carry on the legend [training]

[symphony]

Tallianna Cremer and Vanquished

Tally was up and about before even Darren that morning, just as she had been for the last couple of weeks as she prepared Netta for her racing debut. The filly was entered in a maiden, a gentle race against a bunch of other two year olds to ease her into the idea of racing. Welli was entered in the same race, but frankly Tally didn't see the colt getting out in front of Sola's daughter for too long.

The chestnut was waiting for her as she turned on the floodlights spaced around King's Park's expansive stable block. Where there had once been room for only thirty horses, there was now stabling for seventy, as well as turnout pastures they could all be rotated through. Netta was situated at the end of one of the inner rows, between Pablo and Ella. She was the first horse Tally greeted, playing with her owner's short hair as Tally gave her a pat, then whinnying as she walked off to check the other horses. Sola was right down the other end of the stable, and one of the last horses Tally saw, though Netta's dam was certainly not forgotten. Tally was just as fond of her stable legend as she was of Netta and Otto. She stayed with Sola until Darren weaved his way through the stalls to greet her with his customary, "You and your chestnuts."

"Morning Darren." Grinning, Tally turned away from Sola and followed Darren back to the stable entrance, checking over her schedule for the day once more as she grabbed a couple of halters and leads.

"I'll take Netta and Fly," she told Darren. "Have fun with Seal." The Daemon colt, she knew, was in a terrible mood that morning. Netta and Fly, on the other hand, behaved perfectly as she switched their rugs and walked them down to the track. Netta was full of energy, as usual, head high and prancing all the way, but that morning she kept by Tally's side rather than charging on ahead. Still, Netta would get bored quite quickly, and so she was up first, Fly easily settling down to wait in the saddling yards while Seal fought Darren a little way away. Tally had Netta saddled quickly, and rather than distract Darren from what he was doing, took the filly for a little walk until she found someone to give her a leg-up.

As soon as they stepped onto the track, the little chestnut perked up considerably, breaking into a jog as she half-heartedly fought Tally's gentle, guiding grip on the reins. If there was one thing they had learnt about the filly, it was that she did not appreciate being choked up or held back. Netta was out there to win, and to win in style. As they trotted down towards the backstretch, Tally thought back to when the filly had been born, along with her big brother Apollo. She'd hadn't seen hide nor hair of the big bay colt since his sale to Flat Creek as a weanling; she'd been too busy with her own horses to go and visit him, and John had done a splendid job in keeping him out of the spotlight it seemed. Sooner or later though, the mighty Conquistador would have to come out to train, and eventually she would see him.

Along the backstretch, Tally let her reins out a few centimeters, urging Netta into a ground-eating canter. The filly was perfect, long-strided and neat, never putting a foot wrong as she practically floated over the ground. She required no effort to pass by the few other horses that cantered near them and yearned to stretch out into a proper gallop. Not yet though. Tally was taking no chances with the delicate little filly. Netta would only run an easy three furlongs today; enough to give those pesky journalists a taste of what was about to hit the track, but not enough for them to really see what Netta could do.

The chestnut was more than happy to extend into a slow, controlled gallop, her head down and powerful hindquarters drawn in under her, propelling her forward. As they swept by the three furlong marker, Tally urged the filly on into a full gallop, letting Netta choose the pace rather than hold her back or push her too much. The chestnut accelerated immediately, doubling her speed and then some to power down along the rail. Tally sat quietly, not interfering as Netta settled into her own fast pace, eating up the ground in front of her like it was nothing. Her movements were flawless, with not a foot wrong; she absolutely tore down the straight even though there was no competition anywhere near her, steadily gathering speed to flash under the wire like a lightning bolt.

Netta didn't fight Tally as she pulled the filly up and turned her for the gap - the two year old had had a good workout for the day and was looking forward to her warm stall and morning feed. "Good girl," Tally murmured to the filly, giving her a quick pat on the neck as they passed through the gap and headed back into the saddling yards.

[symphony]

Selena Hassen and Fly By Knight

Selena could only grit her teeth and hold on as Queen side-stepped and fussed her way down to the track. Of all the times for it to start raining, of course it had to happen when the valuable tovero filly who hated anything to do with water was out in it. They were almost there, but Queen was apparently incapable of surviving a moment longer out in what was barely rain.

And she hadn't even been out for her work yet.

Almost as soon as they reached the saddling yards Tally was upon them, taking the lead from Selena's hands and directing her towards Fly, who was already saddled and waiting. The buckskin mare skittered sideways as Darren came to give Selena a leg-up, forcing the rider to grip tightly with her knees to avoid slipping straight off again. Quickly, she stuck her feet in the stirrups and gathered up her reins, urging the mare on before she could get any more smart ideas.

They headed out onto the track with little problem, though Fly still trotted and cantered a little sideways in anticipation of a change of gait, arching her neck in an attempt to get the bit between her teeth. Selena knew that move well though, and made sure not to give the buckskin any chance to grab it and bolt. When they moved into a gallop along the backstretch, she gave Fly a little more rein and moved her in closer to the rail, where the mare ran a lot better. Racehorses, Selena had found, liked to have the rail there to guide them, and with Fly in particular, felt lost without it. Her stride smoothed out considerably once she was only a metre or so wide, the tobiano finally falling into a regular rhythm that was easy to ride.

At the four furlong marker, Selena began to ask the mare for more, pushing her into a faster pace. Fly responded with a steady burst of speed, increasing to a full sprint and moving through the first two furlongs in a time that Selena could tell wasn't fast, but was acceptable for a workout. Out of the corner of her eye, Fly caught sight of a horse working at a canter on the outer rail; ignoring Selena, she dug deeper and increased speed, flashing past and into the 'lead'.

The mare seemed more than happy with herself as they flashed under the wire, and Tally seemed happy with the workout too, circling a tired Netta near the gap where she had apparently stopped to watch Selena and Darren on their mounts. It took Selena a good twenty or so metres to pull Fly up, the mare fighting her the entire way. If Selena was sure of anything, it was that Fly was ready for anything her five year old season could throw at her.

[symphony]

Amy Hastings and March to Glory, Darren Montejano and Fearless Freak

Once again, Amy had found herself swinging up onto the back of a racehorse while mentally shaking her head at the horse she had been instructed to work with. This time, she was on the flashy and often temperamental March to Glory - Darren, God help him, had landed a ride on Seal, the crabby and headstrong son of Daemon. Seal was known for his disliking for any and everything that wasn't his stablemate Tika, but of course Tika ran in sprints and Seal in distance, so that pairing hardly ever worked out.

Amy hadn't ridden Queen much, and hadn't ridden her against Seal before either, despite the frequency of the pairing. The horses clashed in personality, and clashed hard, but when pitted against each other seemed to take it out through speed rather than fighting. There had never been any clear way to dictate which one was faster, as a different one came out on top every time. Even now, they walked at a lightning-fast pace, already competing for the lead; though Seal had a distinct advantage due to Queen's extreme dislike for the rain.

As they made their way down the track, the two riders let their mounts move into a trot, both choosing to stand in their stirrups rather than trying to keep up with the uneven pace the two set. Under Amy, Queen's stride was bouncing and choppy as she tried to fight the rain and keep level with Seal at the same time. Amy wasn't worried much about the filly though; she would settle as they got into the workout.

When they moved to a canter down the backstretch, Queen decided she'd had enough, letting Seal out in front as she pigrooted and crowhopped, not at all happy with her current situation. Amy sat through the fit easily, well used to it from her rather extensive history of working with horses, and pushed the tobiano on as soon as she got the chance. Queen only tried her tricks twice more, in their slow gallop along the backstretch, and both times Amy sat it through, pushing her on to catch up with Seal. By the time they reach the three furlong marker, the champagne filly had settled into her usual perfect paces, her excess energy already spent.

Neither horse hesitated when they were asked to run.

Both Seal and Queen accelerated quickly, head to head as they duelled for the lead. They ran a little off the rail, blowing the doors off a horse being breezed out near the outer rail as they shot past. As they flew through the first furlong, Amy glanced over at Darren to see him asking the bay colt for more and Seal responding, pulling out in front of Queen with a sudden burst of speed. Their instructions had been to push the horses, to get them really working, and so Amy gave chase, leaning closer to Queen's neck and asking her for more. The filly didn't respond though, distraught at the mud suddenly being flicked in her face, instead dropping back and giving Seal a lead of two lengths.

The only thing Amy could do was pull Queen away from all other horses and then ask her to move, so looking around, she pulled the filly out two wide from where they had run previously, and asked her for the speed she had shown before again. This time, the filly seemed to realise just how far behind she'd fallen and gave chase, tearing down the straight and narrowing Seal's lead. By the time they flashed under the wire, the tobiano filly was covered in mud, but had reduced his lead to a neck, showing her incredible closing power that had made her a successful racer.

[symphony]

Jay Whitten and Pioneer
Selena Hassen and Royal Ambition

"I am not riding that nuisance again."

"I've got you down to ride him, Jay, you're just going to have to. He works best for you anyway."

Jay let out a frustrated noise, smacking away the curious grey nose making it's way over his shoulder once again. In his left hand, he held the reins that Pie now tugged at loosely, at the moment not really worrying about what would happen if the colt got a fright and pulled back. Pioneer stood behind him, busy being pleasantly delighted at everything around him that looked digestable and chomping at the bit in his mouth.

A deep frown was etched across Tally's face, hands on her hips as she argued with him about his first mount for the day. She wanted him on Pie every morning, just because the stupid colt had some sort of infatuation with him. He didn't even like the horse; Pie was in your face and annoying, and forever trying to eat you.

The loud ringing of hooves on the concrete floor alerted both Tally and Jay to the presence of another horse, and both turned to see Selena leading a tacked-up Outlaw. "I want you to take these two three furlongs, fast as they like. See what they can do, but don't push them too hard." Selena nodded, getting a leg-up from Tally, who then turned to Jay. "If you aren't going to ride, then you might as well leave now. I can and will find someone to replace you." She had had enough of Jay refusing to ride certain horses; if he got a certain horse to work well, she was going to give him the ride and he would just have to get over the one-sided hatred between them.

Scowling, Jay finally turned and threw the reins over Pie's head, grudgingly accepting a leg-up from Tally before leading the way out to the track on the grey colt. They broke into a trot almost as soon as they turned onto the track, Selena trailing behind with Outlaw as she took a slower approach to the warm-up. Pie was raring to go and had a spring in his step as they trotted and then cantered down the track, several lengths in front of Outlaw. He only slowed at the five furlong marker, where he pulled Pie to the side and circled until Selena finally caught up.

"Took your time," he muttered, still annoyed at Tally. She simply shrugged, not looking like she was having the time of her life either.

"Let's just do this," she told him, moving Outlaw into a trot and letting Jay play catch-up. They moved through the paces to a full gallop quickly, reaching the three furlong pole together, and both leant forward simultaneously, signalling for their horses to pick up speed. Pie went forward immediately, settling himself a little off the rail with Outlaw running happily a length behind. Jay did little more than sit there through the first half of the workout, the colts running reasonable fractions considering it was a work. As they moved through the second furlong, Selena began asking Outlaw for more, and the tobiano began to eat away at Pie's lead, narrowing it down to a neck before Jay responded.

As soon as he asked, Pie found another gear, switching leads and surging out ahead in an impressive burst of speed. Outlaw gave chase, but the grey colt was too fast for him to get past, soaring down the straight and under the wire a length in front. Well, there was one thing Jay liked about the colt; much as he didn't want to, he had to admit the grey had some speed under him.

[symphony]

Jay Whitten and Eastern Expression
Darren Montejano and Veridical

Tally was waiting for him as Jay rode back in on a tired Pie, Selena with Outlaw behind him. "I thought I told you not to push them," she began outright as he swung down from the saddle.

"You said to see what he could do. So that's what I did," Jay fought right back. The trainer held a steady, imposing eye contact for a few seconds, sizing him up, before taking Pie's reins for him and jerking her thumb at a dark bay colt standing quietly in the cross-ties behind them.

"Do it again and you'll be sorry," she warned. "We've had some problems with Veridical, so Chief is all yours. Don't mess around with him though; he's in a mood today. And remember to wrap his legs." Jay hardly seemed to heed her advice, nodding and dashing off to get the colt, keen to finally have his chance to ride one of the more difficult mounts in the stable. For ages, he had been stuck on the easy ones, like Pie - he was well ready for a challenge.

Handing Pie to Amy and receiving Queen, Tally double-checked the tobiano mare was wearing the correct rug (with them all looking the same, they tended to get a little mixed up in the mornings) and headed off back to the stables, confident she could make it there and back in the time it took for Darren to lunge Veridical and Jay to saddle up the huge colt that was Eastern Expression. The walk to the stable was uneventful, Queen being tired enough to walk reasonably quietly even when cars passed. As she loaded the mare into the hot walker though, she heard a car coming up the short drive and turned, confused.

Then she remembered; today was the day her new worker was due to start, now the time she had told him to come in. Terrence, if she remembered correctly, good with horses but not so good with people. She vaguely knew the boy from his working part-time in other stables around the track over the past year or so, though she had never properly spoken to him.

The youth stepped out of his car just as she latched the gate to the hot walker, leaving Queen and Fly to cool off until someone brought back another few horses. Tally met him halfway across the yard, smiling and holding out her hand.

"It's Terrence, right?" she asked.

"Just Terry," he replied, shaking her hand.

"Right," Tally said, making a mental note of it. "Not to throw you in the deep end Terry, but we're in the middle of workouts at the moment, so it would be wonderful if you could help me bring some horses down to the track."

For the first time, he smiled, nodding rather eagerly. "Sure, no problem." Grabbing four halters and leads on the way in, Tally led him into the stable and passed Terry two of the halters, gesturing towards the inside of the stable.

"You're looking for Constellation and Zodiac Signal. There are nameplates on the stable doors and they're both sabinos in the third row, shouldn't be too hard to find." While Terry went horse hunting, she busied herself with Smash and Blue, leading the roan filly out of her stall just as Terry came back with Connor and Zona. "Well done," she said with a grin, before leading the way out of the barn and down to the track.

---

Once all four horses were safely in cross-ties, and Darren and Jay safely mounted on Cal and Chief respectively, Terry approached Tally again, his eyes on Amy as she led Pie and Outlaw out of the saddling yards on her way back to the stable. "What do I do now?" he asked, to which she grinned.

"I seem to remember you saying you wanted to be a trainer eventually," she said as she helped Selena tack up Connor. "So, you can either hang around here and keep these guys-" she gestured to the horses that stood waiting for their turn on the track "-company, or you can come with me and watch the workouts."

"I'll come with you," he replied almost instantly, stepping back out of the way as Selena led Connor out and was given a leg-up by Tally. The trainer gave the sabino colt a pat as Selena nudged him into a walk, then motioned for Terry to follow her and led out to a spot on the outside rail, in front of the grandstand, greeting several other trainers as she passed them. The King's Park colours stood out clearly on the horse's saddle blankets and their rider's body protectors even as they moved along the backstretch.

Darren had Veridical working well, and had her cantering nicely along the backstretch, preparing to move her into a gallop. Cal wasn't doing anything but a slow gallop over a mile today, seeing as she had already been breezed, galloped and out on a weight-bearing exercise that week. The bay was moving freely and evenly, Darren having somehow convinced her to focus completely on the workout; a notable achievement considering that she had gone so far as to rear when they had tried to saddle her that morning. Apparently lunging her had been the correct strategy to take the edge off her energy, as she wasn't yet tired out as Tally had been worried she might be, but working better than she ever had before.

Perhaps the key was to lunge her before every work. She didn't have many, but Tally knew there were some horses who thrived from that little bit of extra work lunging gave them before going for a run, that it helped settle them. Until now, she had been reluctant to try it as it could tire a horse out as well, but if it helped Cal focus then she would make a point of doing it more often.

Satisfied for the moment with Cal's workout, she scanned the track for any glimpse of their second bay. Chief and Jay had barely made it a few metres from the gap, the colt fighting all the way. Tally watched with growing apprehension as the colt reared and plunged across the track, disagreeing with every move his rider made. She doubted Jay would be riding Chief again. Jay was trying to push the colt forward into a canter, it seemed, but the bay was having none of that, rising into another rear before pigrooting and crow hopping across the track, his rider looking very unsteady. Then, the colt paused, and for a moment Jay looked like he had him under control; then, the colt ripped the reins from the rider's hands and kicked his heels up in an unexpected buck, throwing Jay to the ground and bolting down the track. Tally was on her way towards the gap before Jay hit the ground, trusting that someone would catch Chief or he would tire himself out. There was very little she could do to get the colt at the moment anyway; he was halfway down the backstretch, and she was on the first turn.

As she hurried to where Jay sat with several people crowded around him, she saw someone on a paint pony horse give chase to the wayward bay, who apparently thought this bolting thing was a wonderful game and showed no sign of stopping.

"What the hell was that?" she asked Jay fiercely as she approached, Terry still following silently. The rider seemed to be fine, standing and brushing the dirt off himself as best he could in the early morning rain.

"Stupid horse wasn't listening," Jay muttered back, refusing to meet her eyes.

"I told you to be careful with him!" Jay muttered something obscene back, Tally not quite catching the words, and she sighed, pushing her hair out of her face and glancing up the track to see the rider who had given chase trotting towards them, finally having caught the bay colt.

With one last disapproving glance at Jay, Tally walked out to meet the rider, taking Chief's reins and thanking him as he edged his horse away from the vicious teeth of the colt. "Might want to check his legs; he was limping some by the time I got him," the rider advised before trotting away. As the colt walked beside her, Tally noticed the definite signs of soreness in his stride, though she couldn't see the injuries even in the light cast by the huge spotlights all around the track, and this was no place to be checking them.

Back at the saddling yards, the first thing she noticed was the lack of protection on the colt's thick legs. "Why aren't his legs wrapped?" she asked angrily, turning her angry gaze on Jay before running her hands down one foreleg. When she touched his fetlock, Chief lifted the leg away sharply, throwing his head in the air in protest and narrowly missing Terry, who stood holding him. With a closer look, she spotted the numerous small cuts that had been made with every stride as the colt overreached and nicked himself with his shod feet.

"You know how to take care of cuts, right?" she asked Jay, standing. The rider nodded meekly and she gestured at Chief.

"Good. Go and look after Chief, and make sure you do it right this time. I'll be back here to check on him as soon as Connor is done."

[symphony]

Selena Hassen and Constellation

Constellation, the unexpectedly brilliant son of two unraced horses, wasn't feeling very brilliant that morning. In fact, he was downright miserable as he stepped out onto the track, ears lost in a sea of dirty cream-coloured mane. The stallion wasn't happy about the conditions in the slightest - for all his speed on the dirt, Connor hated mud and was making that fact well known with frequent head tossing and pigrooting when Selena asked him to trot down the track. Never mind Devil I Am; it was Cnstellation everyone was avoiding this morning, and it was a good thing too. The creamy sabino was on a war path.

Selena was working furiously to keep him in check along the backstretch, grudgingly allowing him to stretch out in a gallop that was probably a little faster than was recommended. There was very little she could do though; when Connor decided he would have his way, there was nothing anyone could do to stop him.

Fortunately for King's Park, this mood was unusual for Constellation, brought on by his disliking for the steady drizzle that came from the sky and managed to thoroughly soak everything in sight. When this happened, it was best to let him have his own way, and his way he would have this morning. Selena wasn't going to hold him back.

As the six furlong pole approached, the rider decided it was time to unleash the beast beneath her. Directing him inwards to the rail, she urged him on into a full sprint, Connor replying with a giant leap forward as it he were breaking from a gate before speeding off. He blazed through the first furlong, moving like a freight train - until he reached a particularly torn up and soggy part of the track and remembered that it was raining. His pace slowed slightly then, slogging through the mud that in all reality was really not that bad - Selena had seen it much worse - but Connor treated it with much caution and disliking, running the five furlongs after the scorching first one several seconds slower. He came back down to a walk easily, apparently pleased with his meagre efforts. At the rail, both clockers and press turned away to find something else worth watching, prematurely writing Constellation off for the year.

They would come to regret that later.

[symphony]

Sonya Reede and Zodiac Signal

It was with great excitement that Sonya arrived at King's Park for her second day of work, having done a little