Faster Than Lightning Read Free Page B

grinned.
    ‘H-hi,’ Gabby replied, slightly out of breath. ‘You obviously didn’t have time to dress for the races, Han.’ She looked over Hannah’s jeans and T-shirt.
    ‘Guess not. Who’s your friend?’
    ‘Oh, this is my cousin, Mae-Ling. Ling, this is Angus and Hannah, two of my bestest friends.’
    Mae-Ling smiled shyly. Angus felt himself smiling back, caught by Ling’s dark eyes. He felt his face start to heat up.
    ‘Hi, Ling,’ said Hannah.
    ‘Gabby’s told me all about you,’ said Ling.
    ‘Hope it was good.’
    ‘Most of it was,’ Ling said, grinning.
    ‘Ling is staying with us for two weeks until her parents come back from their trip overseas. She normally lives in Sydney.’ Gabby looked sideways at Ling. ‘I was trying to tell you last night, Angus. I didn’t know myself—’
    ‘That’s great, Gab, but c’mon or else we’ll miss the race,’ Angus interrupted, turning away from the girls. ‘I’m going to find Dad.’
    Hannah slipped the phone into her pocket and raced after Angus.
    ‘God, where to now?’ Gabby grumbled, turning around with difficulty.
    Angus and Hannah charged up the stairs of the trainers’ viewing platform. Mr Mac was already there, watching his horse heading down to the starting stalls.
    ‘Got a chance, Dad?’ asked Angus, finding a seat.
    ‘As good as any.’
    Squashing up to let Gabby, Hannah and Ling sit down, Angus pulled out his form guide and took one last look at the field running in the fourth. The sense of excitement and anticipation that he always felt just before a race surged through him. Even Gabby and Hannah were quiet, leaning forward in their seats and straining to see the starting stalls way off in the distance. Finally, the horses settled.
    ‘Racing!’ yelled the speakers.
    Hannah trained her binoculars on the galloping horses gathering speed as they charged down the straight.
    ‘Cool, Angus! Check this out!’ She handed the glasses to him.
    ‘I’m okay, thanks.’ Angus stared out at the tightly packed group of horses thundering past the stands for the first time. He was watching two horses in particular—his dad’s lanky dark brown with their red star silks on the jockey’s back, and the black horse the group of men had been arguing over, running evenly in the middle of the field. The gold and black colours on the jockey’s back stood out in the afternoon sunshine.
    The horses flew past the finishing post for the first time, slightly more spread out. Mr Mac’shorse had eased back into fourth, but was looking strong. The black was a couple of lengths further back, galloping easily, its jockey relaxed like he was on a gentle training run.
    ‘Dad?’ Angus called, not taking his eyes from the track.
    ‘Fourth, but going okay,’ Mr Mac replied.
    ‘Yeah, I know. Do you know all the horses running?’
    Gabby started counting. ‘They keep changing positions,’ she said, frustrated.
    ‘It’s a horse race, Gabby. That’s what happens,’ Hannah laughed.
    ‘No,’ Mr Mac said, after a moment. ‘There’s some here I haven’t seen before.’
    ‘Okay,’ Angus said. ‘Han, can I have a go of those glasses?’
    Hannah passed them over as the horses swung into the back straight. Two or three had dropped off the pace, but it was still anyone’s race with the leaders running side by side. The jockeys were starting to use their whips to spur the horses on.
    The leading four pulled further away as they entered the sweeping bend at the top of the back straight.
    ‘Hang tough, hang tough,’ Mr Mac muttered, his horse desperately trying to keep up with thefront of the group of chasers. Angus’s binoculars were trained on Mr Mac’s horse when suddenly the black came into view, sprinting wide around the outside. He kept the glasses on the black, following it closely as it sped up alongside the last of the four leading horses.
    A roar of excitement erupted from the stand as it continued its daring run. In no time the black had surged