In some areas it was common to hold back juvenile’s until they were more mature; mentally and physically. It was quite likely a maiden race would consist of an array of ages. Many horses might not start their careers until 4yo’s for whatever reason. But here, between the three local race tracks it was very uncommon. For a 2yo to miss out on half a season, and the first half for that matter, you would have to expect to be playing catch up for the rest of the year. Dare we say, maybe even for a lot of their careers. It worried the young woman somewhat, as she watched the trio of horses standing impatiently in their respective cross ties.

“Get Connie out on the flashy one,” Lahni poked, taking a stab at the way the colt pawed impatiently and tossed his head in the direction of the bay beside him. Connie raised an eyebrow. She didn’t have any interest in riding the difficult horses, honestly she didn’t have much interest in track work at all; it wasn’t in the job description of ‘Stable Owner’ in most cases, and she was happy to keep it that way. Lahni and Connie got along well enough, but it was more so a tolerance than a real friendship. Lahni was young, beautiful, outspoken and bull-headed at times; she took most opportunities to rub Connie the wrong way.

Leo often fed into her taunt, but that was only because he was so much the same; though his teasing was always with good intention, the same of which could rarely be said for Lahni. “Nah, he’s a smart one that. We don’t want boss lady teaching him any bad habits,” the head trainer ducked under the crossties of the chestnut colt to help Sam (Highgrove’s long standing strapper) finish up preparing the youngsters for their morning work; a playful smile cast to Connie simultaneously. She pretended to ignore him.

“I’ll take him then,” Lahni, always a little over confident, strode to rub the white-splattered face of the juvenile.

“Ease up Turbo. I’m putting you on the grey. She’s tough and headstrong… like you,” Leo laughed coyly, met by an almost flirtatious smirk from the younger woman it was addressed to.

“Sam will ride Atlantis. Let’s all be honest, he’s the most disciplined rider here and that colt will send me mad if he picks up any bad habits,” Leo was the joking type, but when it came to his training he couldn’t be more serious.

“What lucky soul gets to take out Flynn?” Sam asked, the eldest and always the wisest of the young group; but never without his warm smile or gentle mannerisms.

“Hey guys,” it was almost on cue. Michael was an apprentice jockey, and one that was new on the scene. He had asked to be an exercise rider whilst his career was developing.

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“Alright. Lahni, Nat is a seriously strong filly. I know you think you can see it in her, so let me just say it’s as bad as you can imagine. She will run away with you if you let her. Keep tabs on her all the time and don’t let her get caught up trying to battle the two boys.” His instruction was met with a firm nod.

“Sam. You know Atlantis well so I trust your judgement, just remember to be precise in your cues without overloading him with information. Let him sit on the rail if he wants to, and he will probably try to follow Fanatical which is fine,” Sam was a great horse person, and had thrown himself up into the saddle by the time Leo had finished his spiel.

“Flight Fever… Flynn is a messy sort of horse Michael, but he’s a good one for you to start on. He’s challenging and a whole lot of horse to handle, but when you get it right you will really feel it. Don’t stress about him trying to shuffle all over the track, correct it if you can but no matter how bad it seems he will settle eventually. He will be one of your first official rides in the coming weeks so it’s good for you to get to know him. He’s a pretty aggressive stalker once he settles so you will probably want to park him up beside Atlantis; they can both follow the filly.”

With all three riders mounted up into their exercise pads and the horses jogging their way down to the turf track ahead, Leo called out, “Remember guys it’s not a race. Just canter them and let them have a short breeze at the end if you want to. Nothing strenuous!” Lahni hated taking things slow, and with a powerhouse filly like Fanatical under her, Leo would have to keep tabs on the duo.

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Leo helped Connie up onto the railing, the duo perching up on the fence beside each other. It was later in the morning than usual, everyone had been pretty slow to start today, but it meant the sun was up and the work-out could be watched nice and clearly. The juvenile trio, a rather colourful bunch, had eased into a lope side by side. Fanatical, or Nat as she was known around the stable, was the half sibling of Hall of Fame inductee, Mild Manic. The pair could still remember that grey filly running around this very track as a 2yo as though it were only yesterday. Her success was bittersweet. Leo was heartbroken; it wasn’t him that was able to take one of their homebreds so far, but both stable owner and trainer were thankful for all that Firestone had achieved with her. She always had been an amazing horse, and they hoped her dam had produced another winner in the form of Fanatical.

The grey fillies competitive streak could already be seen; her nose was arched down into her chest, a sure sign that Lahni was having to hold the brawny sprinter on a tight rein. Fanatical hated other horses, and even at their distance the audience could see her ears were pinned and her body somewhat tense. If Lahni let her take the lead, Nat would loosen up significantly. Even in canter her power was so blatantly obvious; the way her haunches tucked under her and her legs drove straight out in powerful punches. Her ability was quite terrifying, it was just a matter of stopping her from overworking herself. The two lighter colts were working somewhat harder than she was just to stay by her side

Atlantis was a striking colt, probably the only juvenile from the remaining crop that had two proven parents. His sire had a successful 3yo on the ground who was dabbling in HOTY starts, and his dam was Atlantic Rain; the mother of Atlantic Deluge, a retired HOTY winner who needed no introduction. He was a frighteningly intelligent type of horse, the kind that was so smart any mistake went unforgiven and seemingly unforgotten. Leo had devised a rather particular schedule for the colt, and it was paying off nicely. The chestnut sabino had already found his telltale tempo; even in canter the comfortable rhythm could be seen, and no doubt felt by his rider. Once he found where he wanted to sit, Atlantis would glide along in cruise control. It was a beautiful thing to watch for any proud trainer, and a talent that had come about rather easily with the right effort to uncover it. As he was now, he was rolling along the rail at a good, easy pace.

The last of the trio was by no means the least impactful. Flight Fever was a firecracker of a horse. Yes, on the track, but equally so on the ground. Very few people enjoyed working with him, but almost everybody had some sort of story to tell about him. He was a rather anxious sort of horse, but in a peculiarly aggressive sort of way. If something frightened him he would throw himself at it with his teeth bared. Almost as if his ‘flight’ response was replaced with ‘fight’. It made him quite intimidating to work with, but Leo had found his ways around it. The dark bay was a stunning, athletic type, with conformation that would catch eyes in the sale ring and a stride as equally as memorable. There’s no question about his ability; it’s about bubbling over and anybody can see it, it’s just a question of getting him to use it sanely.

Flynn still hadn’t quite settled into the work out, his dark head could be seen bobbing up now and again as Michael tried to get a feel for the youngster. It was now that the trio of two year olds could be seen separating, as their riders allowed their pace to quicken into an easy gallop. Lahni was still fighting with Fanatical, who was much too keen, but even then she had no issue slipping ahead to lead the colts. Atlantis was able to maintain his cruising tempo even through the quickening of his pace, and it had placed him very comfortably on the grey fillies heels. Flight Fever was unfortunately not quite ready to improve on his currently awkward canter, which saw him being reluctantly left behind.

It was just a brief couple of furlongs that the two horses ahead galloped, but the pace saw Fanatical fighting to pull ahead and Atlantis’s ability matching her speed with a much calmer approach. It couldn’t be said who had outdone the other as the pair backed the duo back into a slow lope. The had worked well. Leo would have to work on Nat’s over enthusiasm, but Atlantis had run like a dream.

Though Michael was still taking his time trying to work out how to put some order into Flynn’s travel, he seemed unwilling to completely miss out on the fun. It was the tiniest change in seat from the aspiring jockey, perhaps just a slight give of rein or a mild cue. That was all it took. Flight Fever exploded. It was just a fleeting moment of awe; a couple of furlongs and no more. But that bay colt absolutely flew. “Wow,” Connie muttered to Leo, who seemed entirely unsurprised by the horses speed, “Yep. Just wait until you see him really go for it.” Well if that wasn’t ‘going for it’, Flynn was surely one to watch out for.