competitive juices burning

CANJUN MOON AND HENNA TURATH
FIERY TOUCH AND KRYSTAL YHATE

CANJUN'S WORKOUT FOR THE MIGHTY MOOSE STAKES
FIE'S WORKOUT FOR THE DIRTY DUCK STAKES

The winner of the year ten Next Top Racehorse series strode down the track rippling with muscle and energy. At Henna's quiet command to go faster, though, the look of business was broken by sudden, youthful desire. Canjun lunged forward, attempting to grab the bit in his teeth and run with it. He was just so full of energy that he was hard to control. Henna, however, was very used to this. Thoughts of her sprinter stallion Pegasus Wings came to mind. The energetic five year old was just like Canjun Moon. Though Canjun was quite a bit taller than the short stallion, they shared the same energy and the same need to keep in motion. However, Canjun was a closer. He liked to break well but get gradually faster as the race went on. Thus, Henna knew that the colt favored a closer position. Through a couple of mock races, she had cemented this as the colt's racing style. And it would soon be put to the test. Canjun was racing in the Mighty Moose Stakes in a couple days, his first race and first attempt to break his maiden. Henna was both excited and nervous for her colt.

At the opposite side of the track, a bay filly quietly obeyed the commands of her rider. Krystal relaxed into the saddle of Fiery Touch and wondered at her temperament. She was, quite simply, the sweetest horse in the year eleven crop of two year olds. She listened to her rider and was easy to handle. Of course, she had been just as flighty as her peers in the early stages of her training, but that had changed. She had matured faster than all of them, which spoke of interesting things to come. One of Fiery Touch's main advantages in her first start, the Dirty Duck Stakes, would be her maturity. She knew better than to disobey her rider, and already trusted Krystal enough to know that her decisions were good ones. Though Fie's personality completely flipped on the track to reflect the devilishly analytic side of her half sister The Devil's Touch, she was still compliant beneath her rider's hands. And right now, Krystal had her going at an easy canter, waiting for their workout partner.

Coming around the turn, Krystal spied Canjun Moon and Henna Turath. Smiling, she actually raised a hand to wave. Fie did not react at all to Krystal's lack of contact with the reins. Henna felt a brief burst of jealousy. She would never have been able to do that with Canjun at this point in time, and she doubted she ever would, based on the colt's personality. As Krystal came closer, Henna called out So, are we just mock racing or what? Krystal waited until she was cantering alongside Canjun Moon before replying. I think we're mock racing for a mile or so, yeah. Just to solidify the racing styles and stuff. Krystal shrugged. Fie here is a closer, bar none. And I know that you think Canjun is a closer as well. But what Amber says is what we do. Henna nodded. Shall we get started then? Canjun and I are ready to face off. Krystal smirked and nodded. At the wire, then.

The two women prepared themselves. They settled in their stirrups and prepared to release the reins. The two year olds, picking up on the sudden preparation and knowing what it meant, minutely reacted. Fie simply kept going, but her muscles were tenser. Canjun was preparing to grab the bit in his teeth and make a run for it. And as they ghosted under the wire and the two horses were released, the dark bay Canjun Moon exploded forward in a sudden release of speed. Fiery Touch was not far behind. She settled on his outside, slightly behind him. Canjun, for his explosion of speed, looked like he should have been leading, but he was actually just going at a closing, back of the pack type of speed. Such went the race for the first quarter mile. Slow fractions, with Canjun leading, and Fie a length behind.

Then, into the third furlong, Canjun began to gain speed. It was his trademark. He was not the type of closer than waited until the last minute to begin running. He was the type that gradually gained speed, becoming a greater and greater threat until finally, he was released upon his adversaries. Fie, on the other hand, enjoyed racing for it at the final turn. She loved to feel the ground suddenly begin to fly past her hooves, and to see the other horses falling behind as she put them away. So had their racing styles, so similar yet so unique, been decided. In the backstretch, Canjun was slowly beginning to draw away from Fie as he drew upon his reserves. He pounded after an imaginary leader, eyes lit up with glee. Fie coolly continued now three lengths behind him, not seeming to care, though Krystal could feel the tension as she prepared to drive Canjun into the ground.

At the half mile mark, Canjun was five lengths ahead and still gradually pouring it on. Fie was going at the same speed that she had been at the start of the race. Henna sat coolly upon Canjun's back, slowly letting out rein. Krystal just held Fie in and waited. At the final turn, Canjun suddenly flew into a higher speed, as though realizing that the end of the race was near. Fie's turn of foot was quicker. One moment she was just loping along, and now she was suddenly bearing down on Canjun's shoulder. It was like she had transported herself to his side. Canjun was unprepared to deal with this new, sudden threat. With great glee, the lighter bay filly put Canjun away going into the stretch. But the dark bay colt was not to be outdone, especially by the opposite sex. He dug in under Henna's constant urging, searching for more speed. Finding it, he stretched out and quickly gained on Fie, seeking to surpass her. But Fie was in her element right now. There was no stopping her. Canjun was just barely crawling up her side when they flashed under the wire.

Grinning, Krystal slowed the compliant Fie up. Canjun continued dragging Henna for a furlong until he, also, slowed down. Exchanging grins, the two females complimented each other on their riders. After this workout, the competitive juices were burning, and both horses were ready for the first starts of their careers.