OUR MATE REDWOLF

OUR MATE REDWOLF

I was born into the racing industry. My Mother is a Racehorse trainer, and my sister is a jockey. Racing was all I knew, all I had ever known since before I could walk.

When I was nineteen years old, I became complacent. I never understood how all the other kids I knew growing up in racing loved the game so much. They studied the fields and watch almost every race. Always growing, always learning. Then there was me. To me, a horse was just a horse. Not some miraculous animal that I would spend all my days fussing over like a love-struck teenager. I did not understand what was wrong with me, why I would constantly zone out when people talked about (all they ever talked about) Racing. I was stuck in an industry that involved a lot of passion for what you did. Where was my passion? Why did I find it so hard to wake up every morning to go to work? Why did I have a panic attack most times when I would start thinking about my future?

Little did I know back then that everything was about to change. All thanks to one horse. A horse named Redwolf.

This is not a story of how I adopted a horse and saved it life. No, this is a story of how an incredibly special horse saved not only me, but many other people also.

I worked full time for a racehorse trainer named Ally Ryan. He was 58 years old and still full of absolute life and energy, thrilled by his day-to-day. He still wore a smile even though things weren’t looking the best for his career. It had been over a year since his last winner, which meant money was tight and owners were losing patience. As anyone in racing knows this only means one thing, either his horses needed to start winning or he would eventually have to shut down.

It was February 2014 when he emerged from one of the stables with his phone still in one hand “Guess what little buddy” he grinned at me.

I lifted my head from the water bucket I was filling “Yeah, Boss?”

“We are getting a new one today, just got off the phone with Terry. You remember Terry? The fella that owns the pub. Anyway, you know how his wife Fay is sick with cancer? Well, she told Terry she wanted to own a racehorse, kinda like a bucket list type deal. So, Terry surprised her and bought one, he’s sending it here this morning for us to start training” as quick as he had spoken, he was back in the stable to finish saddling up a horse.

I sighed, I remembered Terry and Fay. They were a lovely older couple; I had heard about her being sick but didn’t know it had taken a turn for the worse. ‘Hopefully this horse does something for them’ I thought to myself.

When Redwolf stepped off the truck I smiled to Ally.

“Yeah, yeah” Ally chuckled “He will grow into it.”

“Sure” I laughed back. His head was so big that his body would have to have grown exceptionally large for him to look normal. Besides this inconsistency, he was rather pretty though. He was bright chestnut with four white socks and a white blaze.

Before long I was biting my words. Redwolf grew, grew and grew some more. He became the biggest thoroughbred I had ever worked with. He was intimidating to look at yet was a gentle giant. He had the biggest personality to match. Every day I would laugh at something silly he would do and before long, I actually started to grow fond of this horse. I caught myself petting him and giving him extra carrots when Ally wasn’t looking. I could stand in his stable for hours just brushing him and playing tug-of-war with one of his hay nets. He was so playful for a racehorse. I caught Ally smiling a few times as he noticed my growing connection to Redwolf, something he had not seen in me before. It started getting easier for me to get out of bed each morning. I no longer had panic attacks, somehow this horse could calm me and make everything better at once. My anxiety settled and slowly dissolved into nothing.

Finally the inevitable came, Redwolf’s first race. We had three horses racing that day, so we loaded up the float and left just after trackwork. I sat in the passenger seat of the car and my eyes shifted from my phone to Ally who was staring at the road, silent. This was the first time I had seen him so quiet, no smile or singing. I felt that something was wrong.

“You alright Boss?”

He sighed and gripped the steering wheel “No, little buddy”. He did not continue so I didn’t push him, I already knew. The track curator had been in our stable that morning and exchanged words with Ally. I had only ever seen the curator come down to speak to a trainer once before, that trainer was told she was being evicted because her track fees were too far overdue, and she was gone within the week.

I didn’t ask Ally; I didn’t have to. The look on his face was enough to tell me, he was about to lose everything.

I walked our first runner into the parade yard ready for the race. I stood next to Ally and watched as it ran mid field. Meaning no prize money. Our second runner was Ally’s hope for the day, it had been working well and he thought it had a good chance of winning. I watched the last bit of hope drain from his face when it missed the kick out of the gate and ran behind the field the whole way, it finished fourth last. Finally, the dread sunk in, this was real. I wrapped my arms around Ally.

“There’s still Red’s race” I whispered; I knew he could hear the doubt in my voice that I tried to keep hidden. It was Redwolf’s first race, he was young and inexperienced.

I started leading Redwolf around the parade yard and saw as Ally walked toward the bar. He wasn’t going to watch it from the fence, he was going to have a beer and call it a day. Once the horses were on the track I walked up to join him, feeling defeated. There was nothing I could say to make Ally feel better, but I could still sit next to him and share the silence.

“Red lights on” the racecallers voice could be heard through the speakers “and they’re off and racing, Danish girl is in the lead ahead Sweet temptation and Vertigo. Further back is-” he continued to call horses names. It was 1000 metre race, which meant if he wasn’t in front of the field at the start, it was unlikely he could win. We sighed and took a sip of our drinks “And Redwolf to back of the field is starting to make ground now” the caller continued. Ally and I looked at each other unsure if we heard him correctly. “Redwolf has passed Vertigo”. We spun on our stools and stood to stare through the windows, a scary shred of hope returning. We saw our big Red horse thundering down the turf light a freight train and Ally started yelling “Go, go, go!” he flew down the outside of the field and passed the second, then first horse and then passed the post. Ally looked at me as if he did not believe it for a second. Tears fell down his face when he hugged me.

“C’mon Boss, lets go to the winners circle.”

Redwolf was unstoppable, he won his next race and then the one after that. Ally nominated him for the Championships, a race worth $100,000. He nominated him thinking that he wouldn’t get a spot. But then he did. The Championship day came around and we didn’t expect anything more from Redwolf, he had already been a great horse for us. The predictions were in and they stated that Redwolf would most likely finish fourth last against the city horses which had traveled from all over Australia for this race. Terry and Fay had made it to the track to watch. Fay slowly ascended the stairs with Terry to the top of the grandstands to watch the race. Fay was pale and spoke slower than usual. I sat next to her and Terry, waiting for the horses to load into the starting gates. Redwolf was paying $56 to $1. I had put a $5 wager on him more to show support than expecting any return.

“Even if he beats just one horse, I would be happy with that” Fay whispered “We couldn’t ask anymore from him”

“And they’re off and racing” the caller yelled through the speakers. I gripped my leather lead rope in both hands. Ally had bought it just for this race so we didn’t look out of place next to the city competitors that had expensive horse gear. I stared around the grandstand, I couldn’t believe how many people were there just to watch this race. Redwolf had missed the kick at the start of the race and now was running behind the field, the horses were ahead of him by over ten lengths. He traveled this way for most of the race, fay narrowed her eyes trying to see so far away as they neared the 400 metre mark. Red was now running next to the second last horse and he began to make ground.

“Is that Red there?” Fay asked, slowly standing from her seat. I stood up with her and my heart started thrumming. Redwolf was striding out faster than I had ever seen before, he passed one horse than another and then another. It was impossible.

For the first time in my life, I started yelling with the crowd. Fay and Terry yelled with me “Go Red!” I held Fays hand and felt the strength of this moment in her grasp. This horse had given her strength.

The racecaller started yelling louder than I had ever heard before “And here comes Redwolf around the outside of the field! Redwolf is going to do it!” nearing the 50 metre mark and he was head to head with the first horse, striding harder and faster “And Redwolf has done it! The underdog has won the country championships” our eyes widened in disbelief and Fay wrapped her arms around me, tears streamed down her face.

The excitement in my chest is still present whenever I think about this moment.

In 2019, I was now 24 years old and I was working in engineering. I went down to the track every weekend to see Ally and Redwolf. Ally and I would have a beer and reminisce on the old days. He was proud of me for making a career for myself. One morning, I was on my way to work and got a phone call from Ally.

“Hey Boss”

“Hey little buddy, I would say the big fellas done enough. Its time to retire Redwolf” I felt the contentment in his voice by the decision “He’s always going to be your horse, when can you pick him up?”

Terry, Fay and Ally had come to the decision that Redwolf should be my horse forever, regardless of any offers anyone had given them to buy him.

In February 2020, we received a phone call that I thought could not be real. Ally had a heart attack and died. I had lost my best mate that day. I sat in Red’s paddock and he hugged me as if he knew. Redwolf had not only saved Ally’s career, he had also given Fay a reason to keep fighting and he is and will always be my savior as well.