Mornings at the stables were generally quite. Especially in July when most of the horses were at the track save a few of the racers who were having a break from the hustle of the track. The weather wasn’t terrible in the mornings, a far cry from the freezjng months of December and January.

The two chestnuts trotted on the turf, both restless to get moving. Seattle Lightning tossed his head and broke into a canter. Bradley just laughed and pulled the four year-old back into a trot.

“I don’t think he likes the time off,” Hailey said as she caught up to him. Bazinga was one of the three that Scotia brought home from the sale. While new horses were never seen as a bad thing, the last thing the staff expected was for her to bring home two stallions, and three racers. They’d expected two at the very most and jokingly agreed to never let her near an auction again.

“Nope, I don’t think he does. Just needs to get through these next two weeks and then he can get back to racing,” he replied with a laugh and affectionate pat on Seattle’s neck.

And with that, both horses launched into a gallop at their riders’ signal. Seattle drew ahead of his workout partner, ears pricked forward. Bazinga didn’t seemed too concerned though as he ran a length behind the other horse. He has the patience that the other colt didn’t, and when it was time to make his move, he would. For now, he would conserve his energy and let Seattle run himself out. His ears flickered back and then forth again, listening for any words from Hailey. He still hesitant of everyone on the farm, though he was slowly coming around.

It took everything Bradley had to not let Seattle go full throttle. The four year-old pinned his ears back, furious that he wasn’t allowed to go as fast as he could. But he needed to learn restraint and going full throttle was what cost them their last race. It’d worked fine before, but occasionally it backfired. The horse really needed to have workouts with others, but being the only turf sprinter before they’d gotten Bazinga, there weren’t many options.

Hailey realized that Seattle’s attention was elsewhere and grinned. They got him this time. She gave Bazinga his head and the chestnut five year-old bounded forward, his long strides propelling him forwards. Caught up with fighting his rider, Seattle didn’t realize Bazinga creeping up alongside him, even if Bradley did. But once the horse stopped fighting, it was too late. Hailey just grinned at the other rider as Bazinga raced past them as if they were standing still.

Seattle tried to catch up, but there wasn’t much he could do before they passed the pole and the horses were slowed down into a canter. It took Bazinga a few strides before he’d finally slow down. Seattle pinned his ears and tried to nip at Bazinga but Bradley managed to pull him away in time.

“Knock it off,” he told the colt. “It’s your own fault we lost. Don’t fight with me and the other horses won’t catch you by surprise.”

“He’s just a sore loser,” Hailey said with a laugh. She patted Bazinga on the neck, a job well done. “We’re going to have fun with this boy. Once he gets rolling, he really gets rolling. Admittedly like a train with no brakes going down a hill, but he’s a good boy.”