When Life Races You By

Chapter 14

After slowly building up Manny strength, it was finally time for him to race again. It was only a very small country race, but it was still a step in the right direction. I had offered Ben the ride, but I wasn’t sure if he would accept it. He had finally too had begun riding in the horses morning, getting used to it. After a few days, Ben accepted.

It was now early July and winter had fully set in. This day there was a little drizzle. Word had got around that Manny was racing and the crowd was larger than usual, especially for a country and winter race.

The night before I had a horrible sleep, waking up from flash backs of the last race, in sweat. To say I looked like a mess that day was understatement. I tried my best to cover it with makeup, but that did little to hide the dark circles

At the track, Manny was picking up on my nervous, getting flighty at all the usual noises. I tried doing deep breaths, trying to calm myself down, for my sake, as much as Manny’s. Neither of us were our usually selves.

Even mum had come today for support, knowing that this race meant a lot to me. It would decide if Manny could return to the track for good. I hadn’t really thought about what might happen if Manny couldn’t return to racing. I don’t think I could ever bring myself to sell him.

Shaking my head, I pushed that thought to the back of my mind. What was most important now was giving 100% of my attention to Manny. I sat talking to Manny, while I watched the world around me. I had never really had much of a chance, except when I was little, to really observe what really goes on. People lead horses back and forth from the stall to the track to the wash stalls and back again. Some trainers were talking to jockeys and owners, while others were checking on their horses.

The following hour creped by and it was finally time to get ready for the race. Ben arrived, dressed in his silks.

“I’m so nervous,” Ben stated.

“I guess that makes two of us then,” I replied. “We both had to get through this day at some point in time though.”

“Yeah, you’re right.  Let’s hope things just go smoothly.”

“Trust me, my fingers and toes are crossed.”

We talk about random things, trying to take our mind off what was about to happen, but it wasn’t long until we couldn’t avoid it any longer.

“Let’s go then,” I said.

I did what I had done many times before, leading Manny around the mounting yard, yet this time it felt different. As I walked passed, people yelled good luck and I replied with a smile, not sure what else to do.

”Ok Manny,” I whispered, “’everything is going to be ok this time. Nothing is going to happen. You and Ben make the best team and he will look after you, just remember that.”

Manny’s ears flickered at the sound of my voice. Ben mounted and we walked around a few more times.

“Just be careful,” I said, “I don’t care if he doesn’t win. I just want to increase his confidence.”

“Trust be,” Ben replied, “there will be no risk taking on my behalf.”

“I know, I just wanted to make sure.”

Giving Manny a pat, I released the lead and watch them gallop towards the barriers. I joined the other trainers back in the winner’s circle. By now I thought I was either going to throw up or pass out with nerves. It was like the weight of the world was on my shoulders. Finally the horses were loaded and ready.

“And they’re off,” the commentator yelled.

Manny was in the middle of the field when the approached the 500 metre mark. I held by breathe, almost waiting for the worst to happen, for my nightmare to come true.

The horses were quickly approaching the finishing post. With every metre, Manny was inching his way to the front. I stopped holding my breath and was now yelling at Manny.

I almost burst into tears when Manny passed that post first. This time they were for pure happiness.

“He won! He won!” I shouted like a mad women, jumping up and down.

Ben rode into the mounting yard with the biggest smile on his face. Other jockeys patted him on the back, congratulating him, as they rode past. I ran up to them, embracing them both in a hug.

“We did it,” I exclaimed.

“We sure did,” Ben replied. “Not a bad way to return hey?”

“Well...” I laughed.

“I’d like to see you try.”

“Then I would make you look bad.”

“Yeah right.”

We both laughed. It was safe to say, this was the start of many wins to come.

Author's Note: here is another chapter. I will now be updating this time every week. Chapter 15 and 16 are also written and I've started chapter 17. I don't have a lot of time to write at the moment, but I'm trying my best. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Please let me know your thoughts. Also if you haven't already, check out the competition for this book, information is on my page. Thanks again!