cover image FUNNY CIDE: How a Horse, a Trainer, a Jockey, and a Bunch of High School Buddies Took on the Sheiks and Bluebloods... and Won

FUNNY CIDE: How a Horse, a Trainer, a Jockey, and a Bunch of High School Buddies Took on the Sheiks and Bluebloods... and Won

Sackatoga Stables, Funny Cide Team, , read by James Sheridan. . Penguin Audio, $25.95 (0pp) ISBN 978-0-14-280072-0

Although the story of Funny Cide's against-the-odds gallop into first place in the Kentucky Derby and then again in the Triple Crown's second leg is familiar to most people, this audiobook provides an inside look at an endeavor that started out as merely "kicks for hicks." The hicks in this case—a group of middle-aged, high school cronies—were tired of being "habitually careful," so they took a chance on a horse with an undistinguished pedigree. With the help of a down-on-his-luck trainer and a jockey who'd seen better days, Funny Cide left all the predictable favorites in the dust. This is a grand story full of endearing, oddball characters. Reader Sheridan, who's best known for his performance on Law and Order: Criminal Intent , sounds more like the Marlboro Man than a police captain here. His voice is gruff, almost bashful, as he emphasizes not only the workaday victory of the story, but the emotion that lies close to the surface. Although Sheridan has a tough time taking on some of the team members' accents, this doesn't detract much from the overall quality of the production. Simultaneous release with the Putnam hardcover (Forecasts, Mar. 22) . (May)