Every new season brought with it a new series of horses to train. Familiar faces retiring; new faces brought in from Indigo Morning to the main barn; all of it was an administrative nightmare, but one that Amber Black was all too happy to manage and had been managing for years. She was one of the oldest names in the business; she knew what she was doing with her horses. Even now, as they began the series of multi-day workouts that would bring out all of the horses, both old and new, Amber felt light on her feet and ready to go. There was a lot to get done, but it would get done. Stride of Perfection had goals, as they had every season, and a reputation to uphold - to say nothing of the excitement that new blood brought to the table!

Amber settled more comfortably into her seat track side, watching the first of their new arrivals - Apache Sunrise. Amber had watched this chestnut mare fly around on the tracks for Battle Brook Stable. When Ripley Marsh had off-handedly mentioned that she had a lot of older horses on the roster at the moment, Amber had volunteered to take the newly-turned four year old in. Apache Sunrise had always caught the eye, for her attitude if nothing else. The mare loved to go hard and was incredibly powerful. She was flashy and brilliant, strong and hard to handle for anybody near her. Amber had liked her attitude. Though the mare was only a grade three at the moment, Amber knew she had class; her performance in HoTY races had been solid, and though the wins weren't necessarily there the places certainly were. This mare was on the edge; she was leggy, fast, and Amber thought Valencia Andrews would match her fire well. They certainly seemed to be getting along if the way Valencia was smirking as she breezed by aboard her was any indication. The mare moved easily, well in-hand and looking every inch like a mare ready to go hard in the new year. She'd been off for a month and a half and showed every ounce of the fire that that had given her. Amber couldn't wait to see what they'd do in their first starts.

Another arrival from Battle Brook had been Valaska, though she'd actually been purchased instead of "magically acquired". Valaska was by Frozen Motion, just like Amaris, and Amber could see it in the way that the mare was built. She was a darker gray than Amaris and not as much of a sprinter - Gold Digger could be thanked for that - and moved like a queen. Valaska was definitely more socially minded than Amaris, more keen to nose around and be nice to her humans. She reminded Amber of Infinite Warcry a lot in that aspect. Athletic and a smooth mover, Valaska had been warmly welcomed the minute she had stepped off the trailer and paired up with Wanda Brown. One of Amber's newer jockeys - though not the newest, not anymore - Wanda had down a fantastic job with Hysteria, Odin, and Ruling Restraint last season. It only made sense to give her Valaska and see what she could do with the mare. Valaska was a horse whom Amber had identified as a potential rising star; her record last season had consisted of only three places outside of the top two, and that was a crazy feat. Though she was still a grade three at the moment, she was the type that would likely grade up quickly. Her second place in the Tinner's Way Stakes last out spoke of her rising class. Amber wryly thought that Celebrity and Melusine could be getting a run for their money in the distaff turf races if they weren't careful of the new gray mare. As Valaska joined Apache Sunrise on the track for their turf workout, Amber glued her binoculars to her face and prepared herself for a show.

---

Krystal Yhate snorted to herself as she settled into the spot that Amber had just vacated. Amber had gone to talk to Valencia and Wanda about Apache Sunrise's and Valaska's last workout, which Krystal had only caught the tail end of. Both mares looked ready to fire, and as much as Krystal wanted to question Amber about their performance she knew that she would be needed to be alert for this next workout. It was a solo workout, involving only Amaretto Stone, but it was still important. Amar was the newest acquisition of the stable and the resident "project pony", if you listened to the wry talk of the grooms. Krystal wasn't having it - Amar had some great talent residing within in. The colt was from unknown lines, but he displayed a lot of versatility, being able to run six to ten furlongs comfortably. He hadn't raced in a little over two months, and it had allowed him to fill out into himself. While he would likely not be an early-season challenger to the top three year olds, he was likely to emerge onto the scene over the coming months.

Even now, Krystal critically watched the colt move. Typically lazy off the track, the colt completely shed this personality for focused, competitive fire as soon as he caught sight of the dirt. He was an easy loader, broke like a rocket, and typically high-tailed it for the lead as soon as he was able. His high cruising speed was belied by an impressive amount of stamina. Stride of Perfection had carefully nurtured the colt's condition since his arrival, priming him for his first start back. Krystal knew that if their stable had a specialization, it was getting horses into high form and keeping them there for the majority of the season. Amar was a bit more difficult to handle than usual, having a very specific set of conditions necessary to be met in order to keep him happy, but he was still a talented horse. Christopher Black had him well in hand. Krystal critically watched him ride the colt, noting the lightness of his hand. Christopher had Amber's jockeying talent. He tended to ride the more easy-going horses best. Even after only two weeks of riding the colt, Christopher had Amar pegged. He rode him as a person who knows his mount would. Krystal admired the workmanlike attitude Amar displayed as he began to gallop down the dirt, smoothly accelerating to his preferred speed and holding it. He looked good.

---

Most people found juvenile workouts exciting. For James Greyson, they were exciting for entirely different reasons. As the head trainer for youngstock, James worked with all the yearlings from the moment they entered training until they turned two years old. He then advised Amber, as the official head trainer, of where to place these horses and whether some would need more time than others to mature before running. He had advised Amber about holding Animatia back throughout her juvenile season; Amber had listened, and now Animatia was going into her five year old season as a strong grade one HoTY competitor. James knew his advice was respected and valued, and he also really couldn't wait to see how this crop ran. Last year's juveniles had reached heights of precociousness he hadn't thought possible - even he hadn't foreseen not one, but two of their juveniles entering their classic season having already become grade two racehorses - yet James thought that perhaps this season's crop was just as talented.

Some of these new juveniles were downright crazy, though. James shook his head as exhibit A of crazy, Akanksha, prowled onto the dirt track. Rough, tough, crazy - James couldn't think of enough adjectives to describe this filly. He had already advised Amber to let her be the last to load and to start her as soon as possible; this one had been born ready to run. Sha was also an insane front runner; there had been no better place to run her than the lead. She went straight for it and would try to hold it for the entirety of the time, never budging and flashing insane determination throughout. This was a filly that didn't bend; she'd rather break first. James was hoping that a few starts early on would get the filly to settle. With Valencia Andrews aboard - and Valencia knew all about crazy - the possibilities were endless. Sha had a ton of stamina, being by Ashes To Ashes and out of Preakness Stakes winner Sizzling Dawn. Her older sister, Icarus's Flight, had won the Breeders Cup Juvenile Fillies to cap off last season, so there were a lot of eyes on Sha.

They should be; as Sha was released down the backstretch and turned into a horse that might as well have been given jet fuel to run on, James could only think of how blindingly fast the fractions she was running must be. This filly didn't need encouragement to run fast and keep running fast; she left it all on the track, every time. As James watched her whip under the wire and fight Valencia for the right to keep going instead of slow down even though she'd just blazed through six furlongs, James could only think of what a fantastic sprinter the filly could become in the future if she ever showed the tendency. For now, though, the filly was loaded with undeniable stamina. James looked forward to her first start.

He was also looking forward to seeing how Sahadev ran. The leggy, athletic bay colt was by Dreaming Of Glory and out of Afterglow, neither of which were Stride Of Perfection but who descended from their stock. Sahadev's lines ran with Bank On Silver, Merry Bay King, and Sweet Sugar Cane - well-loved lines by all within the barn. He had come out of the womb looking average, trained average, and then revealed a stunning ability to do just about anything that they could ever want him to do. Turf, dirt, sprinting at six furlongs to marathoning at eleven - Saha could literally do it all. His immense curiosity around the barn made him a favorite, his easy-going nature only adding to it. Nobody hated Saha; if anything, they occasionally got annoyed with him because he needed to be constantly entertained. He was simply too curious.

Even now, as he stepped onto a track that he had been on plenty of times before, Saha snorted with excitement, eyes roaming to find Akanksha moodily cantering through her cool-down. Sam Johnston lightly checked the colt as Sha rolled past, eyes twinkling as horse and rider watched the filly. Sam Johnston was new. He had been hired as a jockey just a few months ago. Now that he had settled in and Amber had found his riding satisfactory, she had been assigned Sahadev as a juvenile mount. Saha could take care of just about anybody on his back, and Sam understood the importance of how to ride the colt. Riding Saha required possessing an element of strategy, as Saha needed to be placed somewhere in the crowd where he could see what was going on. He liked to be in the middle of the pack, surrounded by horses. In smaller fields, simulating that could be tricky, but Sam brought to the table his own strengths. He was incredibly talented at placing horses exactly where their strengths could shine the most. The barn was relying on that for Saha. The colt was ready to run, and James had advised running him early so that they could work out the kinks in his running style and see if there was a particular spot in his preferences that the colt actually preferred.

Saha was beautiful to watch; his canter energetic, his gallop smooth. He was hard to focus during a solo workout, but he got the job done and clocked solid fractions as he wove his way around the track. James nodded his approval. This was good.

Of course, calm Saha was followed by an even darker bay filly who came off as a colt at first glance. Orinthia was built like a tank. She was swift, hardy, energetic, but overly sensitive to everything going on around her. This was another one that experienced over-stimulation in certain environments. Princess Orinthia had been hotly anticipated by the barn, being by Admiral's Revenge - gee were his fillies showing up in Stride Of Perfection these days! - and out of the much-admired and loved Paradise Island. Rinny was a crazy girl. She was so easy to distract that James had recommended she be given blinkers and sent straight to the front for races. What he hadn't realized at that time, though, was just how much Rinny would die to be at the front; the filly loved to have open ground in front of her and, similarly to Sha, possessed an uncannily high cruising speed. Unlike Sha, she knew how to temper it and wouldn't stick to the lead until she ran herself in, which was perfect news for the router races that she would be running. This filly was loaded with stamina and talent.

To get her acclimated to racing as quickly as possible, this was another horse being sent straight to the races in the first week. She needed it. Her jockey, Kylie Silverstar, was probably James's favorite jockey on staff; boy did the young woman know how to ride. Even now, it was hard to read Kylie's body language as she she guided Rinny down the dirt track; she kept it muted, quiet, but firm. Blue-blooded horses tended to favor Kylie as their jockey. James liked to think it was because only the classiness of Kylie's riding could keep up with him; she definitely knew what she was doing up there. Rinny snorted excitedly as Kylie sent her forward into the workout, perched lightly in the saddle and letting the filly do her thing. James watched the dark bay with admiration in his eyes. Here was one that could compete against the boys from the outset if Amber wanted. She was strong and liked to be in front; what more could they ask from a racehorse?

---

Valencia Andrews felt her blood thrum with satisfaction as she handed Akanksha off to a groom following their final workout. It had been a good day; Apache Sunrise had lit the fire in her blood and Akanksha had kept it going. She loved fire. Her brother, Timothy Andrews, was the same way, though he tended to only be able to ride martial-minded colts. Such as Demon Prince - son of Demonic Desires and In The Spotlight, and just about one of the most hotly anticipated horses they had ever bred. He was the first-born for both of his champion parents and would set their legacy. Valencia jogged to the turf track at the thought. She would hate to miss this workout.

Demon Prince was the most beautifully conformed, arrogant, and classy juvenile on the roster. He dripped class and power. Prince was a regal individual who commanded attention. As Valencia sighted the track, she also sighted the incredibly tall black shape just beginning to streak past the railing she was approaching. Demon would ordinarily have been slotted to start in January Week Three in the Legacy Series; as it was, the barn had concluded that the colt really just needed to run already, and Timothy had obliged. Valencia smirked as she watched Demon hug the rail, gliding as though he had all of the time in the world. Valencia waited for it, knowing it was coming - and there it was, straight at the final turn. A change came over Prince; Timothy didn't even have to move as the colt accelerated devastatingly, ripping the turf wide open as he charged for a lead that he already had. Prince was a closer with a flair for the dramatic; his rapid acceleration at the end of the race typically got him what he was searching for, and that was a victory by open lengths.

Valencia applauded as her brother crossed the wire aboard his charge, the grin on her face threatening to split it. As much as she wished she had gotten the ride on Prince, there was no doubt that Tim would work well with him.

---

Timothy Andrews was still barely breathing as he swung down off Demon Prince and handed the cooled-out horses to a groom. That last workout had been insane; the horse was fit to start bursting at the seams if he wasn't run soon. He smirked in satisfaction as he walked his way back to the turf track; that had been a good run, no doubt about it. And the next workout...well, Tim was curious to say the least. It was said in the barn that this horse was a better closer than Demon Prince, and Tim would believe it when he saw it.

Majestic Cry, son of Infinite Warcry and Fleet Majesty, looked exactly like his sire. He was tall, built like a tank, and coal black. He was also the type of horse that got along well with others and would probably kill at the marathon distances. Major Cry was not aggressive, but he also didn't tolerate being bullied in any way. He was tall and imposing, but acted friendly and curious. Naturally, his rider was Christopher Black; no other could have handled Cry's gentle giant nature without going insane. Tim knew that he wouldn't have been able to; he needed fire in a mount in order to be able to ride them effectively. As Tim joined Valencia at the rail, nodding to her with a smirk still curling his lips, Valencia opened up her mouth to say something - only to fall silent as a black horse glided past them. The horse was galloping, though at a glance both knew that the fractions he was putting in were nothing to write home about.

Tim watched curiously as Cry looped around the track. The horse was an efficient mover, likely taking one stride for every one of another horse's, but Tim was convinced that he could bury the horse on his own mount. All of that changed at the half-mile pole though; Tim's mouth dropped open as suddenly, under one signal from Christopher, Cry accelerated. The change was visible; the horse might as well have exploded from a standstill to full-tilt gallop. The horse just looked happy, swinging out in the stretch and continuing to accelerate. His last quarter mile was in insane time; Valencia glanced down at her stopwatch and flashed it her brother, who stared at it with shock tingling through his veins. Here was a horse that could have caught him and Prince at the wire, regardless of their confidence. Tim realized that while Cry's finishes would likely be hairy, the horse was definitely his match.