Dominatrix

[Ripley]

DOMINATRIX
featuring:
Headstrong and Laura DeComte
Sun King and Brookson Wells

Today was going to be interesting to say the least. It wasn't often that Ripley pitted two domineering horses against each other in a workout. Battle Brook was notorious for their hard-trying, competitive horses, but none of them were particularly aggressive types. None of them would bite your face off or behave as though manners were a foreign concept. She did her best to keep the dominating personalities separate unless absolutely necessary. Competition was good, but not when it resulted in problems for the staff. That's why at seven in the morning, Brooks had tracked her down with Laura at his side to accuse her of starting trouble between Sun King and Headstrong.

She'd shrugged off their irritation as easily as she had Malcolm's that morning. Did anyone really think she was dumb enough to let the fastest animals in her barn gut each other to pieces? No. She was not. Sun King and Headstrong needed each other and she needed her sanity back. No longer would she tolerate Sun King's piss poor attitude in the barn. No longer would she tolerate Headstrong bullying Awestruck and Lethal Dose around the paddock. No longer would she listen to Malcolm complain about how grumpy and intolerable Sun King was in his daily life. Nope. She was done. Starting after this workout, these two horses would get their acts together and behave like normal productive citizens or else.

Ripley crossed her arms over her chest and watched Sun King jog down the strip. The massive stallion looked terrific today. His every hair gleamed like fire, shimmering with every pulse of battle hardened muscle. He pressed deep into the bit, his chin nearly touching his chest, and demanded that Brookson just let him go. The two recent losses were eating at him. Forget the victory in the President Cup, Sun King was downright furious after the GHF Stable Faceoff. He'd taken a loss in the nine furlong route race pretty hard, his mood being impacted for the first time in his career. She'd never imagined the explosive son of Native Flame as a sulky type of creature, but apparently that was a new trait he'd gained as a four year old.

Brooks moved smoothly with the big chestnut, keeping his body upright and slightly back to keep the hold on him. King was nothing if not a freight train when he had an attitude.

Laura found herself doing something similar with her behemoth of a mare, Headstrong. The four year old daughter of War Admiral was possibly the largest mare Ripley had had in her string since Royal Assault. She was a gorgeous creature with the presence of a colt and the brazen attitude of one. She took nothing from her male rivals. Not even Battle Brooks's fearsome five dirt studs intimidated Headstrong. She'd dig her shoulder right down and in to her rivals and give them everything got. Headstrong was a bully and she either worked by herself or with the boys. No girls. Nothing could give her attitude and physical muscle back.

"When you get around toward the backstretch, be sure to catch up, Laura," Ripley called into the mic. "You're going to workout to six furlongs and gallop out to seven. Think stamina and steady fractions and stay together. I don't care if the fractions are :12s and then :11s, but I want steady improvement and enough speed to take their edge off."

The riders acknowledged her words with thumbs up and signaled for the horses to step into their gallops. Sun King leaped into the bridle like he'd been stung by wasps, even lashing his tail in anger. Ripley rolled her eyes skyward, acknowledging the belligerence of the stud. However, within two massive strides, King was rolling over the ground easily and in stride. His big ears flicked backward like he was looking for the big mare. He'd gotten to know Headstrong a little bit when they passed each other galloping, but this would be a first for a workout match.

Already, Laura was having a hard time wrangling Headstrong back. The bay wanted to bullet up to Sun King and wrestle the lead out from under him, but that simply was unallowable. She knew from watching the mare's tapes and working her in previous weeks, that Headstrong was a speed ball out of the gate until she hit the lead. Once she was there, Headstrong seemed to relax and would even let horses run by her if they wanted to. With a glance toward Ripley across the green, Laura made the decision to let the big mare roll.

Brooks heard the rush of hoofbeats and so did Sun King. The bullish stallion's head snapped up high, nearly cracking his rider in the face. He craned his head to the outside to get a load of his challenger, going so far as to pin his ears and open his jaw threateningly. Headstrong ran right on through Sun King's display of rage. She bowled right by him, sweeping to the lead on her sculpted long legs and taking it to him like no other in recent workouts.

Laura urged herself to calm down as Headstrong spirited away to lead by a length and a half. She had one hell of a kick. Glancing under her arm, Laura took a strong hold over the mare. Surprisingly, Headstrong shut down without much fight at all. The mare's ears shot right up to the sky and when Sun King thundered up on her outside now, she barely batted an eyed. Her outside ear focused on the stallion who snorted angrily at her shoulder, but otherwise she paid him no mind.

Ripley sniffed as Headstrong and Sun King finally got over their initial tiff for the lead and glanced down at her watch. The first furlong had been very quick because of Headstrong's rank burst, but now the duo were settling into stride and clicking off fractions that most horses couldn't even carry for a furlong. It said a lot of Headstrong's ability that she was able to stay with Sun King in a workout. The chestnut was infamous for posting brilliant workout times, often burning his stablemates into the ground and making them look ordinary. However, in a race, King was malleable and easy going. He had more of his sire in him during those races which was the reason why ten furlongs was well within his scope. Sunny was a producer of long distance runners. In Ripley's opinion--contrary to the racing news outlets--Sun King and Mastermind were the outliers, the horses that proved the rule.

Headstrong ambled along as easy as can be with Sun King breathing down her neck. Brooks niggled the reins in the Native Flame son's mouth, finally drawing the horse off of his hellish rage against the mare. Sun King fell back a half-length without argument as if admitting that the girl could just burn herself out.

Ripley saw the change in both horses and smiled. While neither of them would go so brutally fast in the first quarter of an actual race, it was nice to see them settle down and just go about their business. At the fifth furlong, Laura let the reins out a notch. A moment later, Sun King rumbled forward and accosted Headstrong's outside. Both horses pinned their ears flat to their neck as they rounded into the stretch, their massive strides devouring the dirt beneath them. Ripley held her breath as they soared for the line, tugging their riders instead of being urged.

The quick footed pair dashed through the wire, each lowering their heads to snort as if congratulating themselves. The riders nudged them onward, each receiving a swish of the tail in irritation. Sun King maintained a stubborn lead throughout the gallop, flicking his ears contemptuously whenever Headstrong got within sniffing distance.

Ripley grinned as the duo hit the seven furlongs in 1:24, racehorse time. Upon their return, Ripley could already tell that the ferociousness that had dogged both mare and stallion had faded away. Headstrong no longer shot death glares at anything that moved and Sun King licked his lips, content and happy as a clam. She clasped hands with both riders and listened to their reports eagerly. From what she could tell, Ripley was willing to bet that these two horses were going to breakdown walls if she didn't get them in the gate soon enough.