Post by Kirsten Jade on Jun 8, 2012 15:07:05 GMT -5
Apollo Bear
Workout for November Maiden Dirt.
Midnight Thriller
Workout for Oscarianna Stakes.
Aaron yawned as he made his way to the holding stables. Another morning, another day of working his mounts in preparation for the races. ARS was coming along good in their comeback but no good enough to be a major threat to the track. He wanted them to cause an uproar with their return. So far everything has kind of been quiet. No press hounding (which was shocking!) and no random strangers coming to get gossip. However, Kirsten had warned all the press to stay away from them and warned all the staff not to talk to them. It was kind of a nice relief. Except Aaron sort of wanted some sort of recognition. Oh well, no press was better than bad press.
He made his way straight to the track where he knew that the ARS staff would have his first mount ready for him. As he neared the track he saw Emma and Benny already at the rail. What were the kids doing here so early in the morning? And where was Brenda? Brenda was the stable's nanny and normally the children stayed with her. With a panicked glance he looked around for his five month old son. Melanie had him in her arms. Aaron frowned and ran towards her. "What the hell is going on? Why is MY son at the RACETRACK at four in the morning?" And here of all places... "Where is Brenda?" Melanie whipped her head around angrily. Before she could come up with an angry response Kirsten rushed over and stepped in between them. "Keep it down. We don't need this right now... We have kept the press away from us this long. Don't ruin it. We will talk about it later." She gave them a warning look and mentioned for Aaron to get on the track, where Apollo Bear was waiting.
Aaron glared at his boss with resentment. He was not going to let this go. He would work Apollo and then he was going to take his son and get out of here before anything happened. He looked to his side and saw a few people whispering among themselves and looking in his direction. And now the gossip mill begins... Great... Just bloody fantastic...
He strode towards the track and accepted a leg up from Olio's handler. He needed to calm down and focus. Then he was going to take his son and leave the track for the day. He started to put Olio through his warm-ups. The big black colt moved willingly. He still had yet to break his maiden but he was ready. His first run out he got third and his second he placed. He was improving with each race and Aaron was positive the colt will break his maiden this time out. Although he did have some intense competition. Predator from Intrepid Racing would be in the same race and had been preparing well for it as well. It would be a close one he figured.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw Kirsten mount her prized juvenile filly, Midnight Thriller. Aaron sighed. He hoped that they would not be running against each other again today. They were both amazing horses but Aaron kind of felt like being alone in his thoughts today but if he had to run against Midtee then he would need to be full of concentration. Which is what Kirsten is probably intending... Figures... His boss was too good. She always did whatever it took to get the best rides possible from her jockeys and horses. This was a business... her business.
Kirsten stroked the excited filly on the neck. The Night Stalker baby was riled up and ready to run. "Take it easy girl". She was still stewing over her last loss against her twin sister in the Horseshoe Futurity. She danced on her toes and tried to grab the bit. Not yet girl... not yet... Kirsten smiled. She liked seeing her filly like this. It was almost a sure bet that the filly would give everything to win her next race. Kirsten was not going to ruin that for the filly. She smirked. Midtee was not going to like her after today, then she will be ready to take on her next race with a vengeance.
Once both juveniles were well warmed up Kirsten mentioned for Aaron to join her. "We'll be running three furlongs today, make the last one count." Aaron nodded and turned away. Kirsten grinned. He was mad at her. Good. Then he will have to focus on his ride more than anything to beat her. This day was just rolling in her favor.
They ran side by side for the first two furlongs with Midtee on Olio's flank the entire time. She was pressing some intense speed out of the colt but Kirsten wasn't worried. He could handle it. From her viewpoint she could see Aaron struggling to try and keep Olio back to preserve speed. He needed to learn to keep a steady, solid pace. Good good.
The final furlong came into view and both horses kicked into another gear. Kirsten grinned and allowed her filly to be nose to nose with the bigger colt. Midtee had so much left but it wasn't Kirsten's intention to let it out. She held her filly back as much as she could and allowed Olio to run under the wire with a head in front. Midtee swung her head in frustration and bellowed loudly. She was screaming with frustration. Kirsten chuckled. The field for the Oscarianna Stakes better watch out now.
Limitless Time
Workout for Dubai Colt Cup and Dubai World Cup.
Dark Sunrise
Workout for Dubai Filly Cup and Dubai World Cup.
Aaron dismounted from his colt with mixed emotions. He was happy he beat Kirsten and Midtee but he had also seen his boss hold Midtee back with all her might. What was she trying to pull? He watched her dismount from the black filly and give her a good pat. The filly was obviously worked up. Aaron shook his head. Horse racing was a frustrating business sometimes.
He handed his mount to the handler and raced to take his son from Melanie's arms. Melanie looked at her sister approach and saw her own mount enter the track and sighed. She unwillingly passed the baby over to his father. She had no choice. Aaron glared at her and picked up the diaper bag near the rail. Emma had her arms around her younger cousin as though to shield him from the fighting. Without a word to anyone he walked away from the group and headed towards the jockey's room to change.
Kirsten put her hand on her younger sister's shoulder. "Just let him go." Melanie nodded as a lump formed in her throat. What was the matter with her? Benny ran to his mother and jumped up in her arms. "Go beat Limitless Mama." Melanie smiled down at her son. In the heat of everything she had forgotten about the intense mock race that Kirsten had set up for this morning between Limitless Time and Dark Sunrise in preparation for the Dubai World Cup. Ben and Emma had been battering between each other over who would win all week. Melanie smiled. She loved this.
The two sisters silently approached their mounts with their own personal expectations. This was going to be their horses biggest challenge yet this year. Their last one before the Breeder's Cup. Both horses were only one win away from reaching their 13th win. And both horses have grown up together just a year apart, racing each other around the racetrack. They were ready for this type of competition.
The horses ran side by side almost the entire time, neither of them wanting to be in front yet. The pace was slow and steady, both horses were closers and both liked to take their time until just before the final turn. Both jockeys knew their horses, both horses knew their jockeys. It was a quiet race. Intense and comfortable. Patience was a virtue.
The final turn was nearing and now all of a sudden the horses decide to wake up and run. They start increasing their speed on their own, each fighting for the win. Dark Sunrise starts to pull ahead as Melanie released her filly. But wait, they don't call Limitless Time the Silent Threat for nothing. Halfway down the stretch he picks up speed and lengthens his stride. He is silently pulling away from his companion and gracefully galloping to the wire. After just coming off a major win he was confident and ready. Sunny was coming off of a win too but I think Melanie made the mistake of underestimating Limitless' power finish once again. Limitless finished two and a half lengths in front of Sunny and was still picking up speed. These horses were ready for competition in the Dubai Cups.