alec is back home, and there is a ceremony for him. his horse stays in the backyard until it runs away. alec looks for the horse everywhere and meets snoe (and napoleon). snoe tells him where black might be. this leads alec to the barn of henry dailey. henry found the horse and is a retired racehorse jockey. henry and alec become friends and decide to have the horse race. one night, henry secretly has someone from the racing industry watch the horse run. the news spreads about how fast this new "mystery horse" is. alec wants to race. his mother gives in after protesting. alec joins a race against the top two jockeys in the country. he is behind in the beginning, but catches up and wins. he has memories of riding on the island.