PEOPLE: Kirsten Jade, Melanie Mackenzie, Emma Rose, Ben Mackenzie, Aaron Phillips, Chantal LeBlanc, Jackson Phillips, and Charlie Burke Jr.
PLACE: Akita Rose Stables.
DATE: December 4 2013 (Y14 January Week One)
preparing.
is this going to work this time?
Kirsten turned and looked at her precious daughter in the passenger side, her eleven year old daughter... boy time goes by fast. They locked eyes for only a moment before looking ahead to the rolling pastures passing them by. They were almost home. Kirsten grabbed her daughter's hand and squeezed. Emma continued to stare out the window, hoping to catch a first glance of the home they missed so much: Akita Rose Stables.
Their truck rolled down the drive and Kirsten could barely concentrate. The horses they had left a year ago were so much more gorgeous than she remembered. The foals were now big and in racing form. Tears threatened to fall from the corner of her eyes. Emma was bouncing up and down in her seat and naming each horse she saw. It was good to come home.
She had barely stopped the truck before Emma had jumped out and was running full blast into the arms of her aunt Melanie. Kirsten slipped slowly from her seat and took in the sights. The sight of her beautiful home, the sight of her beautiful horses and the sight of her racing family approaching her with open arms.
- TWO HOURS LATER -
Kirsten stood with her hands on the door to the training barn and held her breath. This was it. It was time to see which horses were left and which horses were going to be her new champions. A hand landed on her shoulder and Kirsten turned to see her head trainer and the guy that kept her horses in form throughout her year absence - Charlie Burke Jr. "You ready to see your horses." Kirsten gulped and nodded. This was it - there was no turning back now. It was only going to move forward from now on.
Midnight Dreamer
Kirsten smiled as she saw the horse in the first stall. The tall black stallion stood glaring at the people standing in front of his stall. Some things never changed. "Hi Dreamer". The stallion stared long and hard into the eyes of his master. No one moved. Kirsten could sense the horse judging her. She could also see the fire behind those eyes. A fire that has never gone out. She knew this would be his final season and he would go out with a bang.
Charlie cleared his throat and motioned towards the horse. "Dreamer has been training extremely well, in fact I think if he would have raced last season he would have destroyed the field. He seems to have some sort of built up fury or something because every workout seems to get more and more intense... well you'll see tomorrow morning. Just consider yourself warned though. He might rip your arms out, ill schedule him as your last ride tomorrow morning." Kirsten nodded and ran her hand down the muzzle of the beast. Dreamer's breathing seemed to get louder and louder with every moment. It was time to move to the next stall.
Apollo Bear
The next familiar face Kirsten came to see was the black and white muzzle of Apollo Bear. She never thought it was possible for this horse to grow any bigger but he definitely filled out with more muscle than she has ever seen on a horse. "Wow", she whispered.
Charlie chuckled. "Yeah, Olio is our tank. He has matured even more the last year and a half and is in top form. If ever there was a contest for strong horse I think he'd take it." Charlie laughed again. "Aaron loves it. They are constantly working out together and hitting the trails. They are itching for a race. He's ready anytime." Kirsten nodded and could hardly peel her eyes from the great beast. It was crazy to think of the small foal she had received nearly 5 years ago had turned into this powerhouse. CRAZY.
Silver Secret
A welcoming nicker sounded from the stall over. Kirsten grinned as the small gray snout popped over the half wall in front of her. "Hello to you too my beautiful girl." Sissy squealed and rubbed her head against Kirsten's shirt. They laughed. "Well it looks like someone is happy to see me." Charlie rolled his eyes. "Sissy is happy to see anyone." Kirsten laughed again. "Well she definitely still has a big heart - that's good to see."
Charlie nodded "Yep. Her training is going well too, she is no longer dropping back and has gained a lot more confidence in herself. I hope that continues even if she gets beat in her first few races. We'll see. I am very happy with her progress though" Kirsten smiled and stroked the gray mare's forehead. "I'm glad. I look forward to her next race." She gave Sissy one last pat before checking out the next stall.
GM Halloweentown
And who was in the next stall but her sexy charmer of a horse. Tropez whinnied loud and pushed out against his stall door to get as close to Kirsten as possible. She giggled and threw her arms around the big horse. Charlie shook his head. This horse was a horse who could get anything his heart desired. Nobody fails to fall to his charm.
Kirsten gave him one last squeeze and stepped back to check his progress. Tropez stomped his hoof in protest. He had grown... huge. He was nearly as big as Apollo Bear and that was saying something. "He has gotten massive." Charlie nodded, "Yeah and working out marvelously. He stopped his career being 100% in the money so I didn't want his training to slip even a little bit. He missed you though." Charlie scratched the top of his head. "Go figure..." Kirsten laughed and winked. "I missed him too Charlie. We'll be back on the track in no time!"
Mini Monstorm
Next she moved on the the prettiest chestnut mare she has ever seen. "Hey little Mouse. How have you been?" She smiled and rubbed the mare's nose. Mouse was probably the smallest racehorse they had in the barn but definitely the prettiest. Problem was that she was also the most timid. She was quiet as well... a mouse... Never complains and never disobeys her handlers. It's not exactly a race horse personality but she is fast for her size, it also helps that her hooves are silent and can sneak up behind the leaders with barely a sound.
Charlie reached over and stroked Mouse's nose. "I never thought she would be much on the track but she may surprise us this year. She's got speed and a big heart. She will definitely try her hardest." Kirsten nodded. "She won't be our star but she might bring in a few good wins." Charlie nodded, "Yeah, at least she is consistent." He gave her another pat and they moved on.
The Unicorn
The black stallion eyeballed his owner from over the half wall and then turned his tail. Kirsten was left with just the view of his back side. She raised her eyebrow at Charlie and the thirty-three year old trainer just chuckled. "What Mouse lacks in attitude Uni has plenty of." Kirsten shrugged. "Whatever, as long as he starts winning for us I'll be happy. How is his training going?"
Charlie bit his lip. "Well I thought he'd mature more this year but he still has a way to go. His workouts are good and Melanie handles him great. I just want to see more from him." Kirsten nodded. "Understandable. Let's move on."
Coco Cabana
Kirsten could hear the soft jazz music playing within the stall before she even caught a glimpse of the horse that occupies it. The gorgeous bay stallion with the heart shaped star reached out to Kirsten with caution. His intelligent eyes seemed to pierce straight into her soul and Kirsten fought off the urge to saddle him up in a second and take him out to the track. There were not many times where Kirsten was speechless with awe but this was one of those times. The small juvenile horse she had left had filled out nicely and looked in top form. Her heart nearly broke in two pieces just thinking of the potential this horse missed out on.
"Speechless boss?" Charlie smirked from behind his mustache. Kirsten nodded and slowly stroked the face of the colt she bred. "Just wait until you run him. He is our champion this year, for sure. It's too bad he missed out on his juvenile career because wow. I've been impressed. I know it's a little early to say but if he can get some races under his belt I'd point him towards the Triple Crown." Kirsten nodded. She just couldn't peel her eyes from the majestic colt. Charlie put his hand on her shoulder. "Come on. It's getting late and you've got a lot more horses to see. I'll schedule Coco first for you tomorrow morning." Kirsten cleared her throat and tore her eyes from the horse. Charlie was right. She had lots of time to admire the colt.
Ladam Rose
Charlie swiped his hand across the stall next door. Kirsten smiled as she looked over the half wall. A filly with prestige and flair - that was Ladam Rose. She was a well bred horse with a lot of potential. It's just such a shame she missed out on her two year old season. She reached over and gave the filly a good pat. "How is her training going?"
Charlie tilted his head. "Well we were having a bit of trouble with ownership issues with Star Thoroughbreds so it's something you are going to take care of ASAP. I've been training her when I can but she might need a bit more conditioning before we can race her. I'd give her a month." Kirsten nodded. Sounds fair. She will get the issues sorted tomorrow morning if possible.
Miss Josephine
Next was Queen Josey. Kirsten smirked as the dark bay filly tried to grab a chunk of her sleeve and missed. Yep horses never changed their colors. The filly was beautiful in looks but you can definitely see a spirit of a race horse shining through. Why she bred two ill tempered horses to get this filly she will never know... "She looks good, how is she doing?"
Charlie nodded slowly. "Well, she shows a lot of attitude on the track but her training is coming along as a typical three year old. I think she will break her maiden in no time and then we will see where it leads." Kirsten nodded. That sounded fair. Three year olds could be unpredictable at the start of the year.
Wired Loose
It was time to check out the Wiz. Kirsten was excited to see the filly. It was the only horse with no name bloodlines in her training barn but yet Wiz was also a one of a kind racehorse. Kirsten looked up into the intelligent eyes of the three year old sprinter, ARS' only sprinter at the moment. Wiz had definitely grown... taller... She was incredibly tall for a filly, with long legs and a long neck.
"Holy, she has grown... up." Charlie chuckled. "Really? I barely notice. I have enough trouble making sure she isn't snatching my wallet whenever I visit her stall." Kirsten laughed. "Still doing that eh?" Charlie rolled his eyes. "I don't know how she does it. Anyways, her training is doing doing good. I think she is getting bored around the stable, it'll be good for her to be back on the track." Kirsten nodded. She understood the unspoken message... the Wiz was once again driving her trainer crazy.
Moving on to the Juveniles
"Alright, now it's on to our brand new juvenile stock. Be prepared to be impressed." Charlie rubbed his hands together in excitement. He loved the start of a new season. Juveniles were trained hard all year as yearlings and now it was time for the true test of their skills. Kirsten bit her lip. She was nervous. She had been away for so long she had no clue what to expect from her Y12 crop. Were the Night Stalker babies still looking promising?
Diggam
The first stall they reached held a small gray colt with a gentle looking gaze. Kirsten reached out and the colt lipped at her sleeve. "Is this the Gold Digger colt?" Charlie nodded. "Yeah he is a pretty calm ride, a little choppy right now but he is getting it. He'll need some work but he'll be a great miler." Kirsten nodded and pet the small colt.
She could remember when his dam was two. There was quite a difference between the two. Diggam has the conformation of his dam but definitely not the personality. It will be interesting to see how he does on the track.
Fleet Street
"Now for the Night Stalker trio of trouble..." Charlie smirked at Kirsten and she responded with a small tap on his shoulder. "Aw come on they can't be that bad..." Charlie shrugged. She will soon see. The first stall had a black colt with the glossiest coat she has ever seen. "Is this Fleet Street or My Man O War?" Charlie smirked. "That's what happens when you go away for a year." Kirsten rolled her eyes. "It's Fleet Street." Kirsten nodded and reached out to stroke his nose, "He is gorgeous".
Fleet Street threw up his head and squealed, throwing his back hoof into the back of the stall. She widened her eyes and stepped back. She threw a quizzical look at the trainer. "Yeah, Flee doesn't like to be touched... at all... The only time he can be touched is if you are on his back... of which he only allows Mel up there... He was a nightmare to break and train." Charlie sighed. "I swear, your Night Stalker foals are just way too picky and weird and well... are more trouble than they are worth." Kirsten narrowed her eyes at the man. "They are worth more than you know. They never flunk out on the track and you know it." Charlie shrugged. In his opinion they might all be great racehorses but they were a nightmare to train...
My Man O War
Charlie gestured towards the next stall. "And there is your next monster." He stepped back and crossed his arms. Let Kirsten deal with this one. Kirsten approached the stall cautiously. A tall black colt with gangly legs and fire in his eyes glared back at her. Kirsten gasped. He was nearly identical to Night Stalker in every sense, in looks and the aura bursting from his gaze. He had built up rage and power behind his stance. Oh if only she would have been around to break him.
She approached slowly. Mano looked at her with untrusting eyes. She had a sense he recognized her. He also hasn't forgiven her. Charlie rubbed the back of his neck. "Um. Since you left Mano has changed. He has a built up rage like no other and we need two handlers on him. Training is going slow. Melanie has been dumped more than she has been able to run him. He isn't ready." Kirsten waved her hand at the trainer. The colt and owner glared at each other. A small understanding seemed to pass between the two. All that was heard was the deep breathing of the black monster. "I'll take over his training and riding. Don't worry about a thing. We'll be ready in two weeks." Charlie dropped his jaw in shock. She couldn't be serious. Oh but she was...
Nocturnal Runaway
They were now on the last stall of the barn. It was time to see how Night Stalker's youngest filly looked like. Kirsten whistled. What a beautiful filly. Her dark coat had lightened to a dark gray and she had beautiful eyes. Charlie nodded. "Yeah she is a looker all right. Her training is going better than the other two as well. Although you might be surprised to know... She runs best at a mile. 7 or 8 furlongs has been awesome. She runs a lot like her dam."
Kirsten smiled and approached the stall. "Will she bite my hand off too?" Charlie chuckled and shook his head. "Nah she isn't aggressive but she has an unlimited amount of energy - hyper as can be." Kirsten smiled. Yep Nancy was a lot like her dam. It will be hard to keep the filly occupied with enough races to burn her energy. Oh well, the legacy lives on.