After the two get settled in, Samantha's heart is stolen by Wonder's Pride, the first foal of the great Ashleigh's Wonder. The colt is magnificent, and fast, but refuses to perform on the track and trusts no one. He has a temper, and can be a holy terror. Samantha agrees to keep an eye on Pride for Ashleigh, and in the course of doing so discovers that Pride is about to be sold off the farm!
Samantha sets a plan in motion to save the colt, and is determined to win his trust completely and prove to the Townsends that Pride can be a stakes winner.
Fifteen-year-old Samantha McLean sat perched on the white board fence that surrounded the training oval. Her red hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and she was smiling. Two weeks earlier her father, Ian McLean, had accepted a position as assistant trainer at Townsend Acres, one of the largest Thoroughbred farms in Kentucky. They had produced such legends as Townsend Pride, Townsend Prince and Ashleigh�s Wonder. Samantha was very much looking forward to meeting these horses, and seeing how the current crop of racers performed.
Her eyes followed the horses around the oval as a couple of them finished their workouts for the day. It was a calm morning, not as hot as it usually was in August, for which Samantha was thankful. They�d been at Saratoga in upstate New York until just recently, so she was still getting used to the differences in the weather.
Then she heard footsteps crunching in the gravel, and turned to see her father striding toward her. �Excited?� he asked, his eyes twinkling.
Samantha nodded. �Very! I hope Mr. Townsend will agree to let me help ride the horses.�
A brief shadow passed over Ian�s face. Six years earlier his wife had been killed while exercise riding. After three years of fighting with Samantha over riding, he had finally given in and allowed her back on horses, but not Thoroughbreds, and especially not racing Thoroughbreds. �I haven�t agreed to that, Sammy,� he said slowly.
Sammy sighed, knowing he was thinking about her mother. �How about if I stay off the oval?�
Ian smiled faintly. �We�ll see.�
It wasn�t the idea of his only daughter riding that scared him. It was riding Thoroughbreds in training that scared him. Thoroughbreds were high-strung animals, and often unpredictable. Ian was worried that his daughter didn�t have enough experience to ride without getting into some sort of trouble that she couldn�t handle.
But Ian was pulled from his reverie as the next set of horses trotted out onto the track. He walked over the to the gap and gave instructions to the riders, since the horses going out were under his care. They went out in groups of two or three. Ian had ten horses in his string currently, most of them older horses.
As the last horses of the set stepped onto the track, Samantha heard a loud whinny behind her. She turned around to see a chestnut colt being muscled towards the track, and he was not happy. He reared up and slashed at the air with his hooves. The grooms pulled him back down and Samantha found herself unable to take her eyes off of him.
He was tall, but not too tall at about 16 hands. He had a little snip on his forehead, and 4 white socks. His chestnut coat gleamed in the sun, and mane and tail were perfectly groomed. The colt had perfect conformation and looked ever inch a champion.
Then a petite woman with dark blonde hair stormed over, an angry look on her face. Samantha gasped. It was Ashleigh Griffen, the jockey and half-owner of Ashleigh�s Wonder! Sammy jumped off the fence and eased her way closer to Ashleigh and the colt so she could hear what was being said.
Ashleigh had taken the lead shank from the groom, and was rubbing the colt�s neck. He was standing still now, but he was trembling all over. Ashleigh spoke softly to him and he finally lowered his head and relaxed.
�Face it, Ashleigh. He�ll never amount to anything.�
Sammy turned to see Brad Townsend had come up. He had his hands shoved casually into the pockets of his suit pants, and was looking very full of himself. Of course he would be since he�d just bought a new horse, Samantha thought to herself. But she didn�t like Brad Townsend, not one bit. From what she�d seen, he was too rough.
Ashleigh then turned to face Brad, her blue eyes blazing, but her voice calm. �As I remember, you said the same thing about Wonder.� She then turned her attention back to the colt. She mounted up and gently guided him to the gap.
Sammy went back to the fence to watch the colt work, stopping next to Ian. �Dad, what�s that colt�s name?�
�That�s Wonder�s Pride, by Baldasar out of Ashleigh�s Wonder. Beautiful isn�t he?�
Sammy nodded, her eyes on the colt. His stride was long and graceful, and he carried himself with ease. He responded to the lightest touch from Ashleigh. When he finished warming up, Ashleigh signaled him to gallop. Then at the half-mile pole, he opened up and flew across the track.
Sammy watched the colt, spellbound. He was something special, she could tell. And she was determined to meet him!
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
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