aviation

[S u N f r O s T ~]

FORBIDDEN TO FLY AND HENNA TURATH
LYNARA'S KINGDOM AND AMBER BLACK

FLY'S WORKOUT FOR THE TURN UP THE HEAT STAKES
LYNARA'S WORKOUT FOR THE SHINING CUP

Their respective races were turning out to be bigger than imagined. Fly was up against Instant Success and Euphoria's Warrior in the Turn Up The Heat Stakes, while Lynara was up against a big field of older horses in the Shining Stakes. Amber had nearly decided to scratch Lynara from the field, in the hopes of saving a humiliating defeat, but Henna had encouraged her to keep the talented gray filly in. Though she wasn't showing it, Lynara was talented, even if she was the most temperamental and moody horse in the stable. In defense of her claim that Lynara could do great, Henna had mentioned how Sugar Jayde had raced against older fields and was now reaping the benefits, with five amazing wins from nine starts and a spot at the top of the two year old rankings. Amber had listened to the logic and agreed with it. Thus, Lynara remained in. As for Fly, the Turn Up The Heat Stakes was a battleground. But it wasn't as though he hadn't been prepared for it. Their consistency with their planned workouts was better than any rush job work somebody would do, no matter how much they did. Also, Fly had already proven that he had some dominance when he won over many talented colts in the Auraria Stakes. He had placed second in the Lucky Day Futurity soon after but was still doing fantastic.

And unlike the other colts in the field, Fly was one win away from grade four. Henna wanted this win. The colt was a half brother through his dam to acclaimed sprinter Pegasus Wings, acclaimed miler and sprinter Silent Wings (whose preferences he shared) and now the acclaimed Preakness and Belmont Stakes winner Flashy Wings. His blood was full of the potential to excel at distances around a mile. They had the work and the attitude. Though honestly, Fly was a bit like a rooster. Even now, as they trotted along the track, he made noise. Snorting, neighing greetings to the silently moody gray filly alongside him, bugling out greetings to the home dirt course - it was ridiculous. He had been fondly nicknamed as the "alarm clock" by the staff, and an alarm clock he was. Though unlike alarm clocks, he didn't run out of batteries.

Lynara was a tough horse to ride. Amber was on constant alert as they accelerated to a canter for their warm up lap. Would Lynara try to run away with her? Yet Lynara appeared to be doing okay. She moved at a good pace, half listening to Amber's commands and half following her own whims, which were tightly controlled by her rider. Amber rarely had to be this aware of the horse she was riding. Lynara was special in that sense. She was not a horse you could leave to her own devices. She also had a very changeable personality. One moment Lynara could be totally focused on one thing, but in the next moment she was liable to be focused on something else entirely. She could be calm one moment, and then so fiercely competitive that she became hard to handle the next. She could also be sweet as sugar when she wanted to be, while actually concealing some manifesting desire. Amber had learned to read these moods, as any rider would, and had managed to even work out a system of dealing with them. But it was never easy to do that.

They were sprinters through and through though, both of them, though Fly did love running distances up to one mile. But to suit this desire to run that they shared, they were sprinting two furlongs together. It was a complete blowout, but the riders looked forward to it. It was rare that either of them worked their horses over that small a distance, but they wanted it. Thus, they warmed up very thoroughly in preparation for the sudden buildup in the horses' muscles of speed. After one and a half laps of trotting, cantering and circling, they deemed each other ready. Checking each other one final time, the two of them suddenly nodded and gave their respective mounts the cue to go.

The explosion of speed from the two of them was amazing. Lynara struck out the quickest, apparently deciding that she felt like running in the front today. Fly took a position off of her, but Henna urged him on. Getting the idea, Fly just let it all go, and in response a now furiously competitive Lynara took up the slack. An all out speed war ensued. Both horses had sprinting parents, but this was something else. This was like total war. Running was the only time when Fly was silent. After all, it was hard to bugle and run while breathing through his nose and everything. At the furious speed they were at, two furlongs was like nothing. They gradually reached a climax just at the end of the two furlongs, which must been run in at least twenty two flat. It had been an amazing ride. The riders pulled up their two year olds, both grinning with the exhilaration of it. They were each ready to tackle their respective races, no matter who they were facing or how much they had been prepped for it.