The Girl in Front

[Cruisey]

SIREN CALL && DEVON BLACKTHORN

Workout for the Shining Stakes*

This was it; the first leg of the Triple Sprinter Tiara, and Siren Call was out for blood. This season involved a lot of ups and downs with the Shiver Me Timbers daughter, and Carter painfully regretted a few of her bad races. He had thought the filly would be able to take on the big boys in the Triple Sprinter Crown, but a two bad HOTY races had cost them her confidence, and it had taken a while for it to come back. Devon blamed himself for Siren’s losses and bad races, but it seemed to Carter that she wasn’t herself. Siren was on the cusp of reaching grade one, and with her easy undercard wins, it looked like Siren could reach that goal in no time. It looked like the Shining Stakes had only two entries, including themselves, which made for a possible easy win for Siren. It would be good not only for Siren, but for her insecure jockey that took her losses hard. 

Stroking the bay's neck carefully, Devon came around to Siren’s side. She looked amped and on guard as her ears flicked back and forth, puffs of steam rolling out of her nostrils as she breathed. Taking the reins in his hands, Devon mounted the filly with the help of Carter. Once the jockey was settled, Carter released his hold on the filly. Siren trotted on the spot as they stepped onto the soft dirt at Green Horse Fields. Guiding her over to the outside, Devon asked her to pick up speed as they started trotting along the outside rail.  

Siren showed no signs of her lost confidence as they cantered the straightaway. Her last two wins should surely set her up extremely nicely for the Shining Stakes, and Carter was easily convinced she could take the race. She was full of energy and was ready to run it off, and when Devon gave her the signal, she shot off like someone held a hot iron under her belly. Grabbing a fistful of mane, Devon navigated the speedy horse towards the inside to get a better feel for the track. She wasn’t doing a light gallop even if that was the plan – Siren was to run and there was no stopping the hell bound filly. They just gave it everything they had. Going, going, going. Much faster, much stronger. They were gone. Devon, now he was just an average jockey, but Siren, oh boy, Siren was so much more than an average horse. Devon almost missed his four furlong marker since Siren was running faster than his brain could process. As he pulled her up, his brain was fuzzy and he couldn’t think of a word to say when Carter came running up towards the entrance of the track. Siren would for sure be the girl in front, and there won’t be anyone able to catch her.