renewal

[S u N f r O s t ~]

INFINITE WARCRY AND AMBER BLACK
PREAKNESS CHAMPION STAKES WORKOUT

A gorgeous day dawned. The sun shining, the crickets quieting their night song, the blackness melted by the rising sun, the world illuminated in the incandescent glow of light reflecting off of morning dew...but the best part for Amber Black was, of course, the horses. And today was a day she had been planning since the Kentucky Open. It was her day to spend with Infinite Warcry however she pleased. Her favorite gentle giant with a heart of gold and a stride like fire. He was the only horse she would see today, and that was just the way she wanted it. Indeed she felt light as air as she picked her way down the lawn and into the racing barn. Nickers greeted her, but there was only one nicker she found herself focusing on. Infini's. The black colt had his head over the stall already, and his gentle eyes warmed the cold dawn air as he neighed his hello and waited, as though knowing he would be taken out first.

The gentle smile that broke onto Amber's face was reminiscent of the dawn's coming. She reached out a hand, and wispy horse breaths fanned it before an inquiring nose settled into it. Treats. You'd never know it from his undemanding exterior, but Infini loved them. Especially sugar cubes. And exactly that appeared in her hand before she grabbed his equipment and got ready to lead her colt out. They were going to get ready to rock and roll in the Preakness Champion Stakes, and they were facing Stalker's Fury as well as Frozen Motion this time. An exciting race it would be, and with an extra furlong to benefit from. Infini craved that distance and it perfectly suited his run-them-down style. The public would see once more what the brilliant black was made of on race day.

He had lost Zenyatta style against Frozen Motion last time. The barest nose had separated them, and at first Amber had been horrifically upset. She'd managed a congratulatory smile at Brooks, but the rest of the day after that she had been dead pan. It wasn't until Krystal gave her a stern talking to that she started brightening up again. It was Infini's first loss in months. Naturally it would hit a bit hard, but it wasn't too surprising. He'd been on a roll for a while. Furthermore, Infini had only lost four races in his life, out of fourteen starts. That crazy statistic proved to Amber that he would come back strong from this loss. Fire was burning in that belly and he'd be harder to repress in the Preakness Champion. Especially since Amber knew he'd be closing even more swiftly than before. Infini was intelligent. He'd kick it up a notch to get that win. He may be a gentle giant, but he certainly had a competitive fire sizzling somewhere deep within that huge heart of his.

She swiped a brush across his gleaming black coat one last time and stepped back to admire her handiwork. The black thoroughbred looked magnificent - tall, lined with muscle, a deep chest, strongly muscular hindquarters, brightly intelligent and curious eyes...the picture of a lovable horse. The picture of a horse that had her heart in his, beating concurrently. Amber knew that his powerful drive came from those hindquarters. Something about them shot him forward like a rocket. It was something special that was indefinable. It could only be felt in such rides as the one she was going to have right now. A grin on her face, she got the colt tacked up, and soon they were swinging out into the dawn air. Mist curled up around them as they walked. To an onlooker, they'd be a black mass and human being emerging from mysterious mist in supernatural silence. It was gorgeous.

The turf track was understandably being watched by hawk-like reporters twenty four seven. The Preakness Champion Stakes was a week away. Frozen Motion had naturally been entered again, and this time Stalker's Fury was making an appearance. Amber concerned herself not with her opponents' accomplishments but with their running styles. Freeze would be driving Stalker up front. Stalker was a true Fury daughter, a front runner with the worst of temperaments. Infini could run with these. Amber concerned herself not with the race for now. She had to learn to take a step back and accept defeat even from her best, even if it meant losing the Turf Triple Crown. She would treat this race like a race and not like something to lose sleep over. She'd be calm, collected and in her mode for race day this time around. She had been off slightly last time and she had a feeling it had affected her ride. No such thing would occur this time.

Infini glided smooth as glass beneath her legs. The lightest of hands steered him out onto the glorious turf tracks. So many she had ridden over this track, yet each was unique and held a place in her heart. Infini was her most promising at this stage in the game. He certainly felt like the champion she knew he was, striding with that professionalism that belonged to legends alone. She had already planned her workout today - easy two mile gallop, gradually increasing pace at the end. A good distance run, just the way Infini liked to run his workouts. Plenty of time to get going. Infini was a true marathon type of horse. He was built to last and pounced like a predator. His closing kick had swallowed the ranks of older horses and blazed the grass with fire. He was Amber's type of powerhouse turfer.

They upped the pace to a trot and Amber could already feel the hungry gazes of reporters trained on her back. She sighed. You'd think that after a while their gazes would go away, leave her alone for some peace and quiet. No such nicety was to be had. She was doomed to feel them staring at the back of her head as though trying to read her mind and lay bare the truth in her soul. She shook her head to clear it and refocused on the workout. Infini had not responded to her conflicting thoughts. With true professionalism he had just kept on going, trusting her to rid those thoughts from her mind. It brought a smile to her face and furthered her determination even more. Infini was a great horse, a champion, but he had yet to prove that in the Turf Triple Crown. He had shown that mighty kick but just hadn't come close enough. Amber often wondered if Infini ran faster than her fastest sprinters at the end of his races. The distance he made up suggested great speed, like jet boosters were attached to his back and powering the way forward.

Cantering now, then gently easing into the two mile gallop. Easy, easy. The laziness of Infini's motion was tinted by true joy for each stride. He was going on the prowl and Amber felt the energy collecting into those hindquarters as the gallop progressed. A slow quarter, a same speed half. Never did the movement waver. Collecting in strength, rising, soaring into the sky, speed collecting like a peregrine falcon's before a dive. Energy was this black's birthright. It built like water collecting behind a dam, prepared as water does for the lowering of the barrier. The mile passed and Infini's speed was at maximum fluidity. His stride was smooth and now it began to quicken. The cadence increased and with it Infini's desire to break into his most fluid run. It was nearly time for the swoop of the black colt, and had this been an actual race he would have been released long before this. But this was an easy two mile gallop, and Infini began to pick up on this. His pleasure at the long run was heartfelt and soared through the reins and the connection he had forged with Amber through them.

The ten furlong mark, the twelve. They were going beyond marathoning yet you could not pick up on a quiver of discomfort in the colt's stride. He was beginning to seriously up it now, and the wind sang its sweetest melody as they neared the end of the workout. Amber's grin widened as they began to swing to the outside as was customary and burst into the stretch with a devastating closing drive that would have turned heads anywhere. He was flying now, this lack typhoon of speed and energy that just kept on being produced. He was an unstoppable storm, this colt with the blaze of war in his eyes. He was seeing gray and he was bounding past in one smooth motion in the most shattering way possible of passing. But even then he was more consumed by the fire of his passion for this run, the final sprint where he alone was not tired and just kept digging for more. Let him be challenged. He would not relent in his charge, and if defeat was to be had it would be accepted with all due grace. Such was the nature of the peaceful turf relationship.

They slowed down in increments after the two mile, neither willing to stop. The wind stopped singing and the world became defined around them. Amber's grin was magnificent. What an exhilarating run. What a magnificent beast. She felt so..renewed in her relationship with her horse. Like something new had been created. And she hoped that this time, the win would be theirs and the glory would belong to them once more.