Going Somewhere?! (open)

[symphony]

Amy Hastings and Sails Abroad

Simply put, Amy adored Sails, and the filly adored her. Amy had been there for the birth of the grey, at one in the morning on a Saturday night, the one night of the week Amy was completely free. Though she was supposed to, Amy hadn't bothered waking Tally until after the foal was on her feet, seeing as there had been no trouble and Coursette tended to get overly aggressive if there was more than one person lurking near her stall. Sails had been the very first foal born at Kings Park under Tally's ownership, and so far she hadn't disappointed - the dark grey had dominated the turf section of the two year old races, with three wins from three starts, including a clear victory in the American Turf Juvenile by almost two lengths.

Today, the filly was just as antsy as usual, and Amy was laughing at her. She had gotten used to the crowds of journalists and timers that turned up at all hours of the morning in hope of spotting the champions working, and had found she quite liked being in the spotlight. As they stepped out onto the track and moved into a trot, the filly began showing off to the crowds; head down and well collected, feet well off the ground. It wasn't what Amy had asked for, but if the attention got the filly running as well as it had for her first three starts, then she wasn't going to complain.

Sails was a strange one alright. They hadn't had much hope for her winning her maiden, and before the race the filly had been overly nervous as usual, but as soon as she stepped out and saw the crowd - who in reality had been there for the Grade III races, not the Maidens, though Sails had not known that - her ears had pricked up and she had settled right in. From day one, Sails had been overly attached to human company, but with a crowd cheering her on, she would run her heart out!

Glancing around, Amy finally spotted the group of journalists that Sails so desperately wanted a cuddle from, and saw a few other horses heading down the track behind her, one who looked suspiciously familiar. She suspected the grey behind her and a couple of chestnuts was Skyward, Sails' half-sister and the ruler of the dirt two year olds. Skyward was yet to be tested on the turf, but with Sails' success, Amy hardly doubted the other filly could come and do just as well on either surface.

[flatcreek]

Josh Passit & Skyward

Josh grinned as the gray filly nuzzled him once he finished grooming her. The gray had been one of his all time favorites ever since she had been born. He hadn't been there for her birth-it had been Sarah's night to watch the mares-but he had become attached to her as soon as he had laid eyes on her. The way she had intelligently looked at him, eyes full of knowlege even as a newborn.

Josh quickly scooped up Rissy's tack, easily saddling her. He untied her once she was saddled and bridled her, slipping the smooth snaffle into her mouth. Finally ready, Josh led the filly out of her stall and into the barn aisle, where he stopped to get final instructions from John. "Take her a mile canter, then breeze her five furlongs." Josh nodded. "Sounds good."

After leading the two year old out of the barn, Josh stopped to let a groom give him a leg up. The filly shook her head, then walked forward when Josh clucked to her. The filly was wired today, ready to go for a good run. When the filly stepped onto the track, she tossed her head and snorted. Many of the people around the track started pointing and talking to each other when they saw Rissy.

They had good reason for their excitment-Rissy was one of the leading two year olds, being three for three and easily winning the American Cup Juvenile by almost three lengths. There was only one two year old that had been as dominating as Rissy. That was Sails Abroad, Rissy's half-sister, and the queen of the turf two year olds. Rissy was dual surface, so it wouldn't be long until the two fillies faced each other.

Josh clucked to Rissy, and she moved into a canter, following two chestnuts and a gray. Wait, a gray? There weren't that many grays around the track and the horse looked like a two year old. Josh was pretty sure that the other gray was Sails Abroad. Josh grinned. Perhaps the two fillies could face each other in a workout. He'd just have to wait until the two fillies were done with their gallops to talk.

Rissy finished her mile gallop strongly, keeping her ears pricked the whole time and looking around all over the place. Once she had been a mile, Josh eased her into a jog. He looked around, trying to find Sails and her rider before they started their own work. He finally saw them, and jogged Rissy over. As he neared the other horse, he reconized her rider-Amy Hastings. Josh stopped Rissy a few strides away, although as far as Josh knew, both fillies were friendly. "Hey, Amy. How are you and Sails doing?" Josh asked Rissy to jog in a circle. "I'm getting ready to work Rissy here. We could have a match race of our own. You up to it?" he said, with a challenging grin.

[symphony]

Amy Hastings and Sails Abroad

As Sails finished her warmup, Amy brought her to a walk along the backstretch, directing her right out to hug the outer rail as other horses came cantering past. "Good girl," Amy muttered, rubbing the filly's silken neck. Sails shook her head violently in response, flipping half her mane over to the wrong side of her neck and making Amy laugh again.

Suddenly, one of the horses jogging up the track behind them veered towards the rail, the sound of hooves behind her suddenly starling Sails. Amy, who was by now well used to it, tightened her reins a little and sat quietly until the filly ceased her silly bouncing and calmed down, before turning to see who the horse and rider were. She soon recognised Josh and Skyward, the queen of the dirt track. Smiling, she lifted a hand in greeting before turning back to concentrate on Sails until they pulled up next to them. The filly was easily spooked and timid around new horses; today had been an especially good one in terms of how many times Sails had been sent sideways because of some tiny detail over to the side. The grey usually wore blinkers when on the track, but today was one of those days where they were trying to get her used to not wearing them.

"Hey Josh," she replied to his greeting as Sails swung her head towards her half-sister, nickering a quick greeting. Sails was a friendly filly, for all her competitiveness on race day - she ran hard for the crowd rather than with the urge to beat the other horses.

"Sails is doing well, considering. We're just trying her without the blinkers on today." Amy grinned, giving the filly a pat. "She's behaving very well. Rissy looks good too."

"I'm getting ready to work Rissy here. We could have a match race of our own. You up to it?"

"Sure," Amy replied, nudging Sails into a walk again. "They're going to have to go against each other at some point; it won't hurt Sails here to get used to running against her." She laughed at that; one time wouldn't give them much of an advantage, but Sails would at least get a little more used to being around strange horses and everything helped. "Shall we just do a running start at the five furlong pole?"

[flatcreek]

Josh Passit & Skyward

Josh watched as Sails spooked slightly as he and Rissy approached. Amy skillfully calmed her down, not fighting with her. He noticed that Sails wasn't wearing her blinkers, like she normally did. The crowds had grown used to seeing her blinkered head in front of her opponents at the finish.

Josh eased Rissy to a stop, and watched as Sails nickered to his filly. Rissy turned her head towards her half-sister and nickered back, sticking her nose over. "Silly, Rissy. What are you doing, huh?" Josh reached down and rubbed his filly's neck.

He sat up in the saddle and looked at Amy. "I noticed the blinkers, or lack thereof. She wasn't too bad when Rissy and I came up. And thanks, she's been doing really well. She's my favorite." He grinned. "If they don't face each other soon, the press will start trying to get them together. Maybe if they see them work together once, they'll wait before they start pressuring us, if that makes any sense." He laughed at himself-he had a habit of rambling on and on. "That sounds good. Rissy's fine with the gates-although she wasn't always that way." Rissy had hated the gates when she was first introduced to them. It had taken quite a while and a strong bond with Josh to get her to go near them.

[symphony]

Amy Hastings and Sails Abroad

"Yeah, Sails was a nightmare with the gates at first too," Amy replied, nudging the filly into a trot and waiting for Austin to catch up before continuing. "She's very shy about things...we had to come out at ten in the morning and get special permission to use the gates for an hour each morning. Even then, it took a while to get her to go in with someone riding her." Amy laughed quietly, giving Sails a pat. "From the way she's been breaking though, I'd say the hard work has paid off."

The five furlong marker was within sights now and she raised herself up out of the saddle, letting the grey fall into a canter. Sails tugged half-heartedly at the reins, asking to go faster and testing just how fast she could go before Amy checked her speed. She was most definately ready to run.

[flatcreek]

Josh Passit & Skyward

Josh nudged Rissy into a jog, following Amy and Sails. Rissy pulled against Josh until she had caught up with Sails. "I'd say it's paid off." He pulled on the reins, trying to keep his filly next to Sails.

As they neared the five furlong pole, Josh clucked to Rissy and she quickly settled into her long strided canter. She was pulling on the reins, wanting to go all out. Finally, when she hit the five furlong pole, Josh clucked to Rissy and gave her more rein. She burst forward, her dominate nature going full-force, trying to be in front the whole way, like she normally ran.

[symphony]

Amy Hastings and Sails Abroad

The two greys cantered steadily down the track towards the five furlong marker, Josh working much harder than Amy to keep his filly level. Sails wasn't particularly bothered where she was in a race until the very end, and the same applied to trackwork. Rissy however, Amy knew was a frontrunner, liking to get out in front and stay in front. Almost subconciously, Amy patted Sails on the neck, knowing that if anyone was going to contest Rissy for that lead, it would be their little grey filly.

As they passed the pole, Rissy took off, nose already stuck well in front. With a little urging from Amy, Sails followed her sister's lead, narrowing Rissy's sudden lead to less than a nose and still accelerating. Amy sat quietly, hands resting on the filly's neck, trying to interfere as little as possible. They had quickly found that if you tried to tell the filly where to go and how to run, she was very uncomfortable, preferring to find her own stride and choose her own place in the pack.

[flatcreek]

Josh Passit & Skyward

As they swept past the five furlong pole, Josh gave Rissy some rein, and she instantly took advantage of it, using her speed to propell herself forward. Josh glanced over and saw that Sails had come up right next to Rissy and was fighting Rissy for the lead. Josh made sure that Rissy knew that Sails was there then sat and let her run.

Josh didn't even bother looking for Sails as Rissy flew past the four furlong pole. His filly was running with her ears back and was mad. She wasn't going to let her sister beat her, if she had any say. Rissy was just that way.

[symphony]

Amy Hastings and Sails Abroad

Rissy took off again as they drew level, battling it out to reclaim her lead. Easing Sails slightly, Amy reined her in a little, asking her to sit out a little wider, her nose level with Rissy's shoulder. The filly did so happily; she was much more used to making her move in the last few furlongs and hadn't taken a liking to the lack of space in sprints at all. Sails wasn't breezed very often, as long, slow gallops benefited her much more.

Even so, there were days like this, when the filly just wanted to run. She was comfortable with where Amy had placed her in the two-horse race, and both filly's were setting blazing fractions as far as Amy could tell. Both were travelling nicely, steaming over the first two furlongs like they were nothing. The rider was crouched low on Sails' back, eyes set on the track ahead, waiting for the pole that marked the final two furlongs; the place where she would let Sails contest Rissy's lead, if the filly wanted to.

[flatcreek]

Josh Passit & Skyward

Josh knew that Amy had eased Sails back, to about a neck off the pace. He knew that Sails was more of a closer. She would wait in the back, then swoop up at the wire. The two sisters couldn't be any more different personality wise. Out of the corner of his eye, Josh could see the clockers and writers talking and jabbering to each other while pointing at the two fillies. This work would probably be the fastest of the morning.

Josh kept his hold on Rissy, even though she was wanting to go all out. Josh knew that Sails would most likely move with two furlongs left, so he had two options-try and run Sails off her feet, or let the two fight it out. He chose the latter of the two because it was a workout. Another thing that they had discovered with their filly was that when she got way in front, she tended to gawk at everything around her. She would only focus when she was fighting it out with another horse. She swept through the third furlong much the same as the previous. Despite Josh's tight hold on his filly, she was gradually building speed. He knew that she had plenty left in the tank. A little over halfway through the third furlong, Josh let her go. The gray erupted, flying forward. Josh glanced back, trying to spot where Amy and Sails were. If they weren't gaining ground, then Josh would keep her at her current speed. If they were closing, then Josh would ask her for more-and she would respond. He could tell that she would.

[symphony]

Amy Hastings and Sails Abroad

As the two furlong marker flashed past, Amy gave Sails the signal to move up beside Rissy. The grey filly hesitated for a moment, confused; in her mind, they had not been running long enough to warrant a finish yet, but she recognised the final turn where she was used to flying down the straight to a win.

With a little more encouragement from Amy, Sails switched leads and took off, moving off the rail a little more and creeping up behind Rissy to hold it neck and neck within seconds. Amy was almost startled by the sudden acceleration; the filly was more competitive than she had thought.

Amy glanced over quickly at Josh, waiting for his next move. They still had some track left to cover, enough for him to contest them for the lead.

[flatcreek]

Josh Passit & Skyward

Josh blinked as he saw Amy and Sails slowly moving up with about two furlongs left. From Rissy's sudden pull on the reins, she had too. Josh gave her a little more rein and nudged her sides. The filly sprang forward, not letting her sister get half an inch. Rissy was game, there was no denying it. Few horses could hold off the best turf two year old closing on them after running lightning fast splits for the first three furlongs, but here Rissy was, attempting to do just that.

With only a short furlong left, Josh asked Rissy for everything. Her ears were flat to her head and her nose was as out as far as she could get it. She was giving supreme effort, not giving away an inch of her lead.

[symphony]

Amy Hastings and Sails Abroad

Rissy pulled back out in front, and Amy sat quietly, waiting for Sails to decide what to do. If the filly had nothing more to give, she wouldn't push her for it; this was a workout, after all. But just as she thought her grey filly had given up, she somehow found another gear, exploding after her sister, stretching right out with ears pinned. Sails wasn't giving up without a fight all the way to the wire, which loomed dangerously close now. Surely though, they had at least drawn level with Skyward now; Amy didn't dare to look, crouched so low over Sails' neck that her short grey mane whipped at her face. They were going at a lightning-fast pace and the wire was speeding towards them; only strides remained for a winner to come out.

[flatcreek]

Josh Passit & Skyward

Josh sensed Sails moving up alongside Rissy. He didn't even have to look, he could feel it. He knew that Rissy had seen and she kept fighting against her sister. He could see the whites of her eyes blazing, and with just a few strides left, she summoned everything. As the two fillies swept across the finish, Josh glanced over, trying to decide who had won. His filly slowed easily; she was tired after a hard run. He looked over at Amy and Sails as they slowed. The other filly was just as tired, from what Josh could tell. "Who do you think won?" He called. They were probably both in favor of their own filly, but you never could tell what another rider was thinking.

[symphony]

Amy Hastings and Sails Abroad

The two fillies flashed under the wire together, neither one gaining an inch on the other so far as Amy could tell. Truthfully, she hadn't really noticed the outcome of their mock race, her attention completely on Sails as the filly had accelerated. Had there been anything wrong with the grey that Amy had noticed, she would have been eased off the pace immediately.

They slowed alongside Rissy, both greys easing off at the same pace, tired. They had had quite a workout this morning; Amy knew Sails, at least, was well ready for her morning feed and a rest in her warm stall.

"I'm not quite sure," Amy said in response to Josh's question, slowing Sails to a trot. "And from the looks of it, they have about as much of an idea as we do." She nodded in the direction of a group of timers and journalists, most of them currently comparing times and talking excitedly amongst themselves. All eyes had been on them while they worked, it seemed. As she glanced at them, Amy noticed Tally standing at the rail, separate from the group, and the trainer nodded once at her rider, scribbling notes in a notebook. Well, at least she wasn't angry about the fast work. So long as Amy cooled Sails out properly, nothing would be said about it, she knew.