Post by S u N f r O s t ~ on Apr 8, 2012 18:20:06 GMT -5
WORLDBREAKER AND AMBER BLACK
THE INNOCENT SKIER AND KRYSTAL YHATE
WORLD'S AND IAN'S WORKOUT FOR THE SUMMER CUP GRADE FOUR TURF
The unbeatable team - well, not unbeatable, but close to it - were back again and ready for action. Though both were the same age, one was a chestnut who moved as though filled with an inner peace, while the other was a bay who just looked contemplative. One would never guess that although the reticent bay was the winner of last year's Belmont Turf Classic, it was now the chestnut who was pulling the wins, having won half of his four starts that year. The bay hadn't won any of his five yet, but the year was young, and the two were accomplished horses in the grade four category. The bay had won the Next Top Racehorse series as a prospect, and with that win had come the titles of Prospect of the Year and Best Prospect Colt. The year after that he had come second in the Breeders Cup Juvenile Turf and walked away with an encouragement award. Then the year after that, he had come home with a third of the Turf Triple Crown but no actual awards. Not that his adoring rider Krystal Yhate cared very much. The horse was enough for her, despite his accomplishments.
As for Amber, almost nothing could get her upset when she was riding the beloved chestnut she rode now. Her colt had been off to a promising start in his juvenile season. He had placed second in the majority of his starts and come away with wins in three. His three year old season had been lackluster compared to that, but ever since he started working with the horse he worked with now he had started winning and showing his true colors. Now, he was one win from grade three, and Amber had been happy with his progress. Both stallions had another year of racing before retiring to the breeding shed, and they carried promising bloodlines. The bay was the son of top turfers Jet Ski and Little Miss Innocent, while the chestnut shared equally good bloodlines in Grand Silence and Wild Flower. They would definitely produce turf foals that would turn the grass to flame. Their names were Worldbreaker and The Innocent Skier, and for the Summer Cup they would be fighting against each other and the field.
The field for the Summer Cup Grade Four Turf had drawn up small but talented. Sweet Points, at five years old, was the veteran. Amber swore that the mare had turf talent, though her low grade for her advanced age didn't show it. Nevertheless, an eye was being kept on her. Calle Ocho, at three, was young and promising. He had racked up three wins this year and would no doubt be ready for more. Flawed Princess, at four, was bred for the turf. She had competed alongside the top turfers last year in the Turf Triple Crown and placed in the top three in each leg. She was bred for the turf and had been consistent this year. One With Gold was the palomino that Amber had bred herself. The filly had pulled off a surprise win in the Preakness Champion Stakes last year but hadn't placed in the top three yet this year. But SOPS had bred and owned the mare for her first one and a half seasons of racing. They knew her potential, especially when it came to surprising others.
Not much was needed to encourage World and Ian to go all out against each other today. The two worked together constantly and were consistently entered in races against each other. Their rivalry ran deep, but along with the rivalry came friendship. The two were the greatest enemies as well as the best of friends. This made working them exceedingly interesting every time. For today, a simple five furlong breeze was all they were doing. The two were in excellent condition and needed no perking up for the Summer Cup. Just the fact that they were entered against each other would get their desire running. When it came to racing, Ian and World worked as a team. They broke and hung around in the back of the pack, then worked their way past everybody going around the final turn. Like it as not, if things worked out perfectly the two had a speed duel, and the victor would remain so until the next race or workout. Such was the way of things with them.
Due to the easy nature of the workout, a long warm up was unnecessary. The two stallions were all ready to go within five minutes of trotting and cantering circles. Amber flashed Krystal a brief smile before urging her chestnut into a gallop. Ian needed no signal from Krystal to know to follow. He would have followed anyway, regardless of Krystal's commands. Seeing World gallop away from him would have been intolerable. Krystal and Ian easily caught up to World and matched the chestnut's pace. It was an easy pace, and World had been content to keep it that way, but now that he was being challenged - or so he thought - by Ian, the stallion was pulling for some more speed. Amber would not relent just yet, so he was forced to accept his current predicament, and he glared into the eyes of his fiercest rival as they galloped along.
As time passed and they were into their fourth furlong, Amber deemed that a faster gallop couldn't hurt. She cued World, and the chestnut happily accelerated. Ian and Krystal reacted fast, and soon they were matching speed again. They returned to their staring contest, ignoring the riders perched upon their backs as they searched each other for hesitation. But they found none. Their will was resolute. As the workout came to an end and they were slowed to a walk, the staring contest broke off. It would resume when they came together in the Summer Cup, as though it had never stopped in the first place. Such was the way of their rivalry and friendship.
