People: Melanie Mackenzie & Kirsten Jade
Place: ARS turf track
Date: February 5 2014 (March Week One)
to each its own.
the world is full of differences.
By now it was pouring on the track. Aaron had just entered the training barn soaked from head to toe and leading Apollo Bear in. Melanie bit her lip and went to the door to peer out. Was it worth it to take their juveniles outside for a final workout before the Finish Cup? Probably not. No one wanted to see a talented two year old break down. "What do you think?" Melanie turned to see her older sister and stable owner standing behind her, also peering out. "Should we risk it?" Melanie shrugged. She didn't know what to say, it was Kirsten's horses after all.
Kirsten sighed and pondered over her decision. She couldn't just let Diggam and Spitterfly not get their final work in, it was too important. These races were big for the juveniles and they needed the best chance possible to win. The rain was starting to let up a little. Well, decision made. "Let's go. Spitter loves the rain anyways. You have nothing to fear." Melanie turned and looked into her eyes for a second before nodding. No problem. They have both handled much worse than a bit of rain. "I figured you'd say that. Spitter is ready. I'll meet you on the track." Melanie strode off the one of the end stalls. Kirsten smiled after her younger sister and took off to get a groom to prepare her mount. Melanie had the spirit of a champion jockey and Kirsten loved it.
It wasn't long before Melanie had Spitterfly out on the sloppy track and dancing in the rain. The gray filly was in her glory. She was pouncing like a rabbit in any puddle she found. Melanie rolled her eyes and tried to get the filly to focus. This was going to be the biggest race of the filly's career. So far Spitterfly was undefeated, which was a remarkable feat but she had never gone up against this tough of a competition before. The whole stable was buzzing with nervous energy. If Spitterfly were to beat any of the horses in this race it would be a miracle.
There would be a lot of speed in this race and if bloodlines were any indication all the horses in this race will end up in the Hall of Fame someday. Stride of Perfection Stables had both of their top horses in the race - Devil's Flair and Pandora. Then of course there was Witch Creek's Casualty of War and Star Thoroughbred's Wild Daisy. Melanie could barely breath just thinking of the competition. She was going to be spending the next two days going over past races and records. Knowing your competition was half the battle. She was going to make sure it would not be her jockeying that lost this race. She really had to think of the best strategy.
Kirsten stroked the neck of the small gray colt as they stepped onto the track. The rain was light but yet Diggam was shaking his mane every few minutes, obviously disliking the rain. She moved her hands across his neck in a massaging way, calming him down and letting him know she was there. As they started their warm-ups Kirsten went over her strategy for the big race. Truth be told Diggam was still a maiden and was going to be running against three great juveniles that all had the experience of a win. There would be a lot of speed as well since half the field were front runners. Kirsten's plan was to let him run back and save his energy, hopefully that would give the colt an edge of some sort... hopefully...
Before long they were thundering across the middle of the turf track with their two juvenile hopefuls. Kirsten had suggested they stay off the rail where there were more puddles and Melanie agreed. The rain was a mere drizzle at this point and their mounts were as solid as can be. There would only be one way to tell if they were truly ready for this weekend and that would be just letting the race play out and see where they end up. As long as they tried their best there was nothing wrong with experiencing a strong field of horses. Only time will tell.