dawn upon me

[Cruisey]

RED HERRING && SAMMIE PICKETT
Winter Dawn Treader Cup Workout

While some Firestone horses had been racking up the wins, one stallion in particular had been in a slump. The blazing red horse known as Red Herring hadn’t been performing as well as he could have in his past few races. Other than the win in his last outing in the Winter Cup at Green Horse Fields, Red had been in a 2nd-4th place stump. Carter had tried him in the Senior Superstars Series, and those plans fell short when the four year old placed fourth in each of the qualifying races against the same field, making no progress at all. He was entered in the Winter Dawn Treader Cup at The Wire with hopes to get a win in that field before entering a few more races before his Breeders Cup debut, which Carter hoped it wouldn’t be a repeat of last year’s performance with Witch Creek, where he placed 6th in the Classic. The Winter Dawn Treader was over nine furlongs on the dirt which counted for Horse of the Year points.

Leading the stallion to the track was proving to be a nightmare – as it usually is. The fiery red horse reared and kicked and lashed out at Carter at every given moment. Carter was used to his behaviour and gave him a few sharp tugs on the lead shank to remind him who was in charge. It certainly seemed to go more smoothly once Red spotted his familiar jockey, Sammie.
In general, the horse looked calm and at home on the track. His head had lowered, his ears were up and his tail flicked a little behind him. Sammie was boosted into the saddle and they cantered their way over to the gates. The stallion was light-footed as they warmed up and arrived at the gate. Sammie patted his muscular neck as the gate handler proceeded to load the colt.

Silence as they waited, only the sound of the colt shifting his weight a little impatiently and the jockey's breath being inhaled and exhaled. Red flattened his ears in anticipation, waiting for the buzzer. As soon the gates crashed open, the red stallion threw himself forwards quickly and Sammie fought to keep her seat on the huge horse.

The stretch of dirt before them was only seven furlongs, but they didn’t want to tire the horse out before his HOTY race. Red was moving well beneath her and had already built up a good pace as they moved through the first furlong. Powerful legs carried them quickly forwards toward the third furlong. Red was in his element at the front of the pack, his ears pressed forwards, and definitely seemed to be enjoying the run. Furlong after furlong closed and now the time had come to really push. Sammie crouched closer to the stallion's neck as he was giving his all now, their speed creeping up further as they powered forwards. What had been short strides now lengthened and the dirt seemed to give a little beneath each stride.

One furlong remained and Sammie cracked the crop once more, willing the colt onwards as the post drew close. They flew past the marker as Red seemed eager to continue. Sammie started to slow him down, rubbing his neck in praise. Nothing was certain, but she was certain Red had this race in the bag.