Leap Of Faith

[Deleted]

Leap Of Faith
January Week 3
Predator & Lucy Hamilton; & Alexia Harshing

The trainer hesitated, the mouse hovering over the enter button as she stared at the entry sheet. One click and she would confirm her entries for the following week's racing - one click, and she will have sealed her plans unless she chose later to scratch. Except she was sure once she had committed she would only scratch if she were sure that the horse was out of his depth. Which horse? Pred, of course. The bay stallion hovered a single win away from grade one after his successful start under Lucy the previous week and with it being his final year on the track she really wanted to give him a chance to rise from the undercard to the bigger races. But was he ready? To push him too quickly could be disasterous for his chances this year. She glanced between his statistics sheet and the current entry sheet and gave in. Her finger pressed the button, and she confirmed her plans. Pred would race in the Clark Handicap.

The trainerstood up, walked to the office door and cracked it open, glancing around.
"Hey, Chris, will you grab Lucy for me?" she asked one of the grooms, who nodded before rushing off.

Several minutes later, the jockey appeared. Lucy had initially been brought in to ride the aggressive bay stallion in the hopes that she would be able to counter his strong persona with her own, quietly mature nature. If their first time out together was anything to go by, it was working. Putting her head through the door, she smiled slightly.
"You were after me?"
"Yes, yes. Come on in."
The sharp-featured young woman walked in, closing the door behind her, and took a seat. She looked genuinely intrigued, as usually Alexia would just tell her what was happening on the way to a workout.
"I wanted to talk about Pred."
"Yeah, he did really well and I've been enjoying working with him."
Alexia nodded, eyeing the stallion's training schedule. He'd rested two days before, with a slow workout the previous day. Pred was one of those horses who had a quick work several times a week in order to try and keep his outbursts under control and so would be having a fast work today. This was good, given that Alexia was eager to start prepping him.
"Yes, I was very pleased with how you two did together. So pleased, in fact, that I have moved things up."
"How so?"
"The Clark Handicap runs next week, and Pred has been entered."
"Really? A major race? I thought we were holding back?"
"We were. But I have faith in you."
"Wow. Okay, sounds good."
"Brilliant, we'll be working him out soon, three furlongs from the gate and I want you on his case from the start. Go get ready."

~~LATER THAT DAY~~

The handlers were cautious as they handled the large bay thoroughbred, more than aware that he could be temperamental, and thanked the stars that they were not men. With men, Pred was a true nightmare - for them, at least, he considered behaving. They had warmed him up first with a walk around the barn and then on a lunge line in the round-pen. To start with he had been bolshy and unpredictable, charging at the girl in the middle of the pen several times before settling into a rhythm but now seemed focused and eager to work. While he was difficult most of the time, this was a horse with only one love - a love for running, for racing, for the track. It was truly incredible that he had struggled to make a name for himself thus far.

As they led Pred out onto the track you could see that he was a strong, mature horse. The way he moved and held himself was almost regal although he refused to stop and Lucy was forced to mount on the move. When she had first started working with Pred, she'd found the task difficult but each work it became easier. She gathered the reins, shifted slightly as the handlers loaded them into the starting contraption.

Pred was calm - almost too calm. To see the stallion shift from his quick, determined movements to utter stillness was a strange thing. Lucy bit her lip, waiting for the change and (predictably) the second the gates opened he charged out. The movement was smooth but almost bullet-like, the bay setting a demonic pace from the off. It didn't matter to him if this was a race or not, if he was running he was going to do just that and Lucy knew better than to fight the tide. She went with it, urging him forwards as Alexia had instructed.

Long, ground-eating strides propelled the pair forwards, unrelenting as hooves bit time and time again into dirt. The furlongs seemed to fly past, Predator's speed quick and unforgiving. He didn't seem to be tiring though and as the third furlong came to a close he thundered past the post and was still going. Try as she might, Lucy was having issues getting him to stop and had galloped almost four when he finally did slow. The handlers rushed out, grabbing the stallion to bring him under control and Lucy laughed, a little short of breath. "Save it for the next work, Pred. You've got a lot to prove."