Post by S u N f r O s t ~ on Jun 27, 2012 18:46:44 GMT -5
PEGASUS WINGS AND HENNA TURATH
BREEDERS CUP SPRINT WORKOUT
They were at a precipice. At one side there was a sheer drop which led down into darkness. In front of them was the highest peak of this glorious mountain, one that they had been climbing ever since this small black horse had stepped foot on the track. They had soared up it as the seasons past, faster and faster, each season better than the last. And at five years of age, the glorious peak awaited them - the peak of thirty wins. Two more steps and they would be there. Two more steps and Pegasus Wings would join the ranks of SOPS as a horse with thirty wins. He might even become something more. He had never placed out of the top three and rarely placed out of the top two. The vast majority of every season consisted of first places. He had already won the Breeders Cup Sprint two years ago and the Breeders Cup Turf Sprint last year. This was his final jewel. He would win this and move on to a single race in his six year old season before the green pastures of retirement would take him from the track.
How many races had fallen to the great Pegasus Wings? If you were talking season wise, seven of his twelve starts had. If you were talking career wise, he had won twenty eight of exactly fifty starts. That was more than half. That was almost sixty percent of all of his starts. And he had never placed out of the top three, not even as a prospect. What did this say about Asus? It said that he was great. But as great as his accomplishments were, more horses had fallen to his majesty. Yes, Henna would refer to him as his majesty. Though the horse was as youthful as they came, he was a majestic horse - all fifteen hands of him. His eyes when they looked at you were full of energy and mischief. They were the most expressive eyes Henna had ever looked into. The very soul of her beloved mount was displayed there for her to see and understand.
Henna could feel herself losing as she struggled to hold the black horse in. He was absurdly short for a thoroughbred, but jockeys were small, too, and she fit this stallion. Her arms ached as Asus tossed her head yet again. He was not a loud horse, just an energetic one, and he was silently expressing his need to run - as always. Henna's arms had long since muscled over impressively because of this need. She was on Asus a lot and it showed in her musculature. Dancing along at a sideways trot, she knew that they were attracting eyes. Asus was a very distinctive horse. Not only was he the shortest horse on the track, he was also one of the most successful, and had ruled the sprints ever since he was two years old, with wins in the Azalea Cup Colts and the Eagle Cup. At three years old he had won the Star Festival and the Breeders Cup Sprint. At four years old he had won the Breeders Cup Turf Sprint. And this year, the final full season of an illustrious career, he had won many memorial races. Foremost among them was how Asus had won the Royal Red Richard Memorial Stakes for three years in a row. That was his sire's memorial race and an impressive feat.
Two others challenged them in the Sprint. Beltane, the three year old filly who was Axia's full sister, and Here's The King, Asus's older half brother. They were good competition, but Asus, in Henna's opinion, had been far more successful on the track than both of them. And his success was a testament to something. He was a front runner. A lot of the sprinters were front runners. The fact that Asus won and managed to hold off the horses that came from off the pace at the same time demonstrated his sprint stamina. He had been superior in that respect. That said a lot. In this race, Beltane was a front runner and Here's The King was a closer. This meant that Asus stood the chance of running himself hoarse dueling Beltane. While that wasn't exactly unlikely to happen, Henna had confidence in Asus's abilities. He had beat these horses many times before, possibly more than they had beaten him. He was last year's winner of the Best Sprinter award and he would be this year's winner as well. What horse could hold a candle to his greatness?
Trotting and cantering was like moving at the same speed. Asus moved his legs fast enough to make it seem like that, at least. He was crazy with what he would do in order to go faster. His various attempts at speed always left Henna shaking her head and laughing. Asus was truly an insane racehorse - but he was a racehorse. The time to gallop was nigh. For the race, Henna was just going to let Asus run. The stallion could handle himself and his talent spoke for itself in past accomplishments. They would do a run today and then during the actual race they would treat it as another run. Henna wanted to do nothing that would hinder Asus. She wanted him to run as he liked during the final races of his career.
Being a short horse meant having shorter strides. Asus was no exception. Every stride that a regular horse made was probably two or three of his. But far from hindering him, for some reason Asus had been able to utilize those small legs effectively. He just moved them at blinding speed, a speed unmatched by many others. And he loved to move. It was a way for him to burn off his energy, and he never ran out of energy. There had been a time when they had run a two mile race against Wildly Natural and Foolish Lad. That was the only time Asus had ever tired out and lost his energy. He had been tired for about two days - and then he had bounced right back and wanted a tough workout next time he was on the track. He was strictly a sprinter, the only one of his kind that ran from five to seven furlongs (not eight, like many other sprinters). This made Asus even more special.
So as Henna began to gallop the short black thoroughbred, she felt like she had been placed on an accelerator. Asus had gobbled up the rein instantly without crying out for more. His legs moved blindingly fast like pistons thundering down the dirt track. He was kicking back a lot of dirt with frequent movement and his eyes were alight with joy and power. He had so much built into his hindquarters and he accelerated so quickly that Henna was hard pressed to keep her seat and stay in the saddle. There had been a time when she had lost a stirrup while riding him. That had been the ride of her life. She had lost complete control over the stallion and he had thundered off to his heart's content before slowing. Henna still didn't know how she had managed to stay on for that wild ride.
They galloped a blazing half mile. Henna wouldn't be surprised if Asus left a trail of fire behind him. In about forty two seconds or so they were complete and slowing to a canter as though they had been out for a mere jog. It was a blazing fast time and one that would make the bettors look at him more seriously. Henna grinned. They better look at Asus. After this race, he would be immortalized in their minds forever.
