Captain's Revenge

As the wind blew effortlessly up the track, there was nothing that would stop it from fighting for our win. Jacey had taken the opportunity to enter Captain in the Yukonite Derby. The field for the race was looking pretty solid right now, but I knew with the right training, we could quite well win the race. I scanned the entrants for the race, and I was grinning like a cheshire cat. Let's go and have some fun. Starting in Gate One was Witch Creek Stables filly, Midnight Thriller. Midtee was a twin sister of Eternal Phantom, the Grade Three filly who won the Kentucky Derby. The filly was El Sol Del Mar and Night Stalker - some lines that they would definitely remember. She had began to come into her own, and starting taking wins, recently winning the Deschampbault Derby, and placing second behind Dawn Of Silence in the Saskatchewan Derby the following week. She was a closer, so the inside post was an advantage for her. In Gate Two, there was the two-year-old filly, Sweet Inferno. As a two year old, she was less experienced than the rest of the field, but she was definitely performing very well against the older horses this year. She was a front runner, so would be there with us. Our plan was to let her get the lead, and we'd linger just behind, but a gap between us and the stalkers was what there would be. She had started nine times, winning once, placing six times, and showing once, only ever placing out of the top three once.

In Gate Three, there was Perfect Moment. This four year old had taken over two years to break her maiden, and she finally did it in the Avril Maiden. Unfortunately for her when she faced horses of her own grade, she got fifth behind Ashes to Ashes and Mizadori in the Cadilesker Derby, and fifth behind our very own Dawn Of Silence in the Saskatchenwan derby. She was a good filly, there was no doubt. She raced in mid-pack, so would come in to contention about half way through the race to challenge. In Gate Four, Prison Hill had entered Imma Zombie. The colt this year had made a good start, claiming a third and two wins after an absolutely appauling two-year-old season, but this colt is fighting back. He recently placed third in the Stable Face-off against many horses, which was a very BIG accomplishment. He was also a front runner, which put us at a disadvantage.

In Gate Five there was Lucky Silver, the three-year-old Mr. Lucky colt who was on lease to Star Thoroughbreds. He had made a good start to his three-year-old campaign, recently taking two wins, and two shows. He was finally beginning to show his true colours, after his fifth in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile behind Euphoria's Warrior, Instant Success, Eternal Phantom and Forbidden To Fly, three of which are Triple Crown Contenders. He was a closer, so would make his move in the final stages of the race. After looking at the entrants, I decided what I was going to do. We were going to break quick, and drop back to behind the leaders, but not so far back to precede. We were going to pressure the pace towards the end, and then make our move and come through to win. One problem with Captain though, which might make you giggle a little bit. Not surprisingly, Captain is a tough nut on the track. His favorite part of course is the running and any section before that is just a waste of time.

The powerful colt cannot handle the nearness of people and other horses. He likes to do his own thing on the track and the racing officials recognize it. They do not want a 17 hand monster having a meltdown in front of a whole crowd of people. He doesn't do any warm up on the track, just walks and trots and watches with that one blue eye as the other horses do their gallops, which is why today I had chosen the pool for Captains workout. Because he is so relaxed on the lead, Captain can attempt to steal the race, however, he finds it more fun to put a little drama into the race He'll let a few horses run up to him in the head of the stretch and then decide it's time to become the roaring, wild tornado. The black colt will push off with all his might and then re-break as if it weren't hard enough to sprint already. He has a will to win that is not often matched and talent that is provided for by his massive frame. Captain is a tough cookie, but he'll give you everything he has until he races beneath that wire.

I got Captains bridle on and walked him through to the pool. I attached a lunge line, and I let him look at the slope. I encouraged him and he looked down, snorting as he stepped into the warmth of the water. As soon as he felt the full extent of the warmth, he really quite enjoyed it. His ears were pricked as it got deeper, and his head poked above the surface of the water as his legs powered through it. I grinned and walked beside him. Well done Captain, I said to him. After a couple of laps of powering through the warm water, I let him come back up the slope. I patted his wet neck and put his thermatex rug on to help him dry. Good lad, I said to him, stroking his velvet nose. I walked him back to his stall and gave him his oats, hoping that he would be nice and fiery for tomorrow. Nice and fiery, just how I like him.