Post by Cruisey on Nov 23, 2013 21:35:11 GMT -5
January. The start of the new racing season at Green Horse Fields, and the Firestone Racing crew was starting to get into the swing of things again after having a year off to relocate and start anew. The first workout of the season with the 3 up and coming prospects, Fern (Inferno), Sonny (Speak Easy) and Cian (Devil’s Blessing), was this morning and everyone was busy at 6AM getting them ready in their stalls. Cian was an import from In Stride Racing a few weeks ago, and is already showing signs of loving Firestone. The 3 exercise riders, Ryan, Jessie-Lynn and Sammie were already getting their workout information from the head trainer, Carter.
“Alright guys, since Sonny is the only 2 year old in this field, I want to take it easy on them the first few workouts, to get them back into shape. Sonny and Fern working against Cian will show us how well they are shaped up already.” All three riders nodded.
“Take them 6 furlongs; it’s a nice and easy transition into work, seeing as they all run 7+ normally.” Carter spoke to the riders as their horses were lead up behind them. He motioned for them to hop on, so they all took their horse from its groom.
Once on, all 3 made their way down to the track in the cold. Each horse was raving with the idea of being back on the track, all 3 prancing up and down, puffs of steam blowing from their nostrils. Sonny was quite calm for being the youngest, not taking a second look at anything. If anything, Cian was the spookiest. He was extremely unsure about a new rider on his back, refusing to go forward. Sammie was experienced enough, though, to get him moving forward. She knew that she had to gain his trust in some way or another, and she would have to tell Talia the same thing. Cian was used to having female riders on his back though, so it should be a tiny bit easier.
Sammie looked over to Ryan and Jessie-Lynn. JL was having a difficult time keeping Fern calm enough to step onto the track, whereas Ryan was calmly walking Sonny. Figures, the youngest one would be the quietest.
They all reached the track and the horses ears perked forwards, all 3 bouncing on their heels.
“Hey, JL. He feeling okay?” Sammie called over. She saw a quick nod from JL signalling that she was handling it. She smiled to herself, stroking Cian’s neck. He snorted, tugging on the reins.
They all picked up a brisk trot, spacing out so that if something happened they were all safe. Ryan felt Sonny a bit tense, so he loosened the rein an inch and felt his nose drop into the contact, signalling his muscles were getting looser. Jessie-Lynn felt the same. Fern was extremely high strung today, gray tail flagging out in the wind. He was like a spring, anything could set him off, but once they reached the 3 furlong pole she felt him finally loosen. As if the horses read each other’s minds, they picked up a fast canter simultaneously, each one snorting with every stride. All 3 riders looked at each other and nodded, signalling the start of the gallop. Sammie let Cian go, careful about not letting him jump out too fast and tire himself out before the workout was over…but what were the chances of that happening? He pinned his ears at the other boys, kicking into a speed higher just to show off. Sammie pulled him back a tiny bit, telling him no.
JL did the same, loosening off the reins a little bit, and she felt Fern explode underneath her. He definitely had a lot of energy, which was a good and bad sign. They definitely needed another workout before his debut race. Ryan let Sonny go a bit faster than what they were supposed to do, testing his competitiveness against the two other boys.
He noticed that Sammie and JL were letting their horses go, so he asked Sonny for a higher gear. He may be young, but Ryan definitely had the confidence in the little colt. Sonny flicked his tail, as if it helped him quicken the speed. He was catching up to Cian, fast. He was currently neck and neck with Fern, with him being on the outside he had a little bit more ground to catch up to Cian, who was riding on the inside.
The 5 furlong pole was quickly approaching, which was almost the end of their workout. None of the horses felt tired, and none let the pace drop. Sonny was edging Fern out by a full neck now, and Ryan could see JL encouraging Fern to gather more speed, in which he definitely did. With a kick, he pulled ahead of Cian and Sonny by a length, but neither Sammie nor Ryan was going to let that happen. Sammie pushed Cian forwards, knowing he was a long distance horse; he should have the energy to finish the two boys off. Cian didn’t like being in 2nd, so he flicked his tail in Sonny’s face and pulled ahead. Ryan could feel Sonny backing off, but he tapped him with his whip on the shoulder and he felt Sonny surge forwards. The finish line was literally 15 strides away so all 3 gave it all they got.
Fern ended up edging the lead with Sonny in 2nd and Cian in 3rd. Sammie knew Cian could have ‘won’ that gallop easily by watching him on the track earlier, but it was only her 2nd time riding the horse. JL felt like even though they edged the two boys, Fern didn’t get the ‘right’ workout he needed before a race. She would have to talk to Carter about breezing him and then paddock time before his maiden debut. Ryan was quite pleased with the way Sonny performed against the older horses, and he praised him by stroking his neck.
They brought their horses back to a controlled canter, and finally to a trot to cool them out around the rest of the track. As they trotted around the track, they all chatted and reflected on how they thought they did. Now it was time for the real talk with Carter…
