London Sky -- sneak-peek to my Hidden Oak racehorse series

[astro!]

This is going to be a small segment of a book from a series I'm writing. This is the part where London Sky, Madison's racehorse, runs in the Kentucky Derby. The series is called Hidden Oak. There are several different parts of the series.

EDIT::: Okay, so I did have some other stuff here before, but I've completely re-created the way I'm going to make the series work. The new main character will be:

Madison Ripley -
Daughter of one of racing's biggest names, Lewis Ripley, owner of Ripley Racing Ltd. Madison was the heir to his racing empire until she took her colt, London Sky, and left his farm, starting her own farm: Hidden Oak.
Madison, in the beginning of Book One, is revealed to have owned a horse before Sky: Fleet Moon, a filly who showed great promise until an accident caused her to have to be put down.


The First Arc:

Book One: London Sky
Madison Ripley is given a beautiful colt, London Sky, the son of her father's prize stallion, Lifetime. However, she turns her own world upside down when she abandons the prestigious Ripley Racing Ltd. and takes her colt to a small farm called Hidden Oak.

Book Two: Reach for the Sky
Sky is ready to race. He's come through training brilliantly, and he is picking up win after win on the track. However, Madison's father threatens to take him back, and it's up to Madison to convince Mr. Ripley to let Sky be hers.

Book Three: A Wreath of Roses
Can Sky win the Kentucky Derby?

Book Four: Sky and the Classic
Sky hasn't won the Triple Crown, as Madison hoped he would.... But he has another chance to prove himself.

The Second Arc

Book One: The Son of Sky

Sky's first crop of foals has been born, and from among them a little dapple grey colt appears to be the best of the bunch. However, once training begins, London Glory is a menace. He's stubborn, unwilling, and determined to get his own way, but he's faster than any horse Madison has ever seen, and he breaks record after record on the training oval - a secret kept between Madison and one of the grooms, Phil. Madison just needs to get the colt running. Good training, and he'll be ready to race....

Book Two: Against All Odds

Glory has begun racing... but he's uncontrollable. He comes last in his first race because of his stubbornness, and comes close to last in his second race. He even rears up coming out of the starting gate! But Mariah knows Glory can be a champion... she just has to get through to him.... And, because of bloodlines, he's nominated for the Kentucky Derby!

Three: Race for Glory

Glory has won the Kentucky Derby against all odds.... But it's not over yet. There hasn't been a Triple Crown winner in over 26 years, but Glory could just be the one who pulls it off!

Book Four: Down the Stretch

Glory is one of the greatest racehorses to ever set foot on a track, and Madison couldn't be happier. However, after a dismal performance in the Travers, the racing presses begin to speculate the Glory's Triple Crown was a fluke, or that Glory is a has-been. Madison knows there's another reason... and she can't shake the suspiscion that someone is sneaking around the backside at night.... Could someone be drugging London Glory?

The greatest challenge for Glory is drawing near... a champion from Ripley Racing was scratched from the Triple Crown due to injury, but now he's ready to race again, just in time for the prestigious Breeders' Cup Classic!

[Avalon12]

Oohh if it does get published, I will read them!!!!!! I really want to see what happens!

[astro!]

(Thank you. I had to change the names and stuff, but the same things happen in it.)

Madison spoke to Sky softly; the colt's ears swiveled back, listening to her.
"We can do it, Sky," she whispered. The colt's muscles were tight beneath her, and Madison made no effort to relax them; she knew they'd have to be when the bell rang.
A deafening clang, and the doors burst open. "And they're off... in the Kentucky Derby!"
Sky broke cleanly from the gate. Madison angled him to the outside; they were too far from the rail to try and move inside yet. His hoofbeats pounded on the dirt; to her outside, she saw only one horse, Falcon Swoop. To her inside, she saw Winning Way's blaze flash at Sky's shoulder, and farther down, could just make out her family's purple and yellow silks on Royalty.
"It's Golden Compass in the lead, followed by Royalty, London Sky on the far outside and Winning Way...." the announcer's voice blared.
Madison checked Sky hard, letting him drop back into the pack as was his style. She began to guide him to the rail as the field moved into the first turn.
"Golden Compass holding on by a half length, Falcon Swoop moving up in second now, Winning Way to his outside in third... Royalty is holding onto fourth...."
Sky fought for his head, but Madison checked him again. He has to settle, she thought, panicked. If he doesn't, we're out of it for sure....
Gradually, Sky began to relax a little. His strides were more rhythmic, and he had stopped fighting for his head. He moved in behind Royalty smoothly and hung on. The field swept around the turn, moving through the clubhouse turn and into the backstretch.
"Golden Compass is holding on by a head... time for the half, 42 flat!" The announcer sounded amazed, and rightfully so. The colts were setting unbelieveable fractions. Madison slowed Sky; with this pace, he wouldn't have anything left for the stretch!
The horses moved farther down the backstretch, and Madison could see that Falcon Swoop and Golden Compass had nothing left. They began to slow, falling back into the pack. It seemed that the tide of horses engulfed them. Madison gasped suddenly; Golden Compass was blocking their outside! Sky was stuck on the rail; there was no way for her to move him around the leaders!
She would have to slow him; it was the only way. She'd slow him and move up on the outside. But they were into the far turn; it would take tremendous speed for Sky to come from last to first....
Falcon Swoop angled out without warning and crashed into Sky, who staggered aside, almost hitting the rail. He was slowed now, for sure. Madison glared at Falcon Swoop's jockey furiously, a sinking feeling in her stomach. They'd lost; there was no way they could come back after this. She brought Sky to the back of the pack and around the last horses, then swallowed hard, flicked her crop, and yelled, "Go, Sky, go!"
"As they come through the far turn, Winning Way and Royalty are neck and neck in the lead, three lengths away from the rest of the pack. Neither of them is giving an inch! And there on the outside, London Sky is zooming up like a rocket! He's up in third and desperately trying to catch the leaders. And down the stretch they come! Royalty has moved up a head on Winning Way. London Sky is nearing the two leaders...."
Sky was flying; Madison clung on to the colt's neck. She didn't even have to flick her crop again; the colt needed no encouragement. He was running his heart out. She looked to her right; Winning Way's red and yellow saddlecloth came into sight... then his blinkered head... and they were passing him! Sky flew forward; Madison couldn't see, for the colt's mane was in her face, but it didn't matter; she knew their path was clear. Sky drew away easily from the two battling colts, his strides lengthening with each step. Madison looked back; Winning Way and Royalty were lengths behind!
"It's London Sky! London Sky wins the Kentucky Derby by 5 lengths!

[nalamba]

Wow. I always love to read a good race scene. It was nicely balanced between description and pace. I'd love to have more peeks!

[astro!]

Thanks! Yeah, I will post some more soon. I just have to decide what scenes. Probably I will include the first race and some other parts.

[astro!]

So, as you guys can see, I've changed the way the series is going to work. It's still the same basic premise, however... I've basically just taken out Cajun and Tiramisu, and replaced them with Glory. If you guys think I should change it back again or go half and half, let me know!

SNEAK PEAK for Glory's first race:

"Seen the odds billboard?"
Madison nodded at Trisha. "Glory's the long shot. I already know it without even looking."
"He's up at 90-1," Trisha said, looking at Madison with wide eyes.
Madison felt her heart go cold. "Well, he's never won a race," she reasoned.
Trisha snorted. "Or come above sixth."
Trisha led Glory to one of the pony riders, and Glory was led up to the gate. He loaded quietly and easily, but as they stood in the gate, waiting for the others, Glory began to sweat. He tossed his head up, getting rank before the race even began, the whites of his eyes showing. "Shh, Glory, shh," Madison whispered cautiously. She glanced down the row; all the horses were in.
They waited....
Suddenly the bells rang, the gates burst open, and fourteen powerful thoroughbreds burst forward to a cry of, "And they're off!"
Fourteen out of the fifteen horses in the race.
Glory hopped forward, snorting and tossing his head. Madison flicked her crop. "Go," she growled. The field was drawing away, and Madison felt painfully embarrassed. Suddenly Glory reared straight up into the air; Madison clung on, hearing the announcer and the spectators gasp. Glory came back down heavily, and burst off like a rocket, tearing down the track in pursuit of the rest of the field, who were heading into the backstretch. Madison felt that there was nothing to do but hang on and hope as Glory galloped, uncontrolled, down the stretch and into the clubhouse turn, all alone. She heard the announcer's call:
"It's Musketeer, still holding on to a length lead, followed by Count On It and Death by Chocolate, heads apart... then comes Limelight, in good position, and his stablemate Fort Sumter is right behind.... London Glory's really running here, folks! This is unbelieveable, he's closing in on the pack!"
It was true; Glory was only trailing by about fifteen lengths. It was bordering on impossible, but Madison didn't want to stop him. There was a chance he could catch them.
"They're into the far turn, and Musketeer is fading fast, Count On It coming up to steal the lead with Death By Chocolate right there with him... and HERE COMES LIMELIGHT! This colt's really moving, up on the outside, three wide! And-" the announcer was growing hoarse- "London Glory has caught up with the back of the pack! Incredible!"
Glory was moving up through the pack, picking off horses, making up for his slow start. Up ahead, Madison could see Limelight stealing the lead from a tiring Count On It, running off to increase it by two lengths. Now Madison asked Glory for more, flicking her crop, and Glory responded with a powerful burst, listening to Madison's commands for the first time. As they headed down the stretch, Limelight had drawn off to four lengths, with Death By Chocolate in second, a length ahead of Count On It. Madison drew Glory level with Count On It, and on the outside, All the Riches surged forward to run neck and neck with Glory. Glory stared the other colt down, and with encouragement from Madison, raced forward, pulling away from Count On It and All the Riches. Death By Chocolate was still two lengths ahead, and Limelight was leading by a huge margin that Madison couldn't calculate.
"Limelight ahead by seven! London Glory is desperately trying to catch Death By Chocolate!" The announcer was calling to the crowd.
Glory was catching Death By Chocolate. There was only a length between Glory and second place now... a half-length... and still the grey colt kept going....
But there wasn't enough time. Limelight flashed under the wire to win by seven, and Glory was only a neck behind Death By Chocolate at the finish. The announcer raved about Limelight's "unchallenged" performance for a while, then switched to talking about Glory.
A reporter on a horse trotted up to Limelight, and another one headed for Madison herself. "What do you think of that race?" the reporter asked. "Your colt making up an incredible amount of ground... I don't think any of us have ever seen something like that!"
"This colt is very fast," Madison said carefully. "Don't write him out. He can beat any of these horses, any day."
"But what if he pulls another stunt like that one at the starting gate? We can't deny that if anything denied him a victory, that did."
"I don't know," Madison replied. "He's never done this well in a race before."
"That's true," the reporter admitted. "At 90-1 odds!"