Free The Black Stallion's Courage by Walter Farley Page B

as she drew up on Wintertime. He gave the bit a hard yank to keep her attention away from the colt and on the open path before them. He didn’t want any trouble now with the race within their grasp.
    Suddenly from the great stands rose the mightiest roar Alec had ever heard on a track. At that precise second Black Minx caught Wintertime and Alec thought the applause was for her!
    â€œGo on!” he called softly. “They’re shouting for you. That’s what you wanted to hear. Listen to them!”
    She didn’t respond. For a second Alec thought it was because Wintertime’s speed had quickened under Billy Watts’s constant urging. But it
hadn’t
, for out of the corner of his eye he could see Golden Vanity moving up on a
tiring Wintertime
!
    Alec began moving in his saddle, urging Black Minx on as he’d done in the Kentucky Derby stretch. She had responded nobly then, but now she refused his demands even though she had the speed and stamina for them. Golden Vanity drew alongside Wintertime and then went to the lead. Black Minx bobbed head to head with Wintertime, neither gaining on nor losing ground to the red colt. As a team of equal size and stride they went into the last furlong of the race a length behind Golden Vanity.
    The pandemonium on either side of the track rose to still greater heights. It was only then that Alec realized that even before, when Black Minx had caught Wintertime, the loud clamor had not been for them.
It
had been for Eclipse, coming now on the far outside of the track!
The big horse passed them and then swept by Golden Vanity with electrifying speed; he pulled farther and farther away, winning by a dozen or more lengths. Behind him finished Golden Vanity and in a dead heat for third place came Wintertime and Black Minx, still head to head.
    Later the crowd was so dense around Barn J that there was no place to cool out a horse. After washing Black Minx, Alec and Henry took her away from the throng gathered there to idolize Eclipse.
    Henry pulled the filly’s black-and-white cooler higher up on her head, pinning it securely around her neck. “Well,” he said resignedly, nodding toward the photographers, “that was us at the Derby.”
    Alec said, “She could have done it again.”
    â€œI don’t know,” Henry answered. “I’m inclined to doubt it. Eclipse came off that fast pace with an explosive burst of speed that I’ve seen equaled only by the Black. You know it was the track record he broke as well as the Preakness record, don’t you? On that kind of a track, too!”
    â€œI know,” Alec said, “but I still think that if she’d kept going—”
    Henry interrupted, “Maybe. Maybe so. She had a good lead on him comin’ into the stretch. At least it would have been something to see!”
    The trainer’s eyes left Alec for the filly and then he walked on in silence. Finally he said, “Well, we made something today, over eleven thousand dollars. And no one’s countin’ us out of the Belmont. We’ll get that barn built yet.”
    They joined the other horses and men in a walking ring far from the crowd. Suddenly the filly was on her toes, her small hoofs barely touching the ground before she had them up again.
    Henry gave a tug on the lead shank to keep her still. “Easy, Baby,” he said. Then turning to Alec he added, “Don’t think for a minute I won’t figure out why she didn’t go to the front this afternoon. I’ll fix her, all right. No horse is goin’ to outtrick me.”
    Alec was silent when Henry had finished. His eyes left the filly and centered on Wintertime, who was on the opposite side of the ring. After another moment or two he said, “I don’t believe you’ll be able to do anything about this, Henry.”
    â€œDon’t be silly, Alec,” the trainer replied irritably. “There’s nothin’ I