The Rocking-horse Winner
Riding for luck
Describe how Paul finds his winners and who shares his secret.
Paul is determined to find luck. He rides his rocking-horse in a frenzy, his eyes glaring, ordering it to take him to where there is luck, until he feels he has 'got there'.
He gives the horse the name of a real racehorse. His Uncle Oscar is amazed that the little boy knows so much racing news.
The secret comes out: Bassett, the young gardener, who was once Uncle Oscar's servant in the army, talks about racing with Paul. The two are betting partners, and Bassett takes their bets to the bookmaker.
In the car, Paul tells his uncle that the winner of the Lincoln race will be Daffodil, a little-known horse, and that he is betting three hundred pounds on it. His uncle can hardly believe it.
At the race, Daffodil wins. Paul stays calm: he now has about fifteen hundred pounds.
On his wooden horse, Paul seems to 'get there', and know the winner.
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