself.

Dad.

Any luck?

I can't find a sponsor for this race, Pop.

Nobody wants to take a chance on her.

Called everybody I can think of.

You ever seen a kid so happy with a horse?

Yeah. I have.

CALE: Pick it up.

Come on. Pick it up.

Good girl.

There's other races, darling,

that don't cost so much to enter.

Whoo!

I've lost 15 pounds in three weeks.

You should stop training.

We don't have the money to run.

Going down to the Breeders' Cup

to tell them we're dropping out of the race.

Oh.

I had a dream last night, Cale.

I was on a horse.

A fast horse. That horse and me...

Ooh! We're flying like angels.

How'd it end?

I woke up and my hunger was gone.

It was God telling me to race again.

Thank you, Cale.

May God bless you.

Nobody ever thought we'd get in.

No, they didn't. But you did it.

Cale. Pop. Come on. Get in the truck.

Come on, let's go.

Great idea, Dad. Whoa, whoa, whoa.

He said he'd talk to us.

What are you gonna say?

I'm not. You are.

I'm here to see Prince Sadir.

The prince is expecting you. Please join him.

Prince Sadir, I'm Cale Crane.

I remember you.

This is my dad and my granddad.

Morning. Appreciate you taking my call.

120,000?

40,000 for the nomination fee

and 80,000 for the entrance fee.

Prince Tariq is sure he's going to win.

Goliath's Boy is a big, big horse.

BEN: Goliath's Boy is a bully.

He's a bluffer and her horse knows it.

Cale, you look me in the eye and you tell me

you think your horse has a chance of beating my brother's horse.

My horse will beat every horse that shows up.

ALL: Yeah, we're in!

We are in the Breeder's Cup! I can't believe it!

CALE: "You are a great champion.

"When you ran, the ground shook,

"the sky opened and mere mortals parted.

"Parted the way to victory,

"where you'll meet me in the winner's circle,

"where I'll put a blanket of flowers on your back."

Run hard tomorrow.

Run hard for my dad.

He deserves a good run.

Pop?

POP: Just a minute.

What?

In 21 Breeders' Cup Classics,

you know how many fillies have ever won it?

None. Only four fillies ever ran.

She's not even ready. And Palmer's right,

this is gonna be an embarrassment.

What am I doing here, Pop?

You're taking your kid and your horse to the Breeders' Cup tomorrow.

'Cause that's the dream of every real horseman.

It's the dream of every father.

Dream damn few ever get to see.

Damn few, trust me on that one.

Listen, uh...

Lilly and Cale are driving down in the morning

and Lilly doesn't really know where to go, so...

I want you to come to the race.

Pop, as your son, I'm asking you to come.

Be with me and Cale.

Okay.

Okay. Good.

Good.

MANNY: You are ready, Mama.

Okay, Mama. Okay.

Good job. Good job.

Oh, yeah, good job.

You got her? Yeah, I got her.

You look muy bella.

Well, thank you, Balon.

I was talking to her.

POP: Here you go, Manny.

Here's the original silks of the Crane Race Farm. Buena suerte.

MANNY: Muchas gracias.

I'm gonna taking this good-looking thing to the owners' box

and show off that hat.

Have a great race, Manny.

Thank you, Mrs. Crane.

Sure wish we had another couple of weeks.

She's ready to run.

You saved her life.

She's just returning the favor.

She's here to run for you.

Mr. Palmer.

So what do you expect from Goliath's Boy today?

PALMER: What do I expect from Goliath's Boy?

You know what, I expect that Goliath's Boy gonna go out there,

he's gonna have some fun today.

Oh, there's Ben Crane and Sonador. 80-1 shot.

Hey, Ben. Ben, how about we get a...

Why don't we get a picture here with Sonador and Goliath's Boy?

You know, just a little photo opportunity.

No.

Get him away! Control your horse! Come on!

BALON: Sonya! No, no, no!

Get him away!

MAN: Whoa, whoa, whoa.

BALON: Easy, easy, easy!

PALMER: It's all right. I got him.

BALON: Will you control your horse? PALMER: I got him.

BALON: Easy, Sonya, Sonya.

Bring him in.

WOMAN: Easy, boy. It's okay.

All right.

Grab a hold of her. BALON: Easy.

It's gonna be okay.

I don't believe it. It's like, I'm feeling heat in that leg. Now, I...

I don't know if it's me or...

BALON: What? What do you wanna do?

What do you want to do, boss, huh?

What do you want to do? Bring her in here.

Dad...,

What are the chances she's cut on the same leg

that we've been trying to heal for the past six months, huh?

This is... This is beyond bad luck.

Are you afraid?

Are you afraid that we're gonna come in dead last?

I'm sorry, sir.

Where is she? Bring her in here.

Sir, it's Sonya... Balon, just bring her in here.

She won't come in!

BEN: Manny. Manny. Hang on.

I don't know, boss. She doesn't wanna move.

Hold on. Hold on. Come here. Come here.

She tried to kick me when I tried to bring her in.

Come here, girl. Come on, now.

Hold on. Come here, girl.

Easy. Easy now.

What do you want?

Easy.

What's she telling you?

I don't know.

Something about

the ground shaking.

Sky parting.

She wants to run.

Let's go.

Balon, take Cale to our seats.

Good luck.

Come on, girl.

I got a special package here.

This is gonna be great.

I'm very excited, ain't you?

Hello. Hi.

No, no, just for owners.

I know.

That'd be us.

That would be us. Yeah.

Thank you very much. Good luck.

Thanks. Here we go. Here we go.

Where are we? Are we down this way?

This way, yeah. Oh! Oh!

That side.

Do you know any of these people from back door?

No, I don't. Okay.

ANNOUNCER: Horses coming out onto the track now

for the great one-four million dollar Breeders' Cup Classic.

WOMAN: Good luck. MAN: Thank you.

Eighth race, 20 to win on the seven.

MAN: Seven? That's Sonador.

That horse is 80-1.

You know what?

You're right.

$257, Sonador to win.

You like that?

WOMAN: Good luck.

Well, you ready?

Yeah.

Pop.

257 to win?

You're crazy. Yeah.

That's for you.

ANNOUNCER: Here's the moment we've all been waiting for.

They're ready to load into the gate for the Breeders' Cup Classic.

And here's Goliath's Boy. Is he full of himself this afternoon?

Goliath's Boy is good and he knows he's good.

Very aggressive this afternoon.

Goliath's Boy looks like he's gonna run a huge race.

He's loaded in the gate now and joined by Bijoco and Note's Weasel.

Icondoit and Point Twice coming up.

Now, here's the filly, Sonador.

Only the fifth filly in history to even run in this race.

Sonador joined now by Bicycleman.

And here's young Manny Vallarta, the rider of Sonador.

Certainly never been in a race this big in his entire career.

Grand Duke and Full Of Flight are going in. Almost all set now.

Chief Balaz to come to the outside gate

and they'll all be set for a start.

They're all set.

And away they go.

Broke in a perfect line for the big one now.

In The Rooms on the inside.

The favorite, Goliath's Boy, comes away beautifully and joins the leaders.

Note's Weasel is right there. Bijoco in the middle of the pack.

Icondoit towards the outside. Then it's Point Twice and Bicycleman.

They're setting a very fast pace early on.

A.P. Flyer behind that. On the Hops as they go wide.

Then back to Grand Duke and Full Of Flight.

Sonador is now second last at the back.

In The Rooms on the inside.

Hold on, Manny!

ANNOUNCER: The rider's foot has come out the irons on Sonador.

BEN: Get back up.

Make her settle.

CALE: She's last.

There's a lot of race left.

First quarter, 22 and one.

Go, Sonya!

Go, Sonya!

Come on!

ANNOUNCER: Here Sonador's, passing a horse with each and every stride

as they come to the top of the lane.

In The Room's the leader.

The filly Sonador now moving into the picture.

This big long shot, Sonador...

Come on, Sonya.

Come on, Sonya. Take him out.

ANNOUNCER: And Sonador could be the danger to the favorite, Goliath's Boy.

And Goliath's Boy goes on for home.

Hold on. Hold on. Hold on! Come on, Sonya. Take him out.

That's it, baby.

Come on, Sonador! Sonador! Come on, baby!

ANNOUNCER: The filly, Sonador, is up alongside of Goliath's Boy.

They come down to the wire, Goliath's Boy and Sonador.

Sonador!

ANNOUNCER: Unbelievable. The filly, Sonador, has come from last.

And look at this, the odds 80-1.

The biggest stunning upset...

Oh, man, I had a dream.

It was a dream and I didn't know the end of it till today!

Yeah!

Ha!

Thanks, Pop. Thanks for everything.

Thank you.

257 at 80-1?

That's $20,000. I'm back.

CALE: "You are a great champion.

"When you ran, the ground shook,

"the sky opened and mere mortals parted.

"Parted the way to victory, where you'll meet me in the winner's circle,

"where I'll put a blanket of flowers on your back."