Seaspray Cup Workouts

The Seaspray Cup was a series which only ran for dirt horses able to run over ten furlongs. It catered for all levels of horses, starting at maidens and ending at grade one. As a major race series, it was always very competitive and the horses would all be well prepared. Much like with the Season Series races, this would seperate the best from the pack. For Silver Stride Stables, the series would begin with the maiden race, followed by the grade five race and as all of their entrants were two year olds they would work the three together in order to enhance their chances of success.

Paradise Island was a star, in the eyes of the team. Lovingly nicknamed Sonja she was a grade five racer with two wins to her name, both in major races which just went to show that she had the talent for these things. In the eight races she had ran so far she had placed outside of the top three in two of them, and on top of her two wins had achieved a second place and three third placings. As such she had a relatively high level of consistency and the determination to succeed which could be the deciding factor in a race. Jacob had high hopes for the filly and a win in the Seaspray Cup, against older competition, would push them closer still to achieving great things.

Candid Silver and Karnevil were scheduled to run in the maiden race of the series. Unfortunately, however, neither of them had performed well yet this season. Silvi had ran in seven races and had nothing to show for it except experience - something that Mitchell, who had been asked to ride her for this race, was determined to change. The grey filly wasn't completely without talent, after all, and they just needed to push a little harder to achieve a result which could be called desirable. Beau was in a very similar position, with five races ending in no desirable results. With a little luck, Tanya would be able to push the filly to a better result in this latest race.

With all three jockeys at the track, it was just a game of waiting for the handlers to arrive with their mounts which would be here soon. Matthias Lanning, the tall blonde trainer, sat in the stands as he looked up the track. Firm, the track was dry and would kick up a lot of dust. The weather, relatively hot, would make the race perhaps a little uncomfortable for the jockeys. But good jockeys could deal with discomfort, it was one of the things which separated the good from the great. Turning his head from the track, he looked to the three jockeys. Excitable Tanya seemed to be deep in a conversation with the shy Jacob, while the youngest team member stood a little way from them, arms crossed and a slight frown on his brow. All very different personalities who would bring something different to the track.

The first of the horses to arrive at the track was the lovable Sonja, who looked as alert as every with her bright eyes and twitching ears. Her neck was curved, her stride sure and confident. Obviously, she was having a good day as she was not lashing out at anyone and seemed to have her eyes firmly on the track. Handling well from the ground, you could almost see her gait change as she saw her jockey, with whom she had formed a strong bond. Jacob walked over and greeted the mare affectionately before mounting and being led out onto the track.

The next to arrive was the black filly, Beau. Full of energy she was practically prancing beside the handler, her head held high and auds perked as she moved across the ground. Every now and then she would toss her head or half-rear, showing off - her favourite thing to do. She would have made an amazing horse for a carnival or a circus but she was on the track and the attention of the crowd tended to spur her on which, at least, was a good thing. Excitable Tanya practically ran toward the mare and put her arms around her neck. For a moment, Beau looked like she might react violently but she managed to hold herself in and allowed the jockey to mount.

The final horse to arrive was Silvi - something which was not really surprising. She was a willful thing, though not exactly in a good way. She could be violent and volatile, but mostly she just wanted to eat and sleep. While she liked attention, her favourite thing was cameras and food. No doubt she'd been kicking up a fuss in the yard when she realised they were actually going to make her run - it just didn't fit with her way of life. Mitch looked the filly over, she definitely didn't look to be overly motivated, and sighed before mounting. They had a long way to go.

With the jockeys mounted the next task was, of course, gating. The first to be gated was Beau, a filly who had no issues at all with the gate. In fact, she handled it better than some of the older horses in the fact she didn't feel even slightly intimidated by the contraption. Next was the spirited Sonja. She too had few problems with the gate, although due to her high energy levels and the speed she was insisting they move at it took several attempts before they actually managed to gate her and close the shutters behind her. Luckily enough, Silvi also had few problems with thee starting gate. What she did have a problem with was the handlers though and as she entered the gates she purposefully nipped the closest handler. The shutters were closed and the hoses were ready.

As soon as the gates opened the race was on. Beau was the first out of the gates, flying forwards and taking a position against the rail. Sonja also broke quickly, while Silvi was more slow to start. They took up positions according to their racing styles. Beau a front runner, Sonja a preceder and Silvi a pack horse. In a bigger field, positioning would have been more difficult but in this small, three-horse field each had their place and they took them as they started their workout.

At the front of the field, Karnevil was in her element. Pushing at a high pace, putting distance between herself and Paradise Island who was moving at a slightly, but not much, slower pace. All she needed to do was get a distance between herself and the others and she would be ok. Tanya did not encourage her, but she did not hold her back either. They were not going at such a speed that she should worry, they would be ok if they maintained their current speed. Behind her, Jacob and Sonja were in a league of their own. Churning the dirt at a good pace, the filly was alert and responsive to commands. Originally, she had been moving at the same pace as the black front runner but Jacob had held her back, encouraging her to bide her time a little. They had the talent to take this, and all he had to do was provide the filly with a little direction.