our dreams await

[S u N f r O s T ~]

WILDLY NATURAL AND AMBER BLACK
SILLENIA AND KRYSTAL YHATE

TURA'S AND SILL'S WORKOUT FOR THE DREAM CUP

Their previous effort had been fantastic. Tura had won very narrowly over Sill, and both riders had been thrilled with their horses' performances. It had been a good day, with Tura scoring yet another win and Sill winning some acclaim for herself. Now they were up for the Dream Cup, a race over the mares' prime distance of ten furlongs and on the turf for grade three horses and up. It was a huge race - absolutely huge. However, only two other horses beside themselves had been entered, Destined For Glory and Indian Delight. And both were decent competitors for the Dream Cup crown. Thus, Amber and Krystal were out now on this fine early morning with dew still gracing the grasses. They were walking side by side, Sill unusually compliant today and Tura glaring at the dark bay mare at her side. Racing against her as she had in her last race had left Tura quite competitive with the mare. Sill felt similarly, but was a lot less expressive than Tura and didn't show it as much.

The race today was going to be over eight furlongs. Though it wasn't going to be much of a race. All that was required was a quick gallop. They had raced last week and were still fresh and full of it. They had earned next week off for sure! They didn't want to push the mares too much, either. To push them too much would lead to a guaranteed defeat. They did not desire defeat, especially Amber, who wanted her mare to win Best Turf Horse at the very least by the end of the year. Amber was also one win away from the magic thirty with Tura. If they took the Dream Cup, they would get into the elite thirty wins plus division, a feat Amber had accomplished last year aboard Deadly Desires. It was impressive, and from there the record was liable to grow even more. Sill, on the other hand, was two wins from grade one. A major goal of Krystal's by the end of the year was to hit this elite grade. Sill definitely deserved it. She was the winner of a leg of the Triple Crown Turf as well as numerous other races, after all.

Warming up was natural and easy. They trotted for half of a lap and then cantered the rest, occasionally turning circles and half circles to get the legs going in different directions. The entire time Tura and Sill were attentive to their riders' cues, but they incessantly glared at each other. The rivalry was riding high between the two of them, and their riders guessed it would boil over in the big race.

Soon, it came time to gallop. The transition was welcomed by both mares, who started off slowly and then began to build up to a stretch drive speed. Their riders initially considered holding them back, then decided against it. Holding back the two obviously competing mares would expend more energy than save. So the pace gradually grew, until by the sixth furlong the mares were nearly sprinting in their desire to overwhelm the other. Tura was slightly ahead of Sill at one point, but then Sill made up the distance and then some, leaving Tura behind. They entered equilibrium at times, with the same speed of movement, but it was quickly left as the pace continued to increase. By the end of the full mile, they were nearly all out, and their riders had a hard time restraining them and getting them through a cool down together.

The tensions were high between the mares, and the looks in their eyes were unmistakable. Both were ready to try for their rider's dream in the Dream Cup.