caulfield class

[S u N f r O s t ~]

WILDLY NATURAL AND AMBER BLACK
SILLENIA AND KRYSTAL YHATE

WORKOUT FOR THE CAULFIELD CUP

It was a dreary morning. With the cold of winter among them, mornings had become experiences filled with frost and darkness. It also marked the beginning of the most stressed out part of the year for Amber. Many things were approaching, many good and bad things. The Breeders Cup, for one, was just over two months away. The Dubai World Cup and the qualifying races for it also approached, as well as the Palm Tree Paradise Invitational and the new Tropical Paradise race. A major turf race was also among them, the Caulfield Cup. As per usual, it had drawn a field of well-bred class, and Amber was looking forward to riding in in aboard Wildly Natural. Her black filly was definitely a contender, bred for this race by The Natural and out of Wild Flower, both parents of which were Hall of Famers. But besides the parents, Tura could stand on her own. She had an excellent record and was a strong turf competitor. Any horse facing her would have a challenge.

That included Sillenia, the big dark bay filly by Grand Silence and out of Tamaraq. The dual surfaced filly appeared to favor turf, which was why she had pursued the Turf Triple Crown earlier in the year. She had come out with a win in the first leg, a third in the second, and a place in the final leg. That was okay, though, as The Innocent Skier had captured the final leg, cementing the stable's reputation of always capturing at least two legs of the series. In fact, Tura had captured the first two legs last year before coming second in the final one. She had nearly been Turf Triple Crown champion...but sadly, she was denied. Well, nowadays Tura was still full of spunk. At four years old, she was in her prime. Today, Sill, who was also in her prime, would breeze four furlongs side by side with Tura. The two fillies were both closers, and would be rubbing speed off of each other for the whole eight furlongs of the Caulfield Cup.

Once Upon A Dream, in gate one, was a recent return to the racing scene. By Merry Bay King and out of Livin The Dream, she was a seasoned turf veteran. Amber knew she wasn't as sharp as she usually was, though, what with the recent return, and she hoped to take advantage of that. Lawliet's Girl in gate four was another turf veteran out of Merry Bay King. It made Amber proud to see her favorite old turf stallion siring such successful turf horses himself. The accomplishment made her feel confident. Studley Dudley, in gate five, was a horse Krystal liked. His personality was attractive to her, and she wished to ride him, but knew that with the amount of stock they had they'd never be able to purchase him even if he went up for sale. Anyways, he was their competition right now.

Sillenia and Wildly Natural were currently trotting side by side. With a glance, both females asked for a gallop from their mounts. Gradually shifting gears, both sinuously entered the new gait. Their strides were smooth and unhurried, and neither seemed bothered by the presence of the other at their shoulder. In fact, it seemed to solidify their position and grant them confidence. Being closers, they were used to either being alone or with other closers, but like the other closers didn't care about cinching the lead or catching up for at least half a mile. That was part of the reason why they were being worked half a mile today - to get them used to working together at least a little bit before duking it out in the race. Once Upon a Dream was a front runner, who would undoubtedly have an uncontested lead throughout the race. Lawliet's Girl and Studley Dudley would work together from behind her, with the SOPS duo bringing up the rear. As the race progressed, the SOPS pair would make their move first, and maybe Dudley would go with them. Amber knew Lolly didn't make her move until later in the race, and would take advantage of that. However, Dream would be fresh up front, uncontested unless Lolly, with her versatility, decided to challenge. It would be an interesting race with many dynamics, of that Amber knew.

With two furlongs left in their work together, Tura decided to move up slightly. She gained a half length on Sill before comfortably settling down. Sill, on her inside, did not seem perturbed by this, instead solidifying her feel for the race and paying close attention to her rider. When the final two furlongs scrolled by and both women slowed their horses down, they were surprised to find that Sill had actually worked back up to Tura's pace and had been running side by side with her for the final half furlong. If the two fillies kept working together like that, the race would be cinch for them. Rarely would Amber and Krystal slap a high five, but because of this they did. Grinning widely, the two walked their fillies off of the track. The Caulfield Cup was ready to be theirs.