(Just forget about winning,) Cassie said calmly, now that she couldn't smell the other stallions. (The point here is not to win, the point is just to run.)

Somehow, Morely managed to keep his seat. Cassie noticed this, and was duly impressed by it. Soon enough though, she forgot about it, too absorbed in her running to think about things like that. Cutting across the paths of five other stallions, Cassie thought nothing of it. Now closer to the white-painted railing that marked the center of the racetrack, Cassie dug her hooves into the thicker dirt to keep herself from slipping as she turned.

Cassie was starting to tire now, and since she didn't care much about winning, she started slowing down. That is to say, Cassie didn't care much about the race until she saw the dark stallion who was edging closer and closer to her as she slowed down. It was the same dark-brown stallion whose scent had so infuriated her before the start of the race.

The look of defiant triumph in the stallion's dark eyes infuriated Cassie all over again.

"Don't you fade out on me now, talking horse!" Morely shouted, not caring who heard him anymore.

(You just hold on, Mr. Jockey!) Cassie shouted right back at Morely, kicking herself into another, higher speed that she hadn't been aware she had. (We're going to win this race!)

This proved to be much easier for Cassie to think of than for her to do. The other stallion's jockey had managed to conserve the energy of her horse, and was now closing the distance between her horse and Cassie. But Cassie had one distinct advantage over the dark-brown stallion running next to her: while she was physically a horse, she still had her human mind.

The instinct to slow down that a normal horse would have been unable to do anything but obey didn't carry nearly that kind of weight with Cassie. Cassie's human mind could override the directives of her horse mind, something that no non-Animorph could do. So instead of slowing down, Cassie sped up, pulling out ahead of the dark stallion.

The other stallion's jockey wasn't going to give up so easily, though, and she snapped the reins to make her horse speed up. Cassie saw this of course, and pushed herself even harder to get ahead. The jockey riding the dark-brown stallion wasn't about to be outdone like this, though. She snapped her reins harder this time, commanding her stallion to speed up.

Cassie's entire body was alive with the thrill of competition in a way she had never been before. She was going to win, and nothing was going to stop her! Certainly not some mere human. Stretching out her stride, Cassie began to put some more distance between herself and the other stallion. However, the other jockey was just as determined as Cassie was, snapping her reins and again closing the distance between her horse and Cassie.

They were almost to the finish line by now and with a last, nearly-desperate burst of energy, Cassie cleared the finish line a full two feet in front of her opponent. The cameras flashed, the crowd cheered, and the woman who had been riding the dark-brown stallion slid down off of his back. When Cassie's own rider did the same thing, they both took up the reins of their respective horses and led them off the track.

Cassie realized that she was being led to the Winner's Circle. That, and she now noticed that the announcer was talking. Probably had been for some time, but this was the first time that she had heard him.

"… What a photo finish, folks! It sure has been a long time since we had a race this close! Let's all give a big hand to Jamie Daniels and Morely Stevenson, our jockeys for this race! And of course to Tempest Rider and Minneapolis Max, their fantastic horses!"

Cassie kicked up her front hooves, scattering some of the loose-packed dirt of the Winner's Circle. This was the first time she had won any kind of physical contest. Sure, she was a horse right now, but a victory was still a victory as far as Cassie was concerned.

(Cassie, as soon as you can get away from those people, you'll need to meet up with the rest of us. All of the others have managed to acquire horse morphs by now, and they're waiting for you in the sky,) Tobias reported.

(All right, Tobias,) Cassie said. (I'll be there as soon as I can.)

Cassie felt – and smelled – a wreath made of sweet-smelling flowers being put around her neck. She watched as her jockey slid off her back, then walked around the perimeter of the Winner's Circle, waving to the crowds that had gathered there. Out of her right-side eye, Cassie saw the Cigar man coming, probably to lead her back to the stalls. Back to all the other horses. Back to where Minneapolis Max was waiting.

Cassie let him lead her away from the crowds, back out to the barn that the Animorphs had originally come into. There was, luckily, no one around either of the barns. Cassie knew this with a good amount of certainty. For one, Cassie didn't smell any new human scents, and for another, Cassie had already taken a look around. Just to be sure.

"Boy, you sure have a lot of energy today, Max," the Cigar man chuckled. "That's all right with me, though. That's probably why you just won!"

Cassie knew that, as a horse, there wasn't much chance of her leaving the Cigar man and getting away unseen. So, after he had led her away from the Winner's Circle, away from all those people, she decided to take a bit of a chance.

(Hey,) Cassie said, pitching her voice low enough that Cigar man wasn't likely to recognize her as a kid. (What's that over by the other barn? Hey, I think it's one of those kids!)

"What the blazes?!" Cigar man shouted, running over to the other barn and out of Cassie's line of sight.