heir to the throne

[Snowflake]

LAWLIET'S GIRL AND STUDLEY DUDLEY WORK FOR THE MELBOURNE CUP

As the daughter of a king, Merry Bay King, Lawliet's Girl had an unmistakeable claim to the throne. The five year old mare was a veteran in the sport of kings, and she raced like a queen. She'd won the Universal Cup, and the Caufield Cup, now it was onto another big one; the Melbourne Cup. Studley Dudley, on the other hand, just needed to prove himself. A place in the top three would do nicely; the stallion had won his comeback start and placed fourth in everything since.

With the race just three days away, the pair were pretty much putting in their last gallop workout beforehand now. Then tomorrow they would just be trotting, with maybe a little canter, then the day after that, just in hand light exercise. Then came race day.

With a toss of his head, Studmuffin loaded quickly and then stood impressively, ready to break at any moment. Lolly went one better, and actually pranced into the gate, exuding excitement and energy. She'd beaten Stud every time out for a while now; the mare obviously was confident. Sarah perched on the grey thoroughbred's back, taking in her hand a handful of mane, ready for the sudden start. Beside her, her younger sister and best friend/rival Marissa did the same, twirling a chunk of shiny black horse hair into her fist.

For a moment, both riders and horses were still, then the gates flew open and the horses charged out. It was only a six furlong exercise dash, but Studmuffin and Lolly were rivals and they treated it like a real race. The riders kept their horses adjacent as they thundered towards the turn. As they finished the turn and bounded into the homestretch, Lawliet's Girl began to sneakily creep ahead of Studmuffin. Then, at two furlongs she exploded forward, leaving the colt in her dust. Studley however wasn't one to give up, and quickly made his move as well. Eyes narrowed, body streamlined, he charged forward like a steam engine.

With a furlong to go, it wasn't over yet. But with neither horse tiring, it was certainly a great match. Studmuffin was giving it all he had, but Lawliet's Girl had gotten the drop on him, and now she wouldn't be caught. The mare took a final few powerful strides before thundering past the finish line a whole length before the colt. Sarah stood in the stirrups and gradually slowed the mare down, before turning back to grin at her sister. Marissa grinned back. We'll get you in the Cup! she called competitively.

They were ready for the Melbourne Cup.

[Snowflake]

EUPHORION AND SUNSET CRUSADE WORK FOR THE GALLOP TO THE GALLOWS STAKES

As the son of Hall Of Fame stallion Merry Bay King, and of Hall of Fame mare Euphoria, who was in turn the daughter of Hall of Fame inductees Bank On Silver and True Enough, it was obviously the colt had the breeding to be great. And already, he was proving that he was a great horse. Sunset Crusade, on the other hand, had fine breeding with a Triple Crown champion for a grand sire, and with both of his parents being consistent grade three racehorses, who could have gone further if not for career ending injuries.

Both colts had similar personalities. The difference was that Cruzie was aggressive at times, where Ryan was usually a sweet heart. Since the race was just two days away, they weren't allowed to do any fast work. Today would just be a long trot and possible a quick canter, if they needed to work out the kinks. Sarah mounted up, gathering the reins up firmly and then allowing the groom to unhook the colt's lead. Ryan bounced forward, eager to go for a run. Cruze was giving his handler a bit of grief, and wouldn't stand still long enough for Marissa to vault on. He wiggled away every time she attempted, eventually in their favour. He cornered himself, and gave in finally.

Full of beans, the colts were immediately trotting. For the first ten minutes or so, the riders both had to work hard to keep their thoroughbreds trotting, both were really eager to gallop.