Post by Dante on Dec 20, 2011 15:26:56 GMT -5
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EXECUTIONER'S APPRENTICE
workout with
TOBIAS LANCASTER
for the
Breeder's Cup Juvenile Turf
workout II[/color]
cameo appearances of Lady Ophelia and Devil's Crusade
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It was time to get going. One workout down, one preliminary run. It had been good, but it didn't encapture the breeder's cup to it;s fullest. This was where this workout came in. This was the one that would test the focus of the grey colt under the super small Jewish jockey. Eight furlongs on turf was an easy, comfortable distance, and he'd run it plenty of times before. He had won his last race before the cup, too, but the Breeder's Cup was a HUGE event. So, this morning, they'd taken some time to capture that. streamers and silly string were string around on the gates, balloons wafted around, tied to the outside rail, and others on weight dotted the eight furlongs on the inside. Connor was playing a crack of assorted crowd sounds over the speakers, louder and crazier than the Azalea Cup or the Winter Cup, which was what this was going to be. All the bells and whistles.
Executioner's Apprentice stood calmly near the gates, while his jockey watched Moses hop up on Devil's Crusade, and just beyond that, Erin onto Lady Ophelia. They would be running alongside him, too add to confusion of the workout. Tobias, for his part, was sure App could handle it. Not only could he outrun either horse with ease, he was smarter. Still, it would offer him a mind challenge - Ophelia was a very strong frontrunner, and as a mid-pack racer, Crux would be at App's heels, at least until he outran them, which was an eventuality. App was loaded into the gate first, where he went without complain. Crux went in with some throwing of the head, and Ophelia nearly reared in the gate and smashed in Erin's head. App looked over at that one, though possibly less because of the filly and more because of the language that would make a sailor blush coming from her jockey.
Skylark Fletcher joined Connor in the stands, and the three jockies in the gates got ready. Tobias paid them no heed - he rarely did take notice of the other jockies. There was no need while they prepared. Yes, if there were certain jockies with certain reputations, he would, but neither Erin nor his brother were going to pull a dirty stunt on him. It was just like any other workout, and they were going to do their best. They were going to strive for it. They were going to do it. Tobias could feel it in his bones.
There was a moment of silence, that ever-present moment of calm before the gates. Anticipation built up. He could feel up under him, poised to burst from the gates, and then, just like that, there was a crack and the race was on.
True to her nature, Ophelia burst out of the gates at full force, and App close behind, with Crux trailing. Executioner's Apprentice paid them, nor any bells, whistles and do-dads much heed. He trusted the rider atop them, and there was on thing on his mind. The cup. That was the goal. There was to be only one winner, and they wanted to give him the best chance he had.
It didn't take long for App to surpass Ophelia and Crux, and running with them wasn't the point. He was in a different league than the other two - running with them would be not a workout for him, but them. No, instead an imaginary field came into play, one with the toughest competition yet. But Tobias wasn't afraid, and nor was App. They could do this, he was sure of it. They would give it everything they had.
App's muscles rippled as he ran, a testament to just how far he'd gone. Never once out of the winner's circle, App had the drive and the power. He was in perfect balance on the turf, dark eyes bright, ready to give it all at the Cup, which was coming soon. They rounded the corner and the other two horses that they started with were nowhere to be seen, bu the sudden lack of a pack didn't bother him either. No, he had plenty of brains to know that when it was time to run, what happened to the others that were behind him was irrelevant. They had a plan, and they would execute it. He might have been giving his mildly morbid name from the "bloody mark" on his shoulders, but it fit him well in other means. He gave his all to win, and when he did win, he slaughtered the competition.
The curve was taken at good balance and great speed, and after six furlongs, they let all go. Tobias gave App his head, and the stick, and App responded with tenacity. He liked this part, the part where he went wild and ran. Not so wild Tobias couldn't steer him, but this was the part where he threw turf in the face of the ones behind him. The imaginary field began to give, until they were a nose past the frontrunner. Now in first in the imaginary race, Tobias didn't let up. He kept going, kept prompting App onwards until they had a neck, then a length on the imagined horse by the time they crossed the finish and began to slow.
They looped around back at a canter to the others, the crowd music still playing out of every speaker, loud. Tobias hadn't noticed it during the race, and neither, by his run, did App. "No flinching at random rubbish." Skylark nodded. "This is good. So's the time." As ever, Skylark grinned. "I reckon we stand a good change. He works hard, and he runs harder, and he's got brain." He rubbed App's neck. "Doncha?" App snorted, and the assemblage of jockeies and trainers laughed. "We know you do. We know you can do it, Mister App." Skylark grinned. "We're hoping for ya."-----------------------
WORKOUT STATS
words| 989
workout surface| Turf
distance| 8 furlongs
horse| Executioner's Apprentice
jockey| Tobias Lancaster
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