Speed Trap.

[Cavallo]

Speed Trap
Featuring: Flying Fashion, Sophie's Pride, Abastor & Samhain

There was work to be done. Nick was eager to see Samhain kick his tail into another gear before the end of the year and Abastor needed someone that was hungry to push him in his prep for the first leg of the Senior Superstars Series turf. The Caulfield Cup was up for the taking, but they were going to have to work hard to get it. Nick wasn't foolish enough to think that this would be an easy walk in the park. Call of the Wild was an ambitious horse and Handsome Tabby was nothing to overlook. They were worthy competition and Nick intended to honor that competition by pushing Aba to bring his A-game. They were in this to win it and they weren't going to go easy or slow down.

Jaime was eager to be working both Sophie's Pride and Flying Fashion. The two juveniles were pumped and primed with speed and eager to perform. He needed those two to let off some steam today, otherwise they were going to drive him batty. Kyle sat astride a prancing Sophie's Pride and Mikhail had her hands full with a glaring eyed Flying Fashion. The two grey juveniles were too alike for their own good.

Captain was a coiled spring as he bounded along over the turf and Mikhail clung to her seat with a grim look on her face as she bounced along with the colt. Kyle was laughing at the picture, but Lyra was just as energetic, if not more controlled and contained by the expertise of her rider. They'd had their marching orders from Jaime, just a three furlong gallop and then a three furlong dash for home. Nothing fancy, just a tune up to let off some steam.

Lyra, naturally, assumed the lead and galloped initially with her head high before Kyle could get the filly to put her head down and work. Her ears flicked about, trying to pin point just where Captain was, the thunder of hooves over the turf was their answer as Mikhail flashed a challenging smile over at Kyle. Jaime watched their progress with a trainer's eye. He huffed in slight frustration, when Lyra played around, but Nick just shook his head and reassured the trainer that it wasn't anything to fuss over and sure enough the Deathflash's Pride filly put her head down to work the moment she knew there was competition. To say that Lyra was competitive would be a vast understatement. She worked best when she felt challenged and Captain was just that - a perfect challenger.

The bouncy colt soon lost his awkward jaunt the moment he galloped after Lyra. He was streamlined speed and Mikhail relished in the change as they came in tandem with their workout partner. Flying Fashion was a speed king and it showed as the two grey sprinters went head to head in a battle of wills, each pressuring the other as their riders sat poised in the saddles.

Jaime hummed in appreciation as the two battled back and forth with no spurring from their riders. It was pure will driving them as they flashed home in quick and impressive fractions. Lyra was fierce in her competition, but today there was an undeniable urge within Captain as the grey colt nosed out his companion at the workout's end. "Lyra is going to have a bee in her bonnet now...," Nick teased and Jaime laughed, but neither trainer could complain about either juvenile's performance. Captain was one of the lighter raced of the juveniles besides Urgent Appeal, but his outings had for the most part all been high end HOTY* races. He wasn't skimping in his performances and that was only made more abundantly clear in today's workout.

Nick watched as Jaime left the rail and dipped under to go speak with Mikahil and Kyle, some trainer's tip, but Landing's eyes were focused on the two black stallions that were making their way up from the back rows and to the gap, where the turf track awaited.

There was a little buzz as rail birds and observers began to notice the distinguishing features of Abastor. His broad white blaze was more pronounced that Samhain's irregular white blaze, less bold than his training companion's. They were each a striking specimen, but different all the same. Samhain was definitely the more aggressive of the two, with Abastor having more of a lively and rambunctious presence, tempered by age and experience. They were making an attempt in the senior superstar series and the Caulfield Cup was up first.

Age had done wonders for the first born of Bucephalus. He hadn't had a shoddy start to his racing career, but it was abundantly clear to see that Abastor had only gotten better as he'd gotten older. His five year old season was testimony to that and now Nick was looking to finish out the stallion's career with a bang. The superstar series was a prime stepping stone to getting ready for the BC Turf and they weren't playing any games.

Jeff sat astride the behemoth, but the two were in sync as they led the way onto the track with a prancing and edgy Samhain in their wake. Michael was pulling all the tricks to keep Sammy in line, the black stallion only a few inches shorter than his older partner, was on the muscle and ready to go. He'd had a quieter season than his partner, but neither Michael nor Nick were expecting the stallion to be[/b] Abastor. He was his own entity and they respected that. They knew their orders and without any pomp of flair, they set to work for their gallop.

Jeff eased Aba out and the stallion knew his job and flew like clockwork, ears pinned back, listening for the usurper to make his appearance. It was all a competitive game to Aba and it was a game he liked to win. Nick watched as Aba and Samhain suddenly connected in a tandem state and cruised. The gallop was mild, nothing explosive, but adequate. Everyone waited in expectation as the blacks went cruising into the back stretch as the speed duel suddenly commenced. Something snapped between the two blacks. This was no longer a workout, this was a battle of wills and it would be settled by speed and endurance.

Neither rider used any whips as they pushed to the finish of the back stretch and both stallion's pushed to the end in a dead heat of fury. Their rider's attempted to pull them up, but both skirted and eyed the other with competitive rage. Nothing had been settled between these two, but Nick knew both would be looking for an outlet and he was hoping that the outlets would come on race day. Things could go anyone's way in racing, but the will to fight, that was always a must if you were going to stand a chance at glory.