Race that Stops the Nation

Placed 5th! 2015 TS Monthly Shows Results

Why so many horses? Why?

*EDIT* Changed the tint/colour a little and fixed the shading on the greys

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Registration Number: 4
Show: 2015 Melbourne Cup
Horses Name: 4SS American Rouge Quality Blood Ranking (proof on ref)
Riders Name: Thomas R. Hunt
Extra Images: ,   and 
Previous Experience: 
The Arlington Million - 3rd
Staking a Claim - 2nd
Beech Wood Stakes - 2nd
Advertisement: palominobrumbyfilly.deviantart…
Donated Prizes: comments.deviantart.com/1/5640…


Featured Horses (L-R)
's  HHR In Bed With The Queen
WPF The Apocalypse
's FT Triton 
's  OE Twilight Zone
's The Gremlin
's 4SS American Rouge <da:thumb id="556679880">
's BTs - Blackbeard Got Some Ink
's WBS Moves Like Jagger <da:thumb id="356473283">
's WBS Ghost Hour

Story: (766 words)

Thom unloaded Cowboy from the float at Flemington and
quickly led him to a stall, the stallion still slightly wobbly on his feet
after the boat trip over the day before.

Stripping the travel rugs Thom quickly called the Stable back home, like he had
promised Opal. After the second ring Tris picked up, “Four Season’s Stable.
Who’s calling?”

“Hey Tris, you lot all ready for this race?” Thom called into the phone
nervously as he brushed Cowboy’s already clean chocolaty roan coat. The motion
helping sooth his nerves.

“Hells yeah!” Tris’s shout came through the line with a squawk of static in
protest at the pitch. “We’ve got the TV on ready. Listen!”

There was the sound of buttons being pressed then a rush of noise at Tris put
the phone on speaker and  several people
shouted “Good Luck” in the direction of the phone.

“Sound’s like you’ve got the whole cheer squad going,” Natasha said from the
stall door distracting Thom from the phone.

Thom grinned up at the woman, “Pity they couldn’t come really.”

“Opal out in this sort of a crowd? You’ve got to be joking,” Natasha scoffed
grinning back.

“Hey I can hear you!” Opal’s voice filtered through the phone’s speakers, “I
can’t leave this lot would destroy the whole place by the time I got to the main
road.”

There were several shouts of protest as Thom and Natasha burst out laughing
starting Cowboy who pawed at the floor of the stall and turned his head to
snort at them disapprovingly.

“You tell them Rouge,” Opal said in agreement with the stallion.

“Bullshit you can hear him from there,” Thom said.

“Don’t need too. He thinks you’re both being idiots and he wants to get on with
his race,” Opal replied sounding oddly smug (must be the company she’s got back home Thom thought), “He’s a race
horse on race day. What else is he going to be thinking?”

“Yes it is race day, thanks for the reminder, which means we need to get ready
so you lot can nick off back to your drinks,” Thom said into the phone with a
laugh.

“Yes sir,” came Tris’s reply.

“If you insist,” was the chorus from Opal, Sirus and Casmir while Delmore and
Aliana were giggling in the back ground.

Thom clicked the phone shut and handed the mobile to Tash who shoved it into a
pocket. “Let’s get ready for this race.”

Natasha and Thom quickly got to work readying Cowboy.
Slipping on a long bib with the number four on it Natasha led the stallion out
into the yard to walk as Thom was called away for weigh in.

It wasn’t long before Tash was leading the prancing stallion through the
laneway between the crowded Flemington grandstands and out to the mounting yard
where she led the antsy horse around behind number three a white-grey filly;
WBS Ghost Hour, until the jockeys began streaming out of the throng of people
and into the mounting yard.

Thom gave Tash a tight-lipped smile as she boosted him into the saddle and
handed the bouncing Cowboy to one of the marshallers in red on a tall dark
dappled grey gelding.

Thom, Cowboy, and the marshaller leading them cantered down along the straight
towards the starting gates after the other horses.

The marshaller handed Cowboy off to one of the gate staff who loaded the
stallion into the starting gate before rushing off to fetch the next horse.

Thom sat prepped on the stallion’s back. It was an honour to be attending this
event.

The race that stops the nation.

All of Australia would be watching them.

Most of the world.

Thom took a deep breath and rubbed Cowboy’s shoulder to steady the stallion.
“Just wait for the jump. We’ve got a bloody long run. Don’t rush the start okay
mate,” he murmured to the stallion until the green light came on and he fell
silent tensing for the start.

There was a flash and the sound of a bell and then all the horses were away and
pushing away from the gate jostling for place as they pounded down the
straight.

Thom barely noticed the finish post flash by as the pack passed the grandstands
in a clump and rounded the first turn fighting for position on the rail as they
started for the long lap back towards home.

Cowboy was running strongly but this was a long race, a damn long race where
anything could happen in that lap back to the home straight. This was the
Melbourne Cup after all!