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I crouch to the ground, covering my eyes How could he lose? I kept him calm all the way up until the race He was happy, he was fed, he was raring to go

"1:47," I hear Gael saying

Da the heels of my hands into my eyes and pray that Mr Goodwin doesn’t entle hands cupping round Jack lifts h?"

My eyebrows pop up "What? Wh--"

"Just tellh (102 pounds), but I won’t let on that I care "I dunno, a hundred pounds or so?"

"Do you have a jockey’s license?"

I shake my head

"Get her an apprentice license," Jack tells Gael "Start the paperwork tonight"

My mouth drops open

"No--" Dad starts

"I want to see what she’s got during a real race," Jack interrupts

"Son, Savannah has no experience--" Mr Goodwin says

"She’s better than most men," Jack replies "Do you think I’d allow Gael to put just any exercise boy onpractice, and that’s why Gael and Danny are gonna start training her for real too before Kentucky Downs, understand?"

Kentucky Downs is next week Oh God

"But she’s a girl," Dad says

"Girls have been jockeys before," Jack says "A woo And Rosie Napravnik has over a hundred wins"

My heart slaerous and I want more for her--"

"This would beup tall "If she’s able to get her license and win a race, she’d get a percentage of the purse"

I’ve never heard Jack speak so authoritatively Mr Goodwin rubs his chin, looking fro to stand there?" Dad says to Mr Goodwin

"Star is ave hter," Dad growls

"She’s getting her license--" Jack says

"Over my dead body--"

"Stop!" I yell, and the men turn to face me Boys They can’t even be bothered to ask what I want "Dad, I’d love to getis what I want to do--"

Dad slaps a scowl on his face "Savannah--"

"What’s wrong with getting a license? I could start training and see if I’h I want to see Star win"

Gael nods "I’ll do the paperwork today Since she’s over sixteen years old and I’ll sponsor her, it won’t be a probleet an apprentice license in a hurry She can start training first thing in the "

Dad says to Jack, "Savannah has no experience and you want her to race a priceless horse--"

"He isn’t priceless," Jack says He’s several inches taller than Dad, but , so he doesn’t even flinch at Jack’s display of Alpha maleness "I paid a lot for him to be born and I want to see hi or go ho horses is even better than being a full-time exercise rider I could fly!

Not to e of the purse! I could help Dad pay off debt froive ether, excited at the prospect of racing horses for a living Why have I never thought about this before?

To get a full-blown jockey’s license, I think I’ll have to race in so like forty races as an apprentice under instruction of a trainer

"I want you back in the barns right now," Dad says to me in a low voice "We’ll talk about this in private"

I’ve never seen hihtail it toward the barns

"Savannah!" Jack calls out "Tomorrow! Five am"