Ripley eyed the collection of riders in the barn with careful eyes. A lot of shifting was to be done in this workout. She was usually the rider for both Mastermind and Saintly Touch, but with both of them in the workout, she could only be rider for one. Mastermind, the gleaming chestnut sculpture, would be her choice. He'd always been her choice. He was the perfect career ender and had been her only option from day one. Reese lingered alongside Saintly Touch, her brown eyes sweeping over his tough, masculine form. The Night Stalker colt looked like a replica of his sire, except for the bit of brown on the inside of his legs and on his muzzle. He had a tapered head, a powerful body and a chest the size of Texas. Saint was an excellent looking two year old and he had developed into a consistent racer, known for his ferocious desire on the track. Reese would be his regular rider in next year's races when Ripley retired from being a jockey to a trainer. Her baby would be born sometime in April, just when the Triple Crown preps were becoming more serious. Reese checked the girth and bridle before moving to her usual mount. Supernatural glistened in good health, the light brown dots danced on a backdrop of snow white. The flea-bitten gray had never looked so perfect. Reese would have a reunion with the admirable filly in The Wire Red Mile. Until then, she would be in the capable hands of Brookson Wells. Brooks tightened the strap beneath his chin, eyes never leaving the filly. He had not ridden Siri ever before and knew she could be a tricky filly in the best of circumstances. Prone to paying more attention to the grand stands than her job, Siri needed a rider who could keep her focused. He'd been Reese's choice for this workout and he intended to do his best. He patted the filly's nose, smiled when she swept her dark brown eyes over him. She was definitely assessing him and that could mean anything. "No foolishness please. The sooner we get this done, the better." "Oh stop it, Wells. Be a man. You can't let every petite girl intimidate you like that." Reese grinned when Brooks shot her a look. "Trust me, I know you're waiting hand and foot on our boss. And she doesn't even like it." Ripley cocked a brow at them as she stepped out of her office. Their embarrassed faces told her everything that she didn't want to know. "I'll pretend you weren't just discussing me and just give you direction, per usual." Ripley smiled at Kendall who was standing patiently alongside Mastermind. The chestnut stallion nickered at Ripley, wriggled his lips down her arm in greeting. She rubbed his white star and smiled. "Three-quarter mile gallop, three furlong breeze for me. For Saint, half mile gallop, five furlong breeze. For Siri, half mile gallop, four furlong workout." Brooks and Reese narrowed their eyes. "I'll break off last when you head into your workouts. I want to give Mastermind a target for a change. Haven't got into a situation where he's broken badly, but you can't be prepared enough. So Saint will break off first and then Siri and then I. Work Saint through the wire, Reese. Time to give him some confidence." The riders exited the barn, quickly mounted up and let the horses head down to the track. Siri pranced beneath Brooks with a ton of energy. She gave the impression that she was absolutely bottomless. She practically was. Who ever heard of a miler being able to run twelve furlongs competitively? Only a couple horses such as Bella Luna and Frozen Motion had existed like that with Witch Creek. The rest were specialists and really gave horses like Siri a boost. Saint strode down the path, ears pricked on the track and eye bright. Reese had fallen in love with the two year old colt long before she'd ever sat on him. He had a personality similar to hers in that he was a loner and often moody. He was misunderstood and had sweetish tendencies, but most of the time he knew exactly what he wanted. He'd been stuck in a rut for sometime and it was time to shake him out of it. Mastermind followed behind the uppity horses, head carried high as though he were taking in his world. He'd become the professed king of the property and possibly was one of the most renowned older males in racing. Mastermind had reached a level that Ripley had never thought would be achievable. He'd outdone his sire and his dam and set a bar that would likely never be touched again. Ripley loved the horse dearly and found herself just a bit sad that there were only two months left to both of their history making careers. Saintly Touch lit into a strong gallop after a bit of jogging. He pulled hard on the bit before settling into stride. Reese loved the power this colt packed. He was definitely going to turn into a nice three year old. He'd been a good two year old so far, but something told her that Saint was taking a journey separate from Hourglass. Everyone had expected the colt to follow in his half-sibling's and dam's footsteps, but his racing lines suggested he was going to bloom beyond the age of two. His gallops and workouts also vouched for the idea. Supernatural trembled like a flame beneath Brooks when the near-black colt ran off with Reese. The flea-bitten gray filly chomped at the bit, tossing her head manically. Brooks let the reins go a little, grunted when she dipped her head and did her best to buck. He heard Ripley snort from the inside as she passed him aboard Mastermind. Obviously Siri was spoiled with leadership tasks. He allowed the filly to speed by, but did not allow her to engage with Saintly Touch. The seal brown was on cruise control and there was no way he was messing with Ripley's plots. Mastermind galloped easily behind, ears pricked on the horses ahead. He was a very malleable horse and she should have expected him to take this easily in stride. She patted his neck as they rounded into the backstretch and prepared for her directions to be executed. Mastermind was more than willing to be her accomplice in the mayhem. Saintly Touch rolled as soon as Reese hit the button. The tough son of Night Stalker pinned his ears and really leaped into his task. He seemed to stretch out immediately, taking full advantage of the release. Reese was careful to not let the reins soar completely out of her grasp. She needed to have the work steady as possible because at some point Siri and Mastermind would run up to him and he'd have to "put them away." Brooks let out a sigh of relief when he held a match to the stick of dynamite. Supernatural broke off like a rocket, long legs flying beneath her lean body as she pursued Saintly Touch. The gray filly was more than on the muscle after having time off and this workout was exactly what she needed. The filly smartly checked up on the turn, ducked to the inside rail and cut time in half. Brooks had to admit he was fairly impressed. She was a smart runner that was more than clear. Reese peaked under her arm when Supernatural rumbled up in the stretch. Her chocolate eyes were full of love for the run and it definitely appeared as though she was full of herself. Reese felt her colt brace against the sudden onslaught and knew she'd have to give him some encouragement to stave off this charge. Mastermind had been steadily reeling in his opponents at the beginning of the turn. He hit top gear at the top of the stretch and flew down the track, mane and tail billowing out behind him like flame. His long strides ate the ground up magnificently cutting the pair's lead down to two lengths mid-stretch. The riders up ahead were locked in a pitched battle, but weren't paying any attention to the fireball gunning for them. Ripley switched the lean stallion to the outside of Siri and sent her comet for the hills. Brooks was startled when Mastermind suddenly appeared on his right, ears pinned and eyes full of determination. Supernatural swerved out in his direction, would have collided if not for Brooks' reinsmanship. Saintly Touch, excited by the sudden loss of pressure picked up the pace, charged through the wire and kept on going with pressure from Reese. The seal brown colt looked surprised, but he dove headfirst into the work and blew out the final furlong. Reese was smiling when she pulled the colt up, trembling with excitement. He'd just done a tough workout and the colt had finished better than he'd started. Ripley and Brooks had Mastermind and Supernatural pulled up to a jog when Reese turned back with Saint. The chestnut and gray were hardly puffing, fit as they possibly could be for their tall tasks in the sprint and mile series. Ripley nodded in approval when Reese joined them. "That was a very good workout for him. You'll probably be on him from here on out in his workouts. Hope you enjoyed that because that's only just the beginning of what he has to give you."
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