The Witch's Time Keeper

[Ripley]

The Witch's Time Keeper
featuring: Cross My Heart, The Devil's Hourglass & Taboo

Ripley was more worried than a mother hen with an unruly brood at the moment. She paced back and forth in front of Cross My Heart's stall, taking big breaths and soaking in this last moment. Her last ever set as a jockey was about to occur and she was feeling it now. This was a big moment for her because she had lived and breathed jockey life forever and now it was time. She was retiring like Bella Luna and Cross and Dirty Diana to become a mother and all of her nostalgia was crashing into her. The slim woman halted, stared into the stall where the haltered cobalt mare stood watching her. Cross' ears were pricked in curiosity and interest in the nervous woman. Never was Ripley worried or nervous, never in the time Cross had been racing. The black mare seemed a little disconcerted by the fact, but she stood tall and proud and became the rock for Ripley as Ripley had been the rock for her for so many years.

Ripley opened the stall door and joined the beautiful mare, kicking up shavings as she went. Cross whuffled her lips over the woman's hair, eyes shining bright. She was a smart cookie this one. She knew when something was up, but today she sensed that it was not too important to get nervous over. Once upon a time, the black horse had been a scared, paranoid and eccentric horse who had not trusted a single person. There was still only one person whom she trusted and it was Ripley Marsh. Cross quivered as Ripley pulled the bridle on her delicate head, eagerness flushing her system. She was going to miss racing as much as Ripley Marsh herself. She was made to run, it was in her blood as much as the pedigreed horse. Her record breaking wins had made most people forget about her original pedigree. She simply stood alone at the top of the legacy she created. She'd been overshadowed by Mastermind this year, but it stood to reason that she was the third best sprinter in the country. She'd only run in Horse of the Year races and had won 11 of them. Her record was incredible and she just kept winning. She'd gotten older, but was still able to outfoot the most talented three year old horses. She would face her last challenge in the Breeders' Cup versus males once again and would look to put it all on the line for a final time.

"Cross, we've got one hell of a job to do this next race." Ripley hugged the mare, not giving herself time to think and stepped out of the stall, leading the pretty horse. She nodded to Reese and Justin as they approached with Taboo and The Devil's Hourglass. Reese would be riding both horses come Breeders' Cup day, but for this one set Justin would take the reins on Hourglass. The bay filly snorted when she reached Ripley, her dark eyes flashing in greeting. Ripley patted the bay's shoulder, her face relaxing into a smile. Their partnership had been a successful one and Ripley was going to miss her. However, she did well under Reese's direction and had performed excellently over the course of the rider transition.

Reese had chosen to work Taboo due to the filly's fragile nature. The filly with the oddly amber eyes was quiet alongside her rider for the moment, but she could become flighty any second. Reese had done a phenomenal job turning the filly around over the course of the season. Her meltdowns happened with less and less frequency and now she was racing at the highest echelon. It spoke a lot about Reese's training and riding talent as well as the filly's scope of mind and her talent.

"We'll let them, Tabz and Cross, gallop a half mile. Taboo and Cross will go four furlongs in a workout. Start Hourglass behind us, Justin, and run us down and keep going for another three furlongs. We need to get some bottom into her and this is the perfect opportunity. I haven't looked at the field yet, but if there isn't any speed, we'll likely end up on the lead again. Just like the Belmont Turf Classic, Reese."

Reese grinned, nodding along in agreement. Perhaps Hourglass could runaway and hide as she had in the Turf Triple Crown race. She mounted Taboo with a hand from Brooks and settled astride the well put together filly. Taboo snorted, took up the lead out to the turf track. She scanned the environment with suspicious eyes, her skin twitching every now and then. Yet, the gorgeous filly did not react. She remained calm and once given her cue to step onto the track, gained back her confidence. Reese petted the filly's neck in appreciation. They would be the longshot in the Juvenile Fillies Turf behind Impress The Moonlight, Pandora and Lissome. Reese nearly scoffed thinking that her grade four filly would be a longshot, but shrugged it off. She didn't need the lime light on this one anyway.

Justin grunted as Hourglass pinned her ears and threatened to buck. Ripley and Reese had both said the filly was a crankpot under saddle, but he hadn't believed them. She was a testy one and her steps were grudging and irritable. How such an annoyed filly could be an acclaimed runner was behind him. Yet, in a way she reminded him plenty of Dazzling Dame. She had that physical prowess, the coltish mind and the turn of foot necessary to be competitive. He liked her spirit and appreciated the fact that she did not enjoy being left behind by Cross and Taboo. He held sway on the filly's mouth, keeping her in line until the other two were off in their warm up.

Cross bolted the moment she was given her head and left Taboo momentarily shell shocked. The gray filly took a couple strides to gather herself, but in a matter of seconds she was keeping within distance of the black runner. Ripley was thoroughly impressed with how strong the mare was moving. Cross felt as though she could run for years longer and be just as speedy as she was now. She cruised with seamless power and never got distracted from the task at hand. If all of Ripley's runners were as this focused, she'd dominate. Cross was in another league than most. She'd been born into a special year of runners at Witch Creek and had become the foundation of Witch Creek's come back.

Reese kept a strong hold on Taboo, asking for her to relax even in the face of Cross' ferocious front running speed. She had the ability to last longer than the black mare, but she could be burnt out as quickly as any sprinter chasing this pace. The filly gradually settled into stride, falling back two lengths as Cross skipped into the four furlong workout with general ease. Reese shook her head. How could Cross be this freakishly fast?

Justin had his hands full of furious filly as the workout finally got under way. Cross and Taboo were a quarter mile ahead of them thanks to the fight Hourglass had put up. The tank of a filly thrashed in his control once more causing Justin to grit his teeth. The Sand Storm filly's eyes were blazing as she lit through the first three furlongs of the workout. The turf was diminishing beneath her powerful strides and the star marked filly looked brutal out there, gobbling up ground on Taboo.

Reese heard the thundering hooves as Taboo launched into the third furlong of her workout, peaked under her arm. Her eyes widened in shock as Hourglass hurtled after them, ears pinned back into her flying mane. Reese swallowed though and resettled herself. Taboo was about to get eaten if she didn't move off of the rail. With a deft hand, the rider guided the grey away, calling ahead to Ripley as she rounded the middle of the far turn. Ripley's head perked up and she moved off of the rail, much to the fury of Cross. The black mare fought the direction, but moved onward with even fiercer speed.

Justin was stunned by the rate of speed at which Hourglass traveled. The bay filly was simply unbelievably quick and she was at Taboo in a matter of a furlong. She'd collared the gray filly with a furlong left, not pausing to tussle with the gray. Taboo gamely tried to go with the bay, her eyes blazing at her inability to stay with either older horse. Her frustration was palpable, but Reese was still impressed by display of guts. She was a gutty horse despite her flighty tendencies off of the track.

Ripley shook her head as Hourglass bore down upon Cross. The bay filly had one more furlong to go, but Cross was supposed to pull up in three, two, one... Ripley shifted her reins to the outside, disengaging Cross from the freight train that was Hourglass. Cross was five lengths ahead of Taboo and her ears shot up in curiosity. She skipped down the middle of the track, ears twitching when Hourglass shot by. Ripley and Reese pulled the horses down to a canter as Hourglass stormed back into the first turn.

Ripley let out a whistle, winged a look at Reese. "Good thing we got out of her way."

Reese patted Taboo's neck, a grin on her face. "Taboo wasn't quite so impressed, but she didn't have that momentum."

"Can't wait to find out our final times. I like our chances for the big dances."