Post by flatcreek on Jun 18, 2012 10:04:35 GMT -5
Laugh It Off & Alex Smith for December Maiden Dirt
Alex looked over the track. The weather was perfect-clear, sunny, with a slight chill in the air. He was going to be riding the new filly Laugh It Off in the December Maiden Dirt soon. There were only three horses in the race so far, counting Laugh. Cold Mountain was in Gate One. He had run three times, never hitting the board. His stable mate, Decelerate, was in Gate Two. She had run six times, finishing third two times. Laugh herself was in Gate Three.
“Alex, come hold onto Laugh while I get her blinkers. The groom forgot to put them on.” John Stokes, the trainer, called to Alex. Alex looked over at John and the filly. “Sure.”
Alex strode quickly to the filly and grabbed her reins. “Good girl. Are you ready to go run, sweetie?” The filly wasn’t exactly what Alex would call sweet. She never knew if she wanted to love you or take a chunk out of your arm. Thankfully the filly was in a good mood today.
John walked back with the blinkers. “Good thing I remembered these. We don’t want to have a replay of her first time out.” Alex flashed back to that day. Laugh had seen a plastic bag and she had taken off. Alex hadn’t been on Laugh that day, but he sure felt sorry for the Sally North, who had been riding that day. “Yeah, and we sure don’t want her taking off so close to a race.”
John quickly fastened the blinkers. “Are you ready?” Alex fixed Laugh’s mane. “Yep. What are we doing with her today?” “We are going send her six furlongs, the race distance, today. Let her set her own pace, unless she really goes, for the first three furlongs, then ease her off a tad bit for a furlong. Let her go, then, for the final two furlongs.” Alex nodded. “Okay. Kind of like she was in a race, then.” "Yes.”
John walked over to give Alex a leg up onto the grey filly. The second Alex was on Laugh, he knew she was ready to run. Laugh snorted and pawed the ground, as if she were telling Alex to hurry up. Alex gathered his reins and nodded at John. “Let us go.” John released the reins and patted the filly. “Good luck.”
Laugh walked over to the dirt track, pawing and prancing the entire way. Alex asked her to jog when they got onto the track to warm her up. Laugh shook her head and mouthed the bit, wanting to run now. “No, girl. Not yet. You can run in a minuet.”
They were nearing the metal starting gates. The filly had broken from them before, but she still didn’t want to enter. She bucked and reared, giving everybody a hard time. “Hey girl, you want to run don’t you. Calm down now.” Alex whispered to the filly. He had discovered that talking to her calmed Laugh down a lot. Finally, she quieted down and walked into the starting gates.
Laugh broke well and took off. She was going a good speed and more importantly, she was moving easily. Alex loved to ride this filly. She floated, instead of pounding the ground like some other horses did. They were soon three furlongs into the work. Alex pulled on the reins a tiny bit. Laugh shook her head, but complied. A furlong later it was time for the real speed. Alex clucked and waved the whip by Laugh’s eye. She knew what that meant-run. She took off, running faster than ever before. Alex gave her more rein and crouched down even closer to the filly. After they passed the finish line Alex stood up and pulled on the reins, trying to slow the filly down. She eased into a jog and Alex jogged her over to John.
“How was it?” Alex asked as he jumped off the filly. “She went great. That was just right to prep for her race.” John said as he took the reins from Alex so he could unsaddle Laugh. Alex patted the filly. “She went real easy. I probably could have let her out the whole thing and she would have been fine.” John checked the filly’s legs. “That is what we want.”
Alex looked over the track. The weather was perfect-clear, sunny, with a slight chill in the air. He was going to be riding the new filly Laugh It Off in the December Maiden Dirt soon. There were only three horses in the race so far, counting Laugh. Cold Mountain was in Gate One. He had run three times, never hitting the board. His stable mate, Decelerate, was in Gate Two. She had run six times, finishing third two times. Laugh herself was in Gate Three.
“Alex, come hold onto Laugh while I get her blinkers. The groom forgot to put them on.” John Stokes, the trainer, called to Alex. Alex looked over at John and the filly. “Sure.”
Alex strode quickly to the filly and grabbed her reins. “Good girl. Are you ready to go run, sweetie?” The filly wasn’t exactly what Alex would call sweet. She never knew if she wanted to love you or take a chunk out of your arm. Thankfully the filly was in a good mood today.
John walked back with the blinkers. “Good thing I remembered these. We don’t want to have a replay of her first time out.” Alex flashed back to that day. Laugh had seen a plastic bag and she had taken off. Alex hadn’t been on Laugh that day, but he sure felt sorry for the Sally North, who had been riding that day. “Yeah, and we sure don’t want her taking off so close to a race.”
John quickly fastened the blinkers. “Are you ready?” Alex fixed Laugh’s mane. “Yep. What are we doing with her today?” “We are going send her six furlongs, the race distance, today. Let her set her own pace, unless she really goes, for the first three furlongs, then ease her off a tad bit for a furlong. Let her go, then, for the final two furlongs.” Alex nodded. “Okay. Kind of like she was in a race, then.” "Yes.”
John walked over to give Alex a leg up onto the grey filly. The second Alex was on Laugh, he knew she was ready to run. Laugh snorted and pawed the ground, as if she were telling Alex to hurry up. Alex gathered his reins and nodded at John. “Let us go.” John released the reins and patted the filly. “Good luck.”
Laugh walked over to the dirt track, pawing and prancing the entire way. Alex asked her to jog when they got onto the track to warm her up. Laugh shook her head and mouthed the bit, wanting to run now. “No, girl. Not yet. You can run in a minuet.”
They were nearing the metal starting gates. The filly had broken from them before, but she still didn’t want to enter. She bucked and reared, giving everybody a hard time. “Hey girl, you want to run don’t you. Calm down now.” Alex whispered to the filly. He had discovered that talking to her calmed Laugh down a lot. Finally, she quieted down and walked into the starting gates.
Laugh broke well and took off. She was going a good speed and more importantly, she was moving easily. Alex loved to ride this filly. She floated, instead of pounding the ground like some other horses did. They were soon three furlongs into the work. Alex pulled on the reins a tiny bit. Laugh shook her head, but complied. A furlong later it was time for the real speed. Alex clucked and waved the whip by Laugh’s eye. She knew what that meant-run. She took off, running faster than ever before. Alex gave her more rein and crouched down even closer to the filly. After they passed the finish line Alex stood up and pulled on the reins, trying to slow the filly down. She eased into a jog and Alex jogged her over to John.
“How was it?” Alex asked as he jumped off the filly. “She went great. That was just right to prep for her race.” John said as he took the reins from Alex so he could unsaddle Laugh. Alex patted the filly. “She went real easy. I probably could have let her out the whole thing and she would have been fine.” John checked the filly’s legs. “That is what we want.”
>>Words: 713
>>Surface: Dirt
>>Distance: Six furlongs