Prime Time

[ripley]

Prime Time

featuring: Prima Donna & Taboo

Prima Donna was the last mare Justin Santiago would have thought he would be riding. Yet, the sleek bay mare had made her return to Witch Creek, the last of the original three turf juveniles that the press had nicknamed Medusa's Snakes. The Devil's Hourglass and Paranormal Hunter had been retired, each powerful grade one winners and one of them a Hall Of Famer. Yet, here stood Prima Donna in her grade two glory on lease from Grayson Meadows to Witch Creek Stable.

The only word that came to his mind when he looked at her sleek frame was redemption.

Prima Donna wanted to win. She had settled right back into Witch Creek as though she had never left. She'd called right over to her old friends, dancing and winding her way up to the pasture. Hourglass and Para had trotted right up to the fence line nickering back. It had been a rare gesture of friendship from Para and Ripley had caught it on video for proof that Para could prick her ears and be a sweetheart.

The lean bay mare had every right to rebound off of what had been a less than stellar career so far. She was a gorgeous mare with an attitude the size of Texas and courage even larger than that. The Royal Assault daughter looked beautiful, but she was needing a change. Justin hoped that if he could pilot her until she returned to Grayson Meadows, the bay might have a shot of hitting grade one before December.

Taboo snorted as a gaggle of geese crossed her line of vision. The fancily bred filly rolled her eyes in mock fear and danced to the end of the line that Reese held. She'd been training here every morning for a week and yet the geese still caused this little change of tune. Her muscles relaxed once they passed, though her oddly colored tawny eyes followed them with excited interest. Reese patted the filly's neck, straightened the reins and gave her a proper once over.

She had grown impressively through Spring. Her body was made of muscle and her coat had a nice shine. She'd filled out more than anything and looked stronger than she had going into the year. Her growth spurt had come just in time for the sprinter tiaras. It was unknown which one she would point to because she was proficient on both turf and dirt. Reese had high hopes that she could be a bit of an upset this season. While other fillies had been training all season for runs in the sprinter tiara, Taboo was dropping out of the Turf Tiara in favor of a cutback. It wasn't exactly a crazy thing to do considering her relations included Forbidden To Fly, Mastermind's arch nemesis, and Silent Wings. 

Ripley marched down the line of open stalls, her green eyes swinging over Escape Artist and Awestruck. Those two had been here for a while, but she wasn't sure if she was going to start them this coming week. She didn't want automatic second place finishes versus tougher competition like they'd been receiving. Awestruck was the most talented filly in the barn, but her placings were beginning to level out. It was frustrating to say the least. And Ripley wasn't even sure what to do with Escape Artist. Skunk had shown immense promise, broken his maiden and had leveled out as well. She had to make a decision on whether to end his juvenile year now and comeback swinging in Year Sixteen or to push on and hope for the best.

She seemed to be making these key decisions more than usual. Hopefully, the decisions would settle down so she could do her job the way she wanted to do it. She reached Justin and Reese, examined the fillies' eyes and ears and legs. Both individuals looked bright and very eager to get going. Taboo was ready to roll due to boredom. Ripley had never met a filly that could get as bored as quickly as Taboo. Once she'd gotten over her nervous breakdowns, the filly had turned into a workaholic.

Both riders mounted their horses and started toward the track. Ripley kept a firm hand on Taboo's reins, keeping the excited filly in check. She danced fluidly beneath Reese with her neck bowed and her knees lifted high. She was a princess and she knew it. Reese sat the graceful movement and thought of what was to come.

Justin loved the way Prima Donna powered over the ground. She was such a confident mare and she moved like she was the queen. It was hard to believe the talented horse hadn't achieved higher than she had to date. Justin ran a hand down her neck, appreciated her pinned ears as the warning they were and stopped. If she didn't want affection, he wouldn't force it on her.

"Go three furlongs today. Let them roll in the homestretch. We've done as much stamina building as necessary for their next starts at home. Today, let's open up their lungs for their next races."

Ripley unclipped the lead line from Taboo just as she passed through the gap and stepped away toward the railing. The track was virtually empty today. Only a handful of backstretch workers could be seen around the track. Battlestone Downs was an up and coming place and not many trainers had decided to train over the lesser known track. Ripley would take advantage of what was turning into a private playground for her horses.

Prima Donna moved into a jog and looked the absolute picture this morning. She pricked her ears and looked like a doll. She pretended to look nice in order to trap unknowing humans. She moved at a very brisk pace, demanded that Taboo try to keep up. The sleek gray filly did quite easily. Reese loved everything she was feeling from the daughter of Everyday Hero. Taboo had the moves, the looks and the confidence to do some serious damage in the second half of the season.

The pair of horses moved into a gallop simultaneously into the backstretch. Each horse moved confidently beneath their rider. Justin was impressed with how on the bit Prima felt. She moved like a champ and strained for more speed than he could give at the moment. Taboo floated alongside the bay mare, kept her neck bowed and played with the bit. She snorted with every long gallop stride and commanded release. Reese itched to give it to her, to let the wild speed loose.

"Wait, wait, wait," Ripley chanted from the sidelines as she watched the duo head to the 5/8ths pole. She couldn't let them confuse the mares. They had to turn it on in the stretch where all of the running over the turf got down. She gripped the silver railing in her hands, mentally urged her riders to stay still for just a little bit longer.

Reese tapped the button first. Taboo broke like a rocket into her running stride, swapping leads and surprising Prima Donna. The older bay mare did not give up immediately. She surged under Justin, swapped her leads, and flew after her younger workmate. Justin could feel her determination. It was as tangible as her wild speed. She wanted to crush an opponent. She did not want to lose anymore. It wasn't in her to want to lose anymore. 

Prima caught Taboo in the early stretch, but Taboo wasn't done with her challenge. She kicked it up a notch, stunning Reese with how forceful she wanted to be in defeating the older mare. Taboo was not normally this competitive, but something about Prima Donna had stirred her up. The pair stormed through the stretch, ears pinned flat to their heads and tails streaming out behind them. 

Ripley watched the show in contentment. Prima fought ferociously to get her head in front of Taboo and Taboo fought right back to defeat Prima. Neither horse was content with finishing second in this new rivalry. When the horses hit the three furlongs in a smashing :37 1/5, Ripley hoped Prima would stick around just a little longer to keep this fiery rivalry going.