one at a time

[S u N f r O s T ~]

CALL OF THE WILD AND KRYSTAL YHATE
DEMONIC DESIRES AND AMBER BLACK
ATHENA'S DESIRES AND HENNA TURATH
DEVIL'S FLAIR AND VALENCIA ANDREWS
PANDORA AND KYLIE SILVERSTAR

CALL'S WORKOUT FOR SIMPLY A FLYER MEMORIAL STAKES
DEMON'S WORKOUT FOR FRANKEL GREEN MILE/SUPERSTAR SPRINT

The devil was out to get them. Amber Black reflected on that as she sat aboard the black colt to whom her thoughts concerned. They should have won the Highway Stakes. Yet when all had seemed clear in the stretch, Mighty News had surprised them, shocked them so thoroughly that he had won by a nose. Amber could remember fewer other times when she had been so disappointed in herself. Perhaps when she had proved too mentally incapacitated to run Infinite Warcry in the Belmont Turf Classic...that had been the worst day of her career. Shaking her head, Amber came back to herself and considered Demon's next races. The three year old was still the top turf sprinter of his division, and he was coming head to head with Paranormal Hunter and National Treasure as well as stablemate In The Spotlight for his next start, the Frankel Green Mile. The field was stacked. Demon was talented, though, and he could run and win at a mile. He had done so before. Claims he lacked the stamina to do so would be unfounded. And Demon was well and truly on the warpath. Nothing made the son of Speed Demon and Deadly Desires angrier than a near miss. Blackness seemed to swim around the power of this colt, the intention to destroy singing in the air. Amber breathed it in and smirked. They would be up for an interesting workout today indeed.

They were joined shortly by Call of the Wild. The bay was becoming infamous for his closing charge. While he had finished a narrow second to the premier names in the industry...he still had not won since March. And they had a really tough task ahead of them in the Simply A Flyer Memorial Stakes against Flying Solo, stablemate Royal Cadenza, Dare To Impress, A Royal Legacy, Apollo Bear, Lookin' Back Lucky...the list was massive and Call's odds were long. But hadn't they been in every race he had chanced this season? Yet Call still came back with surprisingly strong finishes, still gave the top horses a scare. He could do it in this race too. Krystal's face was set with determination at the thought. She wouldn't let the odds stop her. She nodded at Amber, then her eyebrows rose as Devil's Flair swaggered around the far turn towards them. The chestnut looked like a much older horse then he was because of the way he was formed - sleek conformation, muscle in all the right places. Valencia looked poised to run the ground out from the colt's competitors. Here was a horse looking for a win and ready to give his competitors the roughest time of their lives until they relented and gave it to him.

He was followed by the black Pandora. The filly seemed to float over the ground rather than walk on it. Her eyes were bright and alert, curious as always. Kylie seemed cute on her back, almost too soft to be a real jockey, but if Pan's last two races were any indication Kylie was shaping up to be a formidable rider. Pandora was serene as she greeted her competitors with a whinny. She was received with a death glare from Demon, a responding neigh from Call and an invasion of her personal space by Devil. Pan snorted, used to the antics of her stablemate, and Devil backed off. He wouldn't be able to annoy her. But he might stand a chance with the others...yet before he could get started, the final member of the party arrived on the scene. Athena's Desires had transformed into a different animal over the last couple of months. With three straight second place finishes, she had become absolutely murderous, a black ball of speed promising revenge. Devil took one look at her and didn't even try. Demon affixed his young half-sister with a death glare, received and returned by Athena. This workout would indeed be a fast one.

Amber nodded at her contingent and they followed her onto the track. The minute they started galloping, Athena's Desires swept past her brother and took the lead. She showed her Pegasus Wings blood now, opening up two lengths before settling down to lead. Devil's Flair teamed up with Demonic Desires, and together they worked on hunting down the filly in front. But Pandora was not to be forgotten. She ghosted in the background, eyes bright with the light of battle. And Call was in the back, calmly placed and biding his time for his infamous charge. The quarter swept by in twenty three flat, the half in forty six and one - fast fractions for any horse but Athena. This was her regular leader pace. The black filly was just brutally fast from start to finish. But no horse was flagging. Demon reeled the filly in now, his legs swallowing up the turf. Devil followed him, recklessly close to the rail as he always was. Pandora even moved slightly, and Call did, too. It was time to move in for the killing blow. But Athena knew that they were coming. She always did. They always came. She held her speed steady as they passed the three quarters...and then exploded into speed at exactly the same time as them.

It was a battle of epic proportions. Demon accelerated faster than Devil, flying right at his sister and passing her as though she was standing still. Nobody was his equal in full flight. Devil's Flair was annoyed, battling against merely Athena, who refused to give in. Pandora joined them then, flickering onto their outside in a brilliant turn of foot. But perhaps the brilliance belonged to Call of the Wild. He stormed by the juveniles in his infamous closing charge and sought out the brilliance of Demon. This workout was at a mile, but the distance didn't amatter to Call. The win did. His passing egged the juveniles on, and they followed him in a flurry of hooves to the wire. Demon's two length lead was quickly diminished, and the black colt was swarmed by the other four. But hell if Demon was going to give up. Amber called and he responded, digging deep as he found competitors worthy of his glorious speed. He showed them every ounce of talent in his heart as he put them away, one at a time, in pursuit of the wire. But one could not be folded, and that was Call. He was Demon's equal in experience, and he had been put away one too many times. He fought back as the others faded and battled among themselves. A fire Krystal had never seen before lit the normally calm colt's eye. His legs went faster than Krystal had ever thought possible. Demon was swallowed up by a sudden lunge from the bay, a lunge that landed him the win by a neck.

Smugness radiated off of Call. Aggravated annoyance swam off of Demon. The heat of battle was still blazing from the juveniles. Indeed, the brutal speed and savage fights of this workout were something to behold, something that would let these horses succeed in many races to come.