SHOT IN THE DARK | JUVENILE WORKOUT FOR ILLUMINATI & REGALITY

"Dumb - dumb as a box of rocks, that one is," were the first words out of Sean Courtney's mouth when he saw the ebony son of Imitation Black lumber across the track the first time. Saddling Illuminati had been an absolute breeze as he had stood there with that dumb expression on his face that showed he could care less about... well anything. The one thing he had going for him so far was that he happened to be one of the most laid back and easy going young colts that had ever graced the stable. Rather than being a rambunctious little shit like the other yearling colts, he had proven himself to be quite the gentleman early on, showing no interest in fillies or really anything in particular. Getting on him was uneventful as well except for the fact that it took quite a bit of coaxing from his jockey in order to get him to move anywhere. A few weeks had passed since that first mount up and they had finally began to make some progress with the black yearling colt. Finally, he was beginning to understand his job was to break from the gate, then run. Simple enough.

On the other hand the handsome son of Call of the Wild had been making quick work of his morning workouts. Regality was as intelligent as he was attractive. He was bred to run and that was definitely evident in how quickly he was getting the hang of the whole racing thing. He was improving probably the quickest of any of the two year olds so far. His natural inclination to racing made perfect sense considering his champion rich pedigree. Not only were sire and dam grade one super horses on the turf but he also had multiple siblings who had proven themselves as champions. His dam, Fleet Majesty, who herself was an extremely talented racehorse, had already foaled grade one, Belladonna, and Breeder's Cup Turf Marathon champion, Majestic Cry. While he may have one of his sire's first crop of foals, Call of the Wild had more than proven himself on the track, winning countless graded stakes races such as the Prince Cup, Man O War Stakes, Cox Plate, King Cup, Melbourne Cup, World Colt Cup, Dubai World Marathon, and so many more. To put it simply, Reggie had big shoes to fill and hopes were very high for this young colt.

When it came down to it, the only two things these two had in common was their breathtaking appearances and their raw talent on the track. Illuminati was as black as the midnight sky, his coat blindly glistening in the daylight. Even though he may not have been the brightest crayon in the box, he sure was a handsome son of a gun. Regality's golden bay coat and outstanding conformation, along with his ham of a personality made him an easy one to spot out on the track. Despite not coming from the same type of blue blood pedigree as Reggie, Nat had surprisingly shown that he had a ton of natural talent. Sired by Imitation Black, a grade five racehorse who hadn't really made much of himself on the track and out of an unknown lined mare, Precocious, his breeding was a bit of a shot in the dark. However, despite this once they finally had gotten him running, Nat quickly showed that his strides were ground eating and he rarely ever wore down.

The stablemates made their way to the starting gates to begin their works - today they would begin with gate training. Regality had only done gate training a handful of times before as he had shown he knew what he was doing, acting like an old pro his first time in the gate. For Illuminati on the other hand, every day was gate training. His training routine had to remain the same each and every day in order to keep him tuned in on his job - break from the gate, then run. Training had not changed much for Nat and in Lexi's opinion, training wouldn't ever change much for this ebony colt. Regality on the other hand, liked to change it up - he would get bored if he did the same thing for too long and always looked for ways to improve. Today would be both of their first days working with a stablemate - today, they would see if there was any competitive spirit locked up inside of Illuminati.

Alexandria rode the big black colt into the gate without any hesitation. He had grown accustomed to morning workouts and understood the gate like the back of his hand. The only new thing would be his stablemate. Sean rode his eager bay colt into the gate. Reggie tossed his head excitedly, ready to get to work. Nat raised his head giving a quick side glance at his stablemate before returning to focus on the task at hand. DING. The gates burst open and Nat took off in his usual fashion, heading straight to the rail. Reggie broke more slowly and settled behind Nat with a cool, calm demeanor. He seemed to care less about his stablemate who took up the lead. This was the normal routine for him, he was patient and never really much of a speed demon at the beginning of his workouts - that side of him came out on the homestretch. As they moved along the backstretch, they both remained in their same positions, floating across the track with ease.

Rounding the final turn, Sean let out the reins and began to crouch lower on Reggie’s back, getting ready to give him the signal to make his move. Just with that smallest amount of movement, the bay colt’s ears flicked forward and he began to move quicker, his strides coming faster and faster. In a moment’s notice he was at his stablemate’s side. Illuminati had not even acknowledged his stablemate’s existence until now. Lexi noticed her mount give his challenger a side glance, cocking his head slightly to the outside before returning his focus to the track. Lexi took that as her cue to ask him for more. She let out the reins and waved the whip once at his side. Nat had just recently began to pick up the idea that the whip meant to switch leads and pick up speed. He responded correctly, his legs flying in midair, switching and speeding up. Now, Regality really was into the work - if a horse could smile, he may very well have been. Reggie dashed forward on the outside, switching gears himself and charging after the black colt. Sean was riding him in hand and hadn’t even waved the whip yet, but man was he going. His competitive spirit ate up the ground between him and Nat as he nudged head in front, flying towards the wire. At this something seemed to click in Illuminati, as he glanced at his stablemate and then gave a final push of effort to the finish. Both horses dashed across the finish in a blur and were then pulled up by their riders. “How’d he feel?” Lexi asked excitedly. She had been especially excited about Regality and his future on the track. Sean gave her a nod, “Rode him in hand - he’s definitely something! The big box of rocks didn’t seem to do too bad either..” Lexi grinned, and pat her sweaty mount who took the praise with much appreciation, “Told you! We’ve been working on things. And you doubted him,” she gave her assistant trainer a playful eye roll before continuing back to the barn to unsaddle the horses. She was definitely excited to see what the future awaited these two young colts.