Here was a horse that pushed his buttons, made him question everything he had ever known about horses and humbled him beyond words. Of course, it was the son of Call Me Crooked that was the horse that perplexed and frustrated him the most. A horse that had more opinions than his wife did, he didn't even know that was possible. Despite all of that, Alex was always mesmerized by the colt’s intellect and tactical speed which he undoubtedly got from his dam. As a matter of fact, he felt half the time he was nothing more than accessory to the colt, he hardly had to touch him he was so professional about everything. What baffled him the most however, was the sure brilliance of the animal beneath him. Prince was smart as a whip and he knew he was something special.

Prince let out a blood curdling squeal as a plucky little Maximus pranced his way onto the track with Jessie utop his back.

"You're all late," Alex commented pushing Prince up to a trot.

"It's 4:55 Alex," Jessie replied to his former mentor, pushing Max to a trot.

"We ride racehorses Jessie, what have I always told you?" Alex smirked.

Jessie rolled his eyes and let out a sigh. "If you're on time you're late, if you're early you're on time."

Webby flew past the other two with Andrew in the irons. Her stride was so floaty, very similar to that of Daddy’s Overdraft. She gave the boys a whinny as if to say catch me if you can. Andrew got the filly under control and she fell in beside the colts, but always made sure to keep a head in front. She let her competitive nature shine through a little more than Daddy’s Overdraft did, but she was the spitting image of her full sibling. She gave a playful buck as they pressed their trot to a quicker pace. Her ears were glued to the scene before her, anyone could tell the filly was having the time of her life.

“Andrew was here at the same time I was,” Jessie grumbled pushing Max to a canter with everyone else. The colt was dwarfed by most of the horses around him, his tiny frame didn’t do him any favors either. Gangly two year old legs and a tiny neck complete with his elephant head made the colt look like nothing special to look like. He was definitely in his ugly duckling phase, however he’d been in that phase for several months, since he arrived last year as a yearling really. Jessie was beginning to wonder if this was just what the horse was supposed to look like.

Grayson Meadows had a small string of two year olds upcoming for the season, most of them sprinters. Two came from Nebraska, one from racing royalty and the other from a sale halfway across the world. It would be awhile before they would run any of their homebreds again but that didn't seem to hinder nor bother anyone. Max was a $500 auction purchase, he came off the trailer with bumps and bruises all over him, the horse literally came from nothing and he handled himself with the best of the group. Hadley had impulsively bought the horse because her grandfather used to own Arian Ray and while the stallion was very unproven, she couldn’t help but give Max a chance to prove himself.

Alex nodded to Aaron and Steve along the fence line and pushed Prince to a gallop. The colt instantly responded and took control, grabbing the bit between his teeth and stretching out. The horse terrified Alex, but he learned over the last few months to just stay out of Prince's way and let him do his thing. Max followed closely behind with Web in tow. The group settled into an easy pace. It was hard to tell that it was a group of two year olds aside from their long gangly legs and thin builds, they all ran with a class and presence of a seasoned race horse. Aaron smiled as the group continued to press on, she'd put so many extra hours into this group and it was paying off. She’d spent the last year enjoying the smaller stable life, she knew it wasn’t going to last but she could dream. She liked having the ability to put forth more hours into less horses.

Webby picked up the pace and snuck a nose in front of Prince which the cold didn't like and responded with by pinning his ears and increasing the length of his own stride. Alex spoke softly to the colt but he was in the zone, at this point he was nothing more than a passenger on the colt. Max made his way into contention with the top two as they made their way through the final furlong of their work. The three of them hit the final furlong across the track pushing each other to the max, the competitiveness of the group was really showing. They all hit the wire together and Aaron couldn't help but smile. Grayson Meadows was back and their upcoming two year old string was just as promising as their Y15 crop had been. She couldn't wait to see what was in store for everyone.