Breaking the Fall (Thoroughbred Series #67) - Softcover

Campbell, Joanna

Softcover

ISBN 10: 006073812X ISBN 13: 9780060738129

Publisher: HarperCollins, 2004

Synopsis

Will an injury spell the end for Christina's racing career and her friendship with Melanie?

After taking a year off to train with her beloved Star for the Breeders' Cup, Christina is back in silks riding a few preliminary races. But all her plans are shattered when she suffers a severe injury in a track accident. When she learns she won't be able to ride for at least three months, Christina reluctantly agrees to let Melanie train Star –– a situation that will begin to tear the cousins apart. Will they be able to mend their differences for Star's sake? And just what will Christina do while her injury heals?

Check out the bio and photo of famed racehorse Whirlaway inside!

Ages 10–13

About this title

About the Author

Joanna Campbell appears here with her six-year-old Thoroughbred, Meyersville Magic, known around the barn as CC. He's a son of Horatius out of Northwich by Timothy's Champ and is owned by Cathy Day. Formerly trained for racing, he is now being trained for eventing. Last Year he was the Maine Entry Level Champion in Combined Training.

From the Back Cover

Will an injury spell the end for Christina's racing career and her friendship with Melanie?

After taking a year off to train with her beloved Star for the Breeders' Cup, Christina is back in silks riding a few preliminary races. But all her plans are shattered when she suffers a severe injury in a track accident. When she learns she won't be able to ride for at least three months, Christina reluctantly agrees to let Melanie train Star –– a situation that will begin to tear the cousins apart. Will they be able to mend their differences for Star's sake? And just what will Christina do while her injury heals?

Check out the bio and photo of famed racehorse Whirlaway inside!

Ages 10–13

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Thoroughbred #67

Breaking the FallBy Campbell, Joanna

HarperEntertainment

ISBN: 006073812X

Chapter One

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is the captain speaking."

The crackling voice over the airplane intercom made Christina Reese look up from her reading. "I apologize again for the delay. Because of the current weather conditions, we are still waiting for air traffic control to clear us for landing. We should have you on the ground in roughly forty-five minutes."

Christina capped her highlighter with a sigh and closed her biology textbook. How could she possibly concentrate on the intricacies of DNA replication when she was this close to Belmont Park and a reunion with her horse, Wonder's Star?

Everyone else at Whitebrook Farm, the Thoroughbred breeding and training facility Christina's parents owned, had left for Belmont three days before, but Christina had stayed behind to take a chemistry test. Although she had decided not to go to college full-time this year because she wanted to focus on her jockeying career, Christina had registered for a couple of introductory science classes at the local community college. Since she was still considering veterinary school, she knew she needed a solid science background.

Christina looked out the airplane window. Her mind wandered to the events of the past few months as her eyes skimmed over the foggy haze of lights beneath the clouds.

Some of the best and worst moments in Christina's racing career had occurred over the summer. It had begun on a high note: Star's victory in the Belmont Stakes, the last leg of the Triple Crown. But less than two weeks later, a horrible accident had occurred. One of Christina's favorite horses, Calm Before the Storm, had broken down at the end of the Riva Ridge Breeders' Cup and had later been euthanized at an equine surgery clinic.

Christina had felt so helpless afterward. She'd thought about quitting racing and becoming a vet so that she could work with horses in pain, like Callie. After talking with the veterinarian who had operated on Callie, though, Christina realized that she wasn't ready to make any decisions about her future quite yet. Besides, how could she stop racing before Star's career was over?

Christina smiled as she thought about Star. She'd loved the handsome chestnut colt from the moment he was born.

Star was the last foal out of Ashleigh's Wonder. Christina's mother, Ashleigh Griffen, had turned Wonder from a sickly foal to a champion racer and had watched many of the mare's offspring become champions in their own right. Wonder had died shortly after Star's birth, and from that point on, Christina wanted to help Star be the best racehorse he could be in Wonder's honor. At first, looking at Star had been too painful for Ashleigh, since the colt reminded her so much of Wonder, but in the past two years she'd come to love Star almost as much as Christina did, and had even helped Christina design the training plan that had made Star a competitive three-year-old racer.

Ashleigh's training plan had put Star on track to win the Travers Stakes in August, but Christina had been forced to scratch Star from that race because of an overeager fan who had followed the colt to Saratoga. For Star's safety Christina had even boarded him at Whitebrook's rival farm, Townsend Acres, for a few weeks. Moving Star to Townsend Acres had come at a price, though-the owner, Brad Townsend, had threatened to take control of Christina's cousin's horse, Perfect Image, if Christina moved Star off the farm. Fortunately, Christina had managed to negotiate both Image's and Star's freedom in exchange for Star's winnings from the Belmont Stakes.

Since Christina had moved Star back to Whitebrook a month before, things had been pretty calm ...

Continues...

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Edition details

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 2004
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 006073812X
• ISBN 13: 9780060738129
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 176