Post by Deleted on May 10, 2012 23:56:39 GMT -5
WORKOUT FOR SEPTEMBER MAIDEN DIRT
THE RISING RIDDEN BY MICHAEL TURNER
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Hailey woke up; the bold bright red numbers on her alarm clock read 5:12 AM. She got up wearily and opened the window blinds, expecting the sunrise. She was surprised to see the sky, almost black and the ground speckled with puddles. She sighed heavily, feeling suddenly like going back to bed. The horses need works, she thought. In a half an hour she entered the stable, tugging her jacket on tighter. She was surprised to see Michael with Ri already out. Hailey shivered before approaching. Mike spoke first, "You want me to work him in the slop?" Hailey nodded, "I think it would be a good idea to get some perspective on how he runs on a muddy surface."
The upcoming, September Wk 2 Maiden Dirt, would be The Rising's first race after arriving at TKR and everyone had high hopes. The son of The Natural was still quite green but hopefully Michael, his jockey, would be able to push him beyond his limitations. Mike was very experienced with young horses and was real aggressive when asking a horse for all it's got. This is what Hailey was going off when she first put Mike on Ri; the colt flew down the stretch with him like she'd never seen before.
In a few minutes they were approaching the track. Ri was saddled and ready to go. He seemed almost hesitant as Hailey led him onto the track. His legs looked like they were almost a foot deep but in a few seconds he seemed just as ready to run as ever. Hailey helped Mike onto the large colt's back. Ri trotted forward eagerly but Mike turned him back to face Hailey. "So how long do you want him sent out and where do we start?" Hailey patted the light bay colt, "Just breeze him slowly for three furlongs. I don't want to overwork him or injure him in this muck." She looked down apprehensively. Mike nodded and steered the colt down the stretch. They took off at a slow jog heading towards the starting pole.
Hailey looked around. It seemed that she was the only one running her horse today. She didn't mind though. It would do Ri some good to get focused before raceday. She headed toward the stands, planning on sitting down but changed her mind as soon as she saw that the benches were drenched. Hailey headed back to the rail and took out her stopwatch. She once again tugged her coat farther up her neck. She shivered and squinted through the misty air, trying to spot the two. She spotted them and clicked her stopwatch as they took off and passed the starting pole.
Mike squinted through his already muddy goggles. Ri's strides were extended and uneven in the mud, but still brief and swift. He breezed across the sea of slop like a rocking horse. Mike sat the easy strides nicely, but had to keep switching out his goggles every few seconds. The mud was flying up in his face and blinding him but Ri didn't seem phased by the dirt in his face. This surprised Mike at first but he didn't question it. Without even knowing it, they had entered the homestretch. Mike asked Ri for a little more speed and he gave it. His already extended strides seemed to extend even more. It seemed impossible but it happened. The bay colt glided across the sea easily, his head raised high. Mike urged the colt to flatten out and change leads aggressively. Ri almost immedietly changed his lead which was a big improvement since he first came to the stable. Mike could also feel the colt digging into the ground and speeding up but could hardly see a thing. All he could feel was the acceleration of the colt.
Just as suddenly as he had entered the homestretch, Mike was now riding Ri out of the homestretch onto the first turn again. Mike steered him around, slowing Ri greatly. The colt threw his head, irratatedly but obeyed his rider. Mike patted him, removing his caked goggles and trotted the colt back to Hailey. He was covered in mud but that was the least of his concerns. He wanted to known what his boss had thought of his ride. Hailey was smiling, "He did good on the mud... that actually managaged to brighten my day." Mike nodded, "Yeah, I think he's pretty much as good as ready for this upcoming race."
dirt track; 3 furlongs
words; 745