canjun crazy

CANJUN MOON AND HENNA TURATH
WILD KISS AND AMBER BLACK

CANJUN'S WORKOUT FOR THE UNICORN HORN JUVENILE TURF
KISS'S WORKOUT FOR THE UNICORN HORN FILLIES

Canjun Moon had been beaten in his first two starts as a two year old purely due to facing older horses. Considering that fact, he had done fantastically otherwise. Other juveniles had gotten lucky and faced all two year olds for their first starts. Not Canjun. He had taken on the big horses from the start. He had gained a great more experience compared to other two year olds as a result, and Henna believed that this would put him at an advantage for the Unicorn Horn Juvenile Turf. He was facing four other horses, but still stood a good chance of pulling the win due to his advanced experience. And today, he would be working with Wild Kiss, another closer and an older horse, which would only add to his experience.

Wild Kiss was her usual quiet self today; she heeded Amber's commands, and the only sign of her excitement at a good workout was seen in the pricking of her ears and slight spring to her step as they stepped onto the turf track. Kiss had not even started yet this year; they were throwing her straight into the Unicorn Horn Fillies to test her prowess. Kiss was just coming off of a first place finish in the Breeders Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf. She had proved herself to have some class, so Amber was confident of her chances in the Fillies. They were facing a pretty thick field, with seven other entries, so Amber was slightly worried, but Kiss had class, and Amber knew that, too. No doubt she would be a huge threat on race day just because she was a Breeders Cup champion.

Catching sight of Canjun, who was acting slightly crazy in his energetic state as per usual, Amber jogged Kiss over and fell into a canter alongside the juvenile colt. We're going to gallop one mile, and then make them close and duke it out for two furlongs. Just to get the closing juices running. And we're galloping together for that one mile. Got it? Henna nodded mutely. She was currently very focused on maintaining control, too focused to say much in regards to the workout plan. Amber nodded. We'll go like this until we hit the backstretch, then we'll start galloping at my signal. Once more, Amber received a nod. Amber positioned Kiss outside of Canjun and matched his pace, and then waited for the right moment.

At her signal, the two horses burst into gallops. Kiss was slightly quicker on the uptake than Canjun, but she let Canjun have a slight nose lead as they swept into the stretch for the first time. Kiss hated the lead; she preferred to stay at the back until she hit the flames and burned it up to the front. Canjun, on the other hand, had become characteristically occupied in himself and his speed. This was how the colt got during his workouts; he became so immersed in slowly getting faster as the race went on that he almost became unaware of the horses around him. Henna was working on exercises to get him more focused during the race. She performed one of those exercises now, slightly curbing the rein so that Canjun paid attention to how much speed he was being allowed. The tactic worked, and Henna felt new attention being paid to her cues as they worked their way around the first turn. She grinned.

The galloping was all too soon at an end; it was now time to close! At the right moment, Amber let Kiss go. With roaring acceleration, Kiss burst forward and almost left Canjun in the dust. It took Canjun a couple strides to recover from being left so demoralizingly behind, but eventually Henna's prodding got through to him. The dark bay thoroughbred picked up speed, his ears pricked and eyes pointing straight ahead. As the pair roared into the stretch, he more clearly sighted the bright bay filly ahead of him and really kicked it up a notch. He began to eat away at the distance, narrowing it with each passing foot, but he just didn't have enough time to catch up to the quicker Kiss. She passed the wire two lengths in front.

Amber's smile was wide as she slowed her filly down. Canjun was still gamely going on, and it took longer for Henna to get him under control. When she did, though, she looked at Amber inquiringly. What do you think? she asked. I believe Canjun learned that he should pick it up a bit faster responded Amber. The knowledge will do him good for his next start. Henna nodded in agreement. I really hope we win this time, you know? He's up against his own age group, so he should do well. Amber nodded. But don't forget, even if he doesn't, there's always the next time he's out to score the win. Henna nodded, grateful for Amber's words. Thanks. Together, the two women slowly walked their horses off of the track, preparations for their Unicorn Horn starts complete.