Ride The Waves

They were getting a reputation for being a powerful team on the turf racing circuit. They had wowed the crowds in five races now, claiming four wins and a show. Their winning streak had ended with a disappointing result in the Magic Millions, but Jacob Donovan was not phased. Him and Blue could recover from the defeat and then continue to show the racing world just how they had drawn their attention to start with. After all, Blue was a highly talented youngster. He had claimed the honour of being the first two-year old to reach Grade Four and they would be fighting to pull in more wins throughout the season. After all, they weren't about to just stop racing when they had been doing so well.

The loss had brought them down to earth. They needed to stay focussed, they needed to be prepared to pull off whatever they needed to in order to claim victory. They had become too relaxed, become too sure in themselves, but that had changed now. Were they good? Yes. Did they need to work to maintain their class? Most definitely. They would be giving their all, and fighting to prove themselves time and time again and it would all be starting with their next race. The April Juvenile Face Off, running in April Week Four, was for horses of Grade Five and above at two years old. It ran a course of ten furlongs on the turf, and as such was the perfect event for Blue.

The black colt had recovered well from his defeat in the Magic Millions and was eager to go. He had stood kicking at the door to his stable since feeding time and had seemed pleased when the grooms arrived to prepare him to go out. They had groomed him, tacked him up, and then (having tied the reins so that he could not throw them over his head or trip on them) left him. Again he had resumed him process of kicking at the door, more impatient that ever and he had certainly been the talk of the stable because of all the racket he was making.

Jacob and Matthias had been sat in the trainer's office, talking. They spoke about how the colt might have taken a blow to his confidence, how they would need to proceed in order to get the best from the colt, and most importantly about the upcoming race. They had discussed the field, and Jacob thought about it as they walked to the colt's stall where they would be meeting Lucas. It had become unusual for the jockeys to go to the horse's stall prior to a workout now, but then they were not the most predictable stable to start with.

This field is not going to be as easy as some people might think. Ode To Glory is definitely a powerful horse, even if he has only placed in the top three half of the time. He came fourth behind us in the Magic Millions and could pull something. Ode To Glory usually runs mid pack, and he doesn't do it badly either. We'll be facing Bella Luna again too - she's starting in Gate Two - and she definitely has the experience to be a problem. When we raced against her in February she placed fourth while we won but she has raced quite a bit since then. She runs as a stalker. We'll be starting in gate three, we'll take the lead from the start, set a good pace and hope we can keep the rest of the field at bay in the stretch. The final entry in Classic Nutcase, and she's quite the one to watch. She's raced twice, winning once but has the breeding to be great. Matt says she runs as a mid pack so we'll have to be careful in the home stretch.

Matthias could almost see the thought in Jacob's eyes and clapped him on the shoulder. "Jake, stop worrying over it. Just go with the flow, ride the waves, everything will come together." The jockey looked shocked, his green eyes looked to his friend and he shook his head, laughing. "You were always better at that than me. Blue is just so good, I don't want to let him down." Matthias tsked at his friend's words. "Jake, you never will. Come on, let's speed up a little bit or Lucas will be worried." Grinning slightly, Jacob nodded and they picked up their pace as they headed for the stall.

Lucas was already there when they arrived, trying to deal with a very temperamental two year old who was still attacking his stall door in his impatience. "Matt, we're going to have to reinforce this door if this becomes a habit. Blue has been going at it all morning, and I'm not sure how much more it can take." Matthias nodded, looking to Jacob who walked up to the stall door, stroking the colt's nose gently and Blue started to settle a little. Lucas found himself to be a little envious of the jockey - the colt was very fussy about who he bonded with and pretty much refused to deal with him unless they were headed for the track. Even then he did not exactly handle well due to his desire to get started.

"I say we get him out there. I really want to do something different with him today. I want to run him over a mile, Matt." Jacob usually went with what the trainer asked, and recently that had been very short workouts, but with their recent performance he felt that him and the colt would both benefit from a longer workout and some bonding. Matthias frowned, ran a hand through his hair. "I dunno, Jake. I was planning on this being quick." The jockey turned his back to the stall to look the trainer in the eye. "Matt, please, trust me on this. You know I have what matters at heart." Matthias sighed, shrugging. "Whatever. But don't moan at me if it puts a negative impact on the race." "It won't" the jockey had barely let Matthias finish his sentence. "Fine. Okay, let's get down to the track. Jake, go grab your stuff and be quick about it."

Jacob moved off across the yard and Lucas opened the black colt's door, forced to push him back in to prevent him breaking loose. The colt tossed his head indignantly and Lucas took hold of his rein. "Calm, Blue. You'll be doing what you want to soon." Lucas spoke to the colt as he opened the stall door, and Blue practically ran forwards, forcing Lucas to have to hold him back. "Blue, stop it." The black colt was practically prancing around, his head held high and tail lifted. He looked proud, but he certainly was not being an easy horse to handle. He refused to stay still, often pulling forwards and while the walk down to the track was quick it was no easy for Lucas, who had to try and keep the energetic creature at his side.

Matthias could not help smiling. He had been worried that Blue might lose enthusiasm after the Magic Millions but he seemed to have really picked up his game. In fact, if it were possible, Blue seemed to have become even more enthusiastic. It was a good sign - when he was defeated it seemed that the colt came back with twice as much determination to run and win. Jacob rolled onto the track several minutes after and rose his eyebrow at the sight of the horse and handler. Blue was, quite literally, giving Lucas the run around. He would pull of in one direction, prance in another. In fact, he considered not announcing his presence - neither Matthias or Lucas seemed to have realise he was even there - but chose against it. He coughed, and Matthias looked around.

"Have you seen this? He's more determined to get started than ever. Get up on that horse and show us just what he is capable of." Jacob nodded, walking over, and Lucas had the difficult task of trying to keep Blue still. Even then, it still took several attempts for Jacob to find himself in the saddle, the colt half-rearing as he did so. It wasn't aggression, as such, more that Blue was tired of waiting around and just wanted to get started on the run that he knew was ahead of him. After all, tack plus jockey plus track could mean nothing else, right?

The next challenge was gating. Although there was not normally an issue with gating the colt he was even more energetic, and more of a handful, than usual. It meant that gating was a touch more challenging than it usually was. The first time they tried it, the colt went in far too quickly and ended up veering off from the gate. The second attempt the colt reared at the last moment and ended up moving away. The third attempt, however, saw the colt safely into the contraption and the shutters closed behind him. Jacob patted his muscular mount's neck as he rose in his stirrups and then there was silence as they waited. Jacob looked at the turf ahead of him, knew that it stretched for eight furlongs, and was sure that this run would do Blue good.

The buzzer sounded, the shutters opened, and they were off. Blue broke well from the gate, settling into an above-average pace as they hit the turf and Jacob guided him to the rail. Blue was responsive to the request, and seemed more than happy to move over the track and run by the rail. Now, Jacob knew he could relax a little. Blue was a good horse, he only occasionally needed pulling back a little to prevent him picking up the pace too early and his movement was perfected, displaying a strong gait with grace and ease. Of course, those who had known the colt growing up knew that this gait had been developed over many hours of galloping up and down the pasture.

The furlongs seemed to pass quickly. First one, then another and another. Before long they were half way through the workout, with another four furlongs lay ahead of them. Jacob smiled slightly, pleased with how the colt was moving and responding, and urged him forwards a little. The pace picked up and they were making a good show of themselves. Blue seemed confident and relaxed, and Jacob was enjoying the ride. The colt's hooves set a regular rhythm and everything was going well as they came into the corner.

Blue started to pull away, and Jacob was forced to hold him back as they started to round the corner. The black colt seemed a little annoyed at this, but soon followed the command and continued on his journey across the turf. The turn was smooth, and by the time they had completed it there were only two furlongs remaining. Jacob tucked himself into the colt's neck and drove forwards, cracking the crop several times as they came into the final stretch. The colt responded by throwing his all into the movement and their speed picked up as they moved onwards.

Of course, their acceleration was nothing on that of a closer, their increase in speed however was what had often given them an edge in races. They were fighting for the line, a team and they were not giving up. The sound of the colt's hooves and the wind in his ears was all that Jacob could hear now. His world minimised and nothing but this workout seemed to matter. He bit his lip hard as they continued to press forwards and when they passed the post he could feel his heart pounding in his chest. It had been a good work on a powerful horse, but was it enough to claim the prize?