Devil's Got It Easy

[Cruisey]

Devil's Got It Easy

Speak Easy & Johnny Garner
Devil's Blessing & Talia Smith

It was a new month at Firestone Racing, and owners Kiana and Ryan were extremely happy with the way Carter was running things down at the barn. Fern broke his maiden on his 2nd start and they had promising youngstock. This week’s races starred Speak Easy and Devil’s Blessing. Both were in pretty decent races, Sonny trying to break his maiden, and Cian in a G5 turf, Carter had high hopes for the two colts. They surprisingly enjoyed…well…somewhat enjoyed spending time together despite the two dominant personalities. Carter wanted a longer workout than their last ones just to condition them for their upcoming longer races.

While Carter reviewed race entries in the office, the grooms were busy getting the colts ready for their gallop. Cian was exceptionally quiet around Sonny and the humans today, not terrorizing the barn like he usually does. The bay colt stood in the aisle, calm but on high alert. Occasionally he would try to nip at his handler’s butt, which he found amusing. Sonny was the energetic one today. The usually dominant, lazy gelding would not stand still, pacing in the cross-ties, swishing his tail back and forth. It didn’t seem like he was annoyed though, just really eager to get onto the track.
Once the two colts were fully tacked, Johnny and Talia came out to meet Carter.
“Mornin’, Tal,” Johnny said in his southern accent, tipping his helmet towards the petit girl.
“Hey Johnny, how’s it going?” The older man shrugged and patted Sonny’s thick black neck, taking the reins from the groom. Talia did the same for Cian, stroking his neck. Carter walked out of the office and towards them, paper in hand.

“Mornin’ guys. All I want is no more than a gallop, 8 furlongs. I want them fresh and eager for their races tomorrow. If you want to breeze the last furlong, do so if they don’t feel tired.” They nodded and got a leg up. Like a light switch was turned on, Cian snapped out of his trance and was on high alert, wheeling away from Sonny. Talia knew what was coming, so she did her best to control the horse. Beside her, Sonny was calmly walking to the track. The two horses eyed each other, both with the fire and determination in their eyes.

The four of them made their way to the track in silence. Talia stared at Cian’s black mane, thinking about their past race. It definitely wasn’t their greatest, but she had just started riding the bay colt. She was determined to up their game strategies these next few races so she could get the results that she, and Carter, wanted. Before she knew it they were on the track. Cian hadn't even put up a fuss, which was surprising. She heard a faint call ahead of her, and saw that Johnny had already started trotting Sonny down the track. She didn't have to ask Cian to pick up trot because his pace already quickened to catch up to Sonny. Once they were beside each other, the big black colt was ready to run, tossing his head at Cian. Johnny grunted. Once the riders felt that the horses were good to canter, they did so simultaneously around the outside of the track. They both felt the power that the two colt’s held underneath them, all bundled up and ready to be unleashed. Sonny was chewing on his bit, bored of the canter already. He cantered with his tail flagged out behind him, lashing out at Cian from time to time, getting under his skin. Cian squealed and lunged forward, but Talia held him back for a bit longer. They glared at each other, wanting to know when the dual would be on.

They reached their starting point and both riders let their mounts leap into a higher gear. Sonny galloped on confidently, but he felt really strong today, which Johnny gave him a little check to say, hey listen to me. His ears flicked back and forth, listening to his rider. The two galloped next to each other for a bit, Sonny looking much bigger compared to Cian. Even though Cian was barely taller than Sonny, Sonny had a lot of muscle along with an impression of power and strength. His height only added to that. Even though Sonny was the youngest out of the two, it hardly showed. He loves showing his dominance and letting everyone know who will be king of the track. The pace began to quicken as they neared the halfway mark, and the two colts galloped side by side. Their hooves thundered the earth together as their coats began to shine with sweat in the morning sun. Talia began to let her reins slide out of her fingers, giving Cian his head. He grabbed it happily and charged forward, taking his usual position as a leader. Sonny was a preceder, so he settled happily behind Cian, letting him set the pace. Johnny slowed Sonny a little, trying to challenge him more when coming up behind Cian. Sonny disliked the idea and tried to grab at the bit and run, but Johnny refused and kept him back. Cian led by a length, and Talia began to let him take the track by himself.


The colts galloped further down the track, Cian taking a bigger lead in front of Sonny. Johnny still held him back, much to Sonny’s displeasure. Finally Johnny let him go and the black colt exploded. His mane whipped Johnny’s face as Sonny charged after Cian. He caught up to him effortlessly and Johnny smiled to himself. They battled it out as the finish line approached; both Talia and Johnny letting them breeze per Carter’s orders. The boys definitely did not feel tired as their heads bobbed back in forth, both pushing themselves even more to beat the other. Sonny was able to gain a teeny bit of ground beside Cian as the finish line snapped past them. Both of them still wanted to race, so they pulled on the tightening reins in protest. With lots of effort, both Talia and Johnny were able to pull them up after taking the turn.
All four of them were panting as they made their way to a smiling Carter on the sidelines.