Post by Deleted on Jul 15, 2012 5:34:13 GMT -5
With it being January, rain should have been no surprise. But it was. The weather forecast had predicted clear skies, and so to see the water droplets which fell from the sky was disappointing. Nobody liked working in the rain. It was cold, it was wet, and generally it made everybody miserable. Even Italian Ice, who preferred to be able to move around, had made a fuss until they had brought her into her stall. The dark clouds showed no signs of the rain stopping, and the stable had the lights on despite it being the middle of the day.
However, bad weather could not bring things to a stop and in the yard. Life still went on, and the staff slogged through it. Workouts had been delayed for over an hour but, with no sign of the rain even slowing it was coming to a point where they could delay no longer. They would have to brave the rain and get on with it. Mitch and his juvenile sprinter, Sanguis, were at the top of the list for workouts today.
While they had originally been slotted to appear in the Unicorn Horn, Matthias had decided the day before to change that. Instead of putting Sanguis in the Unicorn Horn they would run him in the Jumping Beans Maiden Sprint. It was not a major race like the Unicorn Horn but it would allow the colt to gather some experience. Experience was, of course, a very important thing for the juveniles and it was better to get good results in smaller races than to obtain poor results in the major races. After all, with the experience built up from minor races a horse could then step up into the next league.
Matthias rose from his seat in the office and signalled to Lucas and Mitch that enough time had been wasted. Lucas exited the office first, going to fetch the chestnut colt, while Mitch went to fetch his helmet and crop from the jockey's changing room. Everyone else bid their goodbyes to the trio before continuing their conversation. It was, unsurprisingly, about the juveniles and how those who had made their debuts had performed so far.
Sanguis had come second in his debut, losing out to his twin sister. It had been a close race, but the filly had been able to stay ahead of him over the finish line. It had been disappointing, but as their sister stable had been triumphant they could not really complain. There would be other races, and perhaps then Sanguis would be able to beat his sister. But that time was not now. While Lucy had already broken her maiden, Sanguis would fight to break his in his second race.
So far, the field was small. It consisted of only Sanguis and one other horse - a colt called Tidal Wave who was owned by Dreamvalley Stables. Tidal Wave had already raced twice this month and so would be entering the race more tired than Sanguis, who had raced only once and he'd had a weeks rest since then. But just because the other colt was tired did not mean he would not race well, and Sanguis would be well worked in preparation. After all, it would not do to have him fall too far behind his sister.
Sanguis was energetic and eager to get started. As Matthias and Mitch started to walk down toward the track they could see the chestnut sabino colt practically dragging the handler toward the track. Mitch smiled, glad to see that Sanguis was no effected by the rain and seemed, despite his poor ground manners, to be in a calm enough mood. Matthias looked to the jockey. "You did well the other week. Try to start your move a little earlier this week, but not too early. We want him to close the distance without tiring." Mitch nodded, pulling his helmet onto his head and rolling his shoulders. It was time to get the show on the road.
As they reached the track, Mitch mounted the colt quickly and Lucas led them to the gates. The colt froze as they approached the gates, tossing his head and pawing at the ground but with a little encouragement he continued his approach and entered his slot without any further issues. Mitch patted the colt's neck appreciatively and rose in the stirrups in preparation. Shortly after, the buzzer sounded and the gates opened. The colt broke slowly, his pace below average. In a race, this was where he would fall back to the rear of the group for the majority of the race. However, this was not a race and there were no other horses out on the track.
Due to the rain, the turf was a little soggy and shifted under the weight of the colt. The movement did not seem to bother the colt however, and they continued forwards. There were a few hairy moments early on in the workout where the colt tried to start powering forwards. It was one of those things the colt just did. However, Mitch was able to hold the colt back and maintain control.
Two furlongs into the five furlong stretch, Mitch drove the colt forwards a little and their speed rose. With three furlongs remaining, this was where the colt would first start to gain ground on the field and with the command his audits pressed forwards as he realised what was coming. The colt was aggressive, and determined. As they pressed forwards his speed gradually built and when they reached the two furlong mark, when Mitch began to drive and brought the crop down on the chestnut's rump, the colt suddenly darted forwards.
Their closing power was amazing. The colt was gathering amazing speeds, his acceleration quick as his stride shortened. Brown eyes glinted as they pressed onwards, fighting in every stride and as they passed the finishing post it was at amazing speeds. There was no guarantee on how the colt would perform come race day, but if today was anything to go by it would not be badly.
However, bad weather could not bring things to a stop and in the yard. Life still went on, and the staff slogged through it. Workouts had been delayed for over an hour but, with no sign of the rain even slowing it was coming to a point where they could delay no longer. They would have to brave the rain and get on with it. Mitch and his juvenile sprinter, Sanguis, were at the top of the list for workouts today.
While they had originally been slotted to appear in the Unicorn Horn, Matthias had decided the day before to change that. Instead of putting Sanguis in the Unicorn Horn they would run him in the Jumping Beans Maiden Sprint. It was not a major race like the Unicorn Horn but it would allow the colt to gather some experience. Experience was, of course, a very important thing for the juveniles and it was better to get good results in smaller races than to obtain poor results in the major races. After all, with the experience built up from minor races a horse could then step up into the next league.
Matthias rose from his seat in the office and signalled to Lucas and Mitch that enough time had been wasted. Lucas exited the office first, going to fetch the chestnut colt, while Mitch went to fetch his helmet and crop from the jockey's changing room. Everyone else bid their goodbyes to the trio before continuing their conversation. It was, unsurprisingly, about the juveniles and how those who had made their debuts had performed so far.
Sanguis had come second in his debut, losing out to his twin sister. It had been a close race, but the filly had been able to stay ahead of him over the finish line. It had been disappointing, but as their sister stable had been triumphant they could not really complain. There would be other races, and perhaps then Sanguis would be able to beat his sister. But that time was not now. While Lucy had already broken her maiden, Sanguis would fight to break his in his second race.
So far, the field was small. It consisted of only Sanguis and one other horse - a colt called Tidal Wave who was owned by Dreamvalley Stables. Tidal Wave had already raced twice this month and so would be entering the race more tired than Sanguis, who had raced only once and he'd had a weeks rest since then. But just because the other colt was tired did not mean he would not race well, and Sanguis would be well worked in preparation. After all, it would not do to have him fall too far behind his sister.
Sanguis was energetic and eager to get started. As Matthias and Mitch started to walk down toward the track they could see the chestnut sabino colt practically dragging the handler toward the track. Mitch smiled, glad to see that Sanguis was no effected by the rain and seemed, despite his poor ground manners, to be in a calm enough mood. Matthias looked to the jockey. "You did well the other week. Try to start your move a little earlier this week, but not too early. We want him to close the distance without tiring." Mitch nodded, pulling his helmet onto his head and rolling his shoulders. It was time to get the show on the road.
As they reached the track, Mitch mounted the colt quickly and Lucas led them to the gates. The colt froze as they approached the gates, tossing his head and pawing at the ground but with a little encouragement he continued his approach and entered his slot without any further issues. Mitch patted the colt's neck appreciatively and rose in the stirrups in preparation. Shortly after, the buzzer sounded and the gates opened. The colt broke slowly, his pace below average. In a race, this was where he would fall back to the rear of the group for the majority of the race. However, this was not a race and there were no other horses out on the track.
Due to the rain, the turf was a little soggy and shifted under the weight of the colt. The movement did not seem to bother the colt however, and they continued forwards. There were a few hairy moments early on in the workout where the colt tried to start powering forwards. It was one of those things the colt just did. However, Mitch was able to hold the colt back and maintain control.
Two furlongs into the five furlong stretch, Mitch drove the colt forwards a little and their speed rose. With three furlongs remaining, this was where the colt would first start to gain ground on the field and with the command his audits pressed forwards as he realised what was coming. The colt was aggressive, and determined. As they pressed forwards his speed gradually built and when they reached the two furlong mark, when Mitch began to drive and brought the crop down on the chestnut's rump, the colt suddenly darted forwards.
Their closing power was amazing. The colt was gathering amazing speeds, his acceleration quick as his stride shortened. Brown eyes glinted as they pressed onwards, fighting in every stride and as they passed the finishing post it was at amazing speeds. There was no guarantee on how the colt would perform come race day, but if today was anything to go by it would not be badly.