AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The announcer’s voice boomed over the loudspeaker, introducing the horses, their owner, trainer, and jockey in that order. Socrates was scheduled in this race in the number four post position. The bugle sounded the familiar chords in three successions.
“And the horses are entering the track for this evening’s featured first race in the Annual Kick-off Stakes Amateur Challenge here at the beautiful Le Vie Belle Race Track!’
I saw Socrates wearing the Sinclair Stables signature purple and gold colors, jockey astride in matching silks. Clint rode the escort horse, Trafalgar, as was customary for the trainer as the horses were introduced onto the track.
“In the number four position, we have Socrates, owned by Sinclair Stables, trained by Clint Cavanaugh, piloted by Luis Cappezio.”
I looked over at Clint. He was busy trying to get Socrates maneuvered into step using Trafalgar. Socrates was skittish and not handling the reigning well. Nine horses took their places at the gate. Clint and Luis were struggling getting Socrates into his post position inside the gate. That was never a good sign.
Once all of the horses were secured in their post positions, the trainers left the track on the escort horses. After a few minutes, the buzzer rang out and the gates opened with the loud pounding of quarter horse hooves sprinting onto the turf track. There was so much advance preparation for a race that lasted less than a half-minute with any luck.
The announcer had to have the ability to talk faster than an auctioneer, which was no easy task with some of the names given these horses. There were a lot of bets being placed at the windows. This was a fairly lucrative business for the owners.
Socrates came in second; no shame there. A horse from Alexandria, Virginia took the purse, clocking at 32 seconds.
There was a 10-minute break between each race, giving people time to place their bets. Clint would be busy for a little while, getting Socrates back to the paddock and rubbing him down. Maybe luck would hold out and he wouldn’t come back out before my race.
The third race finished. Andy and I checked and rechecked the saddle and girths to make sure everything was tight and secure. Jezebel was calmer than either of us, it seemed.
“Good Luck, T.J.,” Andy teased me. “Don't get overly concerned if she’s not first out of the gate, she works into her stride in about eight or nine seconds when she’s on the outside post.”
“I know, I got it,” I laughed, “I watched her race DVD, remember?” He was making me more nervous with his fussing.
“Oh, the horse to beat is Lucky Lulu; she’s number three on the inside.”
The announcer started the introductions for the fourth featured race in the series for this evening. I lowered my goggles as we were being announced onto the track. Andy rode his buckskin horse, Jubilee, escorting Jezebel and me onto the turf.
“Jezebel is number eight out of the nine horses competing in the fourth leg of tonight’s Amateur Kick-off Stakes Challenge. She races for Sinclair Stables, trained by Andy Graham, and in the irons, T.J. Preston.”
We had no problem getting Jezebel into her post position. Once the last horse was in, there was a minute’s pause before the buzzer sounded and the gate lifted. True to Andy’s prediction, Jezebel wasn't quick to break out of the gate. I decided to do what I was trained to do and let the announcer play it back to me.
“And runners away in the challenge!” I heard him yell into the microphone, echoing across the track. “Lucky Lulu broke well on the inside; Cosmos is quickly out in the middle of the pack. Here comes Jezebel well into stride from the outside! Now just to the inside, it’s Lucky Lulu; Jezebel is gaining on the outside! Now it’s Lucky Lulu! Cosmos drops to the back. It’s Jezebel and Lucky Lulu nose to nose! And it is…Jezebel across the finish! Jezebel has won the Kick-off Stakes Amateur Challenge in race number four!”
Oh my god! We did it! We did it, Jezebel!
The best part was a chance to earn another $15,000 in the bonus race. I checked Jezebel’s clocked time: 29 seconds, the fastest so far. Andy ran over to me and lifted me off of Jezebel, twirling me around in a circle.
“You did it T.J.!”
“We all did it, Andy! Thank you so much for taking a chance on me!”
“You're a natural for this. Jezebel knows it too.” He slapped me lightly on the back a couple of times as we led Jezebel back to the paddock. I was thrilled! I wanted Trey to be proud of me. Jezebel was the first winner’s purse taken by a Sinclair horse so far this evening. There were only four more races to go.
“I’ll see you back here in about an hour okay, Andy? I have a few things to take care of in the meantime.”
“Sure thing,” he answered. “Take a break and get psyched for the next one, hear?”
I went to the locker room and pulled my gear off placing it in my locker. Trey would be back tomorrow and I could hardly wait to tell him how well I raced this evening. Part of me secretly hoped that none of the other Sinclair-sponsored horses took a purse tonight, but that was kind of selfish, not to mention unsportsmanlike, so I chastised myself for thinking like that.
Bringing my focus back to reality, I pulled out my phone and noticed I had a text message and several missed calls. It had been on vibrate for most of the day. I stared at the screen. It was Trey. I was afraid to read the text. I realized now that Clint had probably been in touch with him, telling him that I’d planned to race Jezebel. I gathered courage and opened the text message:
What in the hell do u think u r doing?? I'll deal w/u as soon as I get back!
Trey had clearly found out about tonight’s races. No mystery there.
Thank. You. Clint!
I was pissed; Clint had turned me in. Andy was pacing when I returned to the paddock. For a moment I worried that he'd received orders from “mission control” to strike me from the race. “Where have you been?” he asked, panicked. “I was scared you had slipped out on me!”
