shots fired

[S u N f r O s T ~]

ITALIAN ICE AND MEREDITH MAHON
LIMITED EDITION AND VALENCIA ANDREWS
PALISADES PIRATE AND HENNA TURATH
BATTLE WINGS AND KRYSTAL YHATE
SILENT SNAP AND AMBER BLACK

ICEE'S WORKOUT FOR CARELESS JEWEL/BLACK EYED SUSAN
ED'S WORKOUT FOR INVASOR STAKES
PYRITE'S & SNAPPER'S WORKOUT FOR EDDY COUNTY STAKES
BATTLE'S WORKOUT FOR WINTER CUP/WIRE RED MILE

This was a horse adept at the shorter distances with the stamina to go long to boot. And that was what made him such a bloody fast front runner. These thoughts rolled through Amber Black's mind as Silent Snap continued to pour on the speed in a powerful demonstration of talent, rolling along on the lead with none other than Battle Wings at his side. The bay three year old hated to have her dominance challenged...and Silent Snap was doing exactly that. And because Battle just stayed glued stubbornly to his side, the speed just increased more and more. It was quickly becoming overwhelming. Snapper responded gamely to Battle's challenge, and what was really amazing was just how suicidal the pace must have been getting. Amber glanced under her elbow, searching for the other front runner in this pack of five horses. And there he was. Palisades Pirate, the most energetic horse in the world, was two lengths behind them and falling back to three as the pace continued increasing. Henna was enjoying the display of speed in front of her but clearly knew it was best to keep out of it. Grinning, Amber reverted to keeping her own horse under control. Snapper was running less and less on stamina and more and more on his own arrogant desire to keep moving fast. Anything but letting Battle Wings take the lead.

Krystal felt the frustration sizzling off of Battle as the stupid chestnut to her inside refused to give an inch. The speed was getting ridiculous, yet Snapper was not letting up. Battle was a tactical filly, but she was absolutely crap when it came to tolerating this. But suddenly, it was like a fuse switched off. Suddenly, Battle settled and let Snapper sweep away to lead by a half length. Even the usually aggressive filly had realized how suicidal the pace had been. Krystal felt the filly's slight tiredness as she let Snapper take over too, and instantly realized that a recovery was necessary in order to make a good shot at the lead later on in the workout. As Pyrite swept up to join them, Krystal felt Battle click back into action and stay with the younger horse. She would not let this juvenile get the better of her! Krystal felt pride for Battle's instincts as well as happiness with her development. The winner of seven Horse of the Year races had been a standout all season and was only continuing to impress. Only hard work would get them prepped for the Winter Cup this week and the Wire Red Mile, the final stage of the Red Mile series, next week. SOPS would be defending their Wire Red Mile victory from last season and Battle had to be prepared to do well.

Henna smiled as Pyrite happily settled alongside Battle, closer to the lead than before. They had been pressured by a scarily tactical Italian Ice for the majority of the race and it was nice to get a slight breather. Eagerness pulsed through Henna's horse and it amused her greatly. Pyrite was almost child-like in his enthusiasm as he bounded over the track. He was intrinsically happy to be running. This was the colt most surprising in the dirt division. He could run with the best of them even if he did not necessarily win every time. And speaking of the best of them...Italian Ice burst into action on the outside of both Battle and Pyrite. The black mare's eyes were blazing now as she went off in pursuit of her prey well before the final turn. The daughter of Impressario did not take denial well, especially when facing so many. She was working to make sure victory got in the cards. Henna glanced behind and noticed where Limited Edition was. The horse had moved up to trail only by three, taking full advantage of the full speed on the front end. He would have a lot left for the stretch.

And indeed he would. Valencia was smirking as Ed gathered himself, rounding the final turn in a spurt of speed that gathered him right alongside the others. They were all making their moves now, but Ed had the most momentum. He swept past Battle and Pyrite, overtook Icee and then whirled past Snapper as they hit the stretch. There was no stopping this chestnut horse. Icee was put to a drive and overtook a slightly tired Snapper. Pyrite attempted to surprise but was occupied with Battle. Just like that, Ed had split this workout wide open and crossed the wire three in front. Icee took second, Pyrite and Battle third, Snapper a whisker behind in last. Ed had not lost a single race during the month of September and was entering the Invasor Stakes on a month of rest. He had just proved how difficult of a horse he would be to take on through this overwhelming workout. And all the others, well, they had proven how unwilling they would be to accept defeat next time out.