John E Keegan

Orphaned John E Keegan

In the tradition of National

Velvet, the 1944 film starring Mickey

Rooney and a young horse-crazy

girl Elizabeth Taylor, Keegan tells

the story of Dean Hostler, the fender

repair guy who surprisingly wins the

auction at the Longacres horse sale

for a thoroughbred filly orphaned

at birth for his son Ricky's 17th

birthday. When Dean is hours late

for the family dinner party, however,

Lorraine refuses to let him in. The

Nashua trailer that was their home is

repossessed and Dean is stuck sleeping

in a barn with a horse he is unable

to return. Lorraine is beside herself

and worried that Ricky will once

again be held back in school because

of the effect this marital separation

will have on his Attention Deficit

Disorder. Under orders from his wife

not to let Ricky ever see this horse,

however, Dean discovers that his

not yet divorced wife is now seeing

another man. And that is only one

of her secrets, the darkest being the

truth about who is Ricky's real father.

Meantime, Dean finds a stall for Orphan

on the backside of the Longacres

racetrack and Ricky finds his way to

Orphan, where he learns to ride and

is licensed as an apprentice jockey

who can ride Orphan on a real track.