Trophies

Gaps in logic, portrayals of women other than the heroine as shrewish, and an undercurrent of class envy and snobbery sap this debut novel. Sheridan's most plausible writing concerns horses generally and Grand Prix jumping in particular, but this is the least part of the book. At 19, Diana Winston has riding ability, but no money to train or compete. She works at a show stable until the owner's daughter, who despite her own wealth envies Diana, makes it look like her enemy's carelessness caused injury to a valuable stallion. With no thought for his own gain, Steve Rodriguez, a stable hand with a secret past, is convinced of Diana's talent and innocence. He buys the stallion, cures him and trains Diana to ride him. As she triumphs on the Grand Prix circuit, the young woman romantically pursues and is pursued by various men, including a gay man who becomes an AIDS victim. She finds love at last with a prominent surgeon twice her age who already has a wife but will leave her for Diana: to the doctor's mind-set, his wife's infertility exemplifies a ``perverse and destructive nature.'' (Aug.)