dreams

[S u N f r O s T ~]

ACTUALLY STARTED WRITING NOVEMBER 21, 2012
FIRE DANCER AND KRYSTAL YHATE

Imperious and tall, the blood bay filly of seventeen hands carried herself with renewed regality as she stepped onto the dirt track. I grinned as she did so and sighed as Fire settled into my hands. The daughter of Native Flame and On To Dancing had finally found the stride I knew she possessed. After being overshadowed throughout her first two racing seasons she was finally flourishing and had even achieved the rank of grade two in her last start three weeks ago with a win in the Floridian Derby at the Wire. Now she was prepping for the Sweet Stalker Memorial Stakes next week, a semi-major dirt race which we were finally prepared for. My heart swelled with pride as we set off at a trot. My easy contact with the bit and her well-mannered actions melded together into the cement of our relationship. We were flying high.

The season had started off quietly, with two fourth place finishes. Then she had placed second, then first, and then she had started to take off. Now she had laid claim to six races and was beginning to be regarded as a rising force on the tracks. As she should have been all along, in my opinion. This was a filly to watch, a four year old with a bright future and all the talent in the world. She had always treated herself like an intimidating predatory, the unquestionable queen, and now she had the right to act like she did. I had found myself getting caught in dreams of the future more and more often aboard her. I found the capability now to dream of big victories which could become reality. There was a lot of opportunity at our fingertips and I was extremely excited about all of these new avenues which had opened.

Her trot lapsed into a canter and I just barely guided the mare along the dirt track. Fire knew what she was here to do, and she knew she was either doing this workout solo or facing a workout partner who couldn't be bothered to show up. She interpreted it as automatic victory and arched her neck proudly - or maybe that was how I interpreted the filly I had grown to love. I had worked with her since her prospect season. We had a bond and now all we needed to work on was our racing. Fire was one of those rare mid packers. She broke averagely, settled among the horses, then pulled out on the turn or shot through gaps in the hopes of getting a win. The major problem for mid packers was managing the crowd. It had taken months to perfect that. Now we had a working system and were becoming deadly on the track.

Fire's sister by experience and not by blood Wild Kiss was experiencing similar success this year and the entire stable had been marveling at that. It was such a stroke of good luck and I knew that I was eternally thankful for that. Fire and Kiss had worked hard their whole careers and were finally being rewarded with concrete results. One day, I had resolved to beat the big cheese dirt fillies of our division, like Silverianna and Afterglow, the two who kept beating us in the Tiara last year. We would give them a run for their money next time around. But only if we continued to work hard and make every race count in a positive if not winning way.

We upped the pace from trot to canter and then gallop. Our effortless transition was akin to a bird taking unhurried flight. We were off and running and Fire had instantly settled into stride. There was no rush as we curved around the first turn. The pace was reasonable and enjoyable and I caught myself daydreaming even more as we swung into the backstretch. The Breeders Cup Ladies Classic had always eluded us. The female division trophies, in actuality, had always eluded us. Wouldn't it be something for Fire and Kiss to suddenly win against the competition that had spurned them for years?

Midway down the backstretch and I was foreseeing our future moves. The big races were calling our names. We would try to qualify and then take the Risorgimento this season. We had the class to do it and the means of doing so as well. We just had to keep level heads and keep working. The big bay body of Fire unfurled a bit as the furlongs passed us by, and around the last turn her stride collected and then extended like a released spring into the stretch. We were now in our element and the dreams playing behind my eyelids did not distract me from the wonderful feeling I got as we roared under the wire at easy but quick speed. Fire was conditioned well and slowed at my command. She tossed her had once, declaring That was easy! and I leaned over to give her sweaty neck a hug. Those dreams never left me. I had them now and I wasn't letting them go.