Post by Cruisey on Aug 4, 2014 16:29:12 GMT -5
As the bay filly reached the track, her petite jockey was not far behind her. Johnny was known by many on the track for his quiet but effective riding, especially on the young colt by the name of Speak Easy and the older turf sprinter, Flying Solo. Despite the unfortunate placings that the filly had endured, he knew she was capable of great things, and he knew that Heather was a powerful horse. No, they did not expect to win every race, but he could tell Heather did enjoy it when she did.
Johnny quietly mounted the filly and nodded his head at Carter. They would not be going to the gate today. Today, they were just going to run. The filly tossed her head as Carter released his grip on the rein. Heather pawed at the dirt as she waited for instruction from the jockey. Johnny pushed the filly into a walk and moved further on to the track then turned her to face up the track.
They moved swiftly and efficiently from walk into a light canter, and then slowly eased their way into a gallop. The bay filly responded well to the instructions from her jockey, and maintained an average pace, her focus on the track before her. Unexpectedly, she let out a loud whinny, calling back to her friends and tossing her black mane in the air, letting out a few romps. Johnny laughed at her playful antics but then half-halted the reins so he could get her focused again. Her muscles contracted and relaxed in time with each powerful stride, and she was pushing onwards consistently. The dirt shifted beneath her hooves as they moved onwards and Johnny took the time to enjoy the run. This would be one of the many unstructured gallops for the bay filly because Johnny had mentioned to Carter that she seemed to be more relaxed before a race.
Three furlongs in, and they were still running strong. He pushed the filly forwards, deciding to see how quick they could get when they had as long as they wanted, knowing that it would shorten the time of this run. The filly responded instantly and practically flew forwards. The constraint of the reins holding her back was removed, she was able to allowed herself to just run.. Heather was no closer, but with the space she had she had more than enough time to gather speed. She wasn't the tallest filly either, but that counted on her side at times like this. Her legs were able to pump easily, and she was making a real impact on the track.
It felt like they were flying as the wind whipped Heather's black mane into Johnny's face. Their acceleration had been slowing down for a while, but they were maintaining a good speed. Still, he knew she needed to start slowing things down and stopped driving for a few seconds before starting to pull the filly back down from the full on charge to a much slower gait. More than a few strides later, they were at walk once more. The filly was lathered with sweat, but she seemed happy, and Johnny smiled a real smile for the first time in many rides. He knew Heather had the heart to become a real good racer.
