the clock is ticking

[S u N f r O s T ~]

PEGASUS WINGS AND HENNA TURATH
MYSTICAL MELODY AND KRYSTAL YHATE

ASUS'S WORKOUT FOR THE TICK TOCK SPRINT

This race could be huge. Asus's top two competitors, Beltane and Here's The King, had been entered. There would be no backing down. They had to win this one. They were just coming off of his win in the Royal Red Richard Memorial Stakes in hot form and were going in with plenty of energy yet. If there was anything Asus thrived under, it was a hard racing schedule. His boundless energy and years of track conditioning made him able to handle the extra workload that was being put on him now. He was racing back to back, yes, but he wasn't tired. He bounced like the youngest of colts underneath Henna, and the smile on her face was wide. Asus was beginning to emerge from the shadows. The dark son of Royal Red Richard and Forbidden Wings was proving his worth. He had been the first inkling of broodmare talent in his dam. He had made a name for her, and for himself. He was reckoned with on the track, and he was rising once more. But the clock was ticking. They had to keep their performance up, or the year end awards and honors that Henna sought would be permanently out of her reach.

They were being matched today by Mystical Melody, the other energizer bunny in the stables. Mel was almost as crazy as Asus was. She could never keep still. Even now, the grade two four year old was bouncing, eyes alight with glee as she set hoof on the dirt track just ahead of the much smaller Asus. She was ready to go and dying to be released. Asus wasn't more composed than her at all. He moved with the similar bouncy motion that characterized those of their race. What race? The race of crazy thoroughbreds, of course, who couldn't keep still and whose riders counted it lucky if they could be controlled. Unlike Asus, though, Mel was a bit more of a distance runner. Her energy, instead of being channeled into speed, was channeled into stamina, and she had learned well how to channel it. Right now Mel was being ridden by her second favorite rider, Krystal Yhate, though this arrangement often occurred due to Henna's many conflicting mounts.

Instead of the distance prep that they had done for the RRR, they would be doing a sprint workout today. Something to keep both horses happy and energetic. It would be a one on one blowout of about five furlongs. The Tick Tock Sprint was at that distance, and it was also a Horse of the Year selection race. A win here against the meaningful competition they faced could make or break their record for the rest of the season. Asus had lost to these horses too many times. Beltane, the rising full sister of Axis Mundae, was young, but had used this to beat Asus, somehow. And Here's The King was as much of a veteran as Asus was, and even more similar because they were half brothers. The others in the field were Gamble On Peace, Gold Fox and Golden Grove. It was a fuller field than Asus's last race, but Henna remained hopefully confident. She wanted this win. She wanted Asus's record to shine so brightly that it blotted out the ones of those around him. She wanted her victory as bad as Asus wanted to be in the adoring winners' circle.

Her thoughts of glory consumed her as they warmed up. They marched to the tandem of their own drum. Short, quick strides ate up the dirt. Mel's were longer than Asus's due to her height, so she had no problems keeping up with Asus. But Asus's small legs were more mobile, and he had no problems moving them faster and faster and faster. Their warm up was over in a flash, and then the time to run arrived. The moment of truth. They would build up with a furlong gallop before beginning the actual sprint. The cues were received and the two horses burst into gallops, Asus naturally swinging into a slight leader position with Mel slightly behind. And then the furlong was up, and the real workout began.

It was a storm. They were consumed in a storm. Asus reacted as though he had read Henna's mind. He blew it up and away, pounding it out, legs blurring and reaching and making the world into a mosaic of confusing colors. Henna relied almost completely on instinct to guide Asus along the backstretch and then through the final turn. She had no idea where Mel was. Asus had just blown the bay mare off as though she was an amateur instead of the accomplished grade two she was. He was a sprinter, through and through. Mel's energy could not compare to his boundless speed. There was no stopping them from crossing the wire who knew how many lengths in front, with Asus's breathing an even pant and his sides slightly heaving. He had just sprinted five furlongs at near top speed and finished with some more left. It was proof of his seniority.

But it was also proof of his readiness. As Mel finally crossed the wire about ten lengths behind them, Henna grinned and gave her horse some welcome petting on the neck. They were ready to make it or break it in the Tick Tock Sprint.