Lead, Never Follow

The autumn breeze cast a cool nip in the air, and Whisper was definitely reacting to the wind - and not in the greatest way. The big grey colt was on edge, wide-eyed and head high as he was led out to the track. While the horse had gotten more comfortable at Valkyrie, he was still wary of new sights and sounds, and the wind made even comfortable items new and scary. The groom holding the horse had his hands full with the skittish colt, who would try to take off every couple of feet - away from whatever danger he'd deemed the big scary of the moment. "Come on, come on. None of the others are acting like idiots, so you should follow their examples." The last word was strained as he leaned into the horse, who had started stepping too close to him. Luckily, they quickly made it to the track, aided by the colt's energy.

The colt's jockey, Alicia Fox, was waiting beside Valkyrie's trainer next to the track. The woman smiled, stepping up and placing a hand on Whisper's nose. The grey colt tossed his head, eyeing her with a spooked look - constant, ever-fearful in the current conditions. Alicia just looked amused, giving a shrug. Regardless of his spookiness, this colt was a fighter and he'd proven it, breaking his maiden in his first start for Valkyrie. Alicia had been ecstatic - she'd only hoped he'd do so well, but will his flighty nature sometimes it was hard to tell where the dice would land. He'd seemed to hit his stride, though, and it was a streak she hoped to continue. The groom gave her a leg up while Kent gave his instructions. "Breeze him seven. Try not to let him have too hot of a pace in this weather - I don't want him wiping himself out."

"Sounds good." Alicia buckled her helmet, picked up the reins, and they made their way to the turf course. Whisper was a huge bundle of nerves beneath her, and it was all she could do to keep him settled and going in the right direction. A string of soothing words continually left her lips, urging the colt to calm himself. She allowed him to open into a trot, but kept a firm hand on the reins, not allowing him to break into a faster pace. He was unhappy and nervous, but he eventually began to relax, if only because keeping up the collected trot was a lot of work. As soon as she felt him loosen his gate and mouth the bit, Alicia allowed the colt to canter. He jumped forward, then settled, long legs stretching out and eating the ground with his high-action, turf-horse stride.

When she felt he was ready, Alicia urged him into a gallop, mentally praying that he wasn't going to go crazy on her - luckily, his nerves seemed to be settled, or at least he had something else to focus on when running. He smoothly transitioned, seeming happy to be able to stretch out. They moved at that easy pace toward the furlong pole that marked the start of the breeze. Alicia moved Whisper to the rail as they drew closer, and the colt knew what that meant. As soon as her hands loosened the barest fraction, the grey colt leaped forward, strongly throwing himself into the turf. Alicia kept him checked as they made their way around the turn, keeping him from using himself up too quickly. He surged beneath her, powerful strides taking them closer and closer to the goal. Three furlongs out she let him have his head, and the colt found some hidden reserve to push even faster. The colt flew past the wire, energy still bubbling as he galloped out.

Every work, every race, the grey colt matured. Alicia could only hope that he'd follow his last win with another despite the tougher competition.