When Life Races You By

Chapter 2

Once Manny was tacked, Ben rode him down to the track along with Nip and Ziggy, with James and Barry on board. The clip clop of the horses’ hooves on the concrete, as they were leaving it was somewhat therapeutic.

By the time we got down to the track, the sun was just peeping over the horizon, making the sky a soft pink. The birds were just starting to wake up and you could hear them chirping in the background. The sandy track was slightly wet from overnight dew. Spring mornings were the best time to be down at the track. It was calming before the rest of the world woke up.

“Alright everyone,” Dad said, “Let’s give them an easy ride today. Nothing too hard. Ben, with Manny I would like you to focus on getting him to really push when you ask him to. Okay, off you go.”

Dad sent them off with a wave and came to join me on the fence.

“Manny looks good this morning,” I explained to dad, “You can see him rearing to go.”

“Yes.” Dad agreed.

It was quite clear about what I said. Manny’s ears were forward, tuning to listen to every new noise. His eyes were alert and bright, like this is what he had been waiting for all day.

“Ok, bring them around boys.” Dad said into his walkie talkie.

You could hear them before you could see them. The thundering on the ground was just as electrifying as it was on race day. This was one of the many reasons that I loved racing, it was such an adrenalin rush.

When the horses approached the finish line, dad got ready with his stop watch. The stop watch looked like it was always in dad’s hand. It was a comfortable fit. His hands were worn out, from all the years of working from the horses, yet they were soft. I had to admit, the stop watch looked as worn out as dad’s hands, with bits of the black plastic wearing away.

“And time,” dad exclaimed, “Manny ran fifty five seconds, not bad for one thousand metres.  Ziggy’s a head behind and Nip one length behind him. Everyone is looking good for this coming Saturday. I will review things when I see how they pull up tomorrow.”

I quickly wrote everything down before both of us forgot. Dad insisted that everything was written down, so that should something happen, there would a record of every horse and everything they have done.

“Good job everyone,” Dad ordered. “Let’s bring them back to the stable and cool them off.”

Back at the barn, I helped Ben clean and cool Manny off, I’ve paid extra attention to his leg, making sure that there was no swelling.

One of my favourite things was looking after the horses, I believe that it built a bond between human and horse. This is what made it possible to ask them to do what they do. They put so much trust in us, it breaks my heart when humans betray that trust.

As I ran my hand down Manny’s legs, I could feel his strong muscles. His hair was like velvet. Ben and I talked as we got him cooled off.

“You ready for Saturday?” I ask.

This Saturday would be Manny’s first race and Ben was riding him. Dad liked to have the same jockey riding the same horse, so that they could use to each other.

“Yeah, but you never know what can happen.” Ben replied.

It was true, horses were one of the most unpredictable animals. Anything could happen on the day.

“Look like we are done here for the day.” I said, as I scrapped the last bead of water of Manny’s back and picked up the bucket.

“Well, I better head of then I have trials at ten.”

“Okay, I’m not heading down today I have too much study to do. Sometimes it’s hard to balance studying to be a vet, horse racing and life in general. Good luck today and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Thanks, Bye!”

I watched as he walked off towards his blue Ute, parked around the side. As all jockeys, he was short, but there was something about his stride that had power behind it.

“Oh, Manny,” I sighed as I leaned on him. “What are we going to do?”

Manny nicked in response.

 Author's Note: Here is a new chapter. Hope you all enjoy. Please comment and vote, every one makes my day! If there is any mistakes or you have an questions, feel free to comment. Thanks!