Two horses moved toward the track from the training barn, clouded breath moving in great clouds from human and beast alike. It was a cold morning, frigid even, but the ground remained clear of snow and low on moisture. The horses were feeling the weather, both flashy bays demonstrating various levels of fractiousness as they went. The filly was in front, and a shock of silver-blonde hair showed starkly against the rider's black jacket as he bowed just slightly over her neck. Still perfectly balanced, still immaculately seated as he always was, but murmuring placation to the filly as she tossed her head with high spirits. Minske couldn't help but but think of the books he'd read as a child about elf riders, with how pale and icy the boy still was even after years of employment. If his sister Savita was an efrit of fire, Clarimonde was an efrit of ice. But lord, he could ride. Minske didn't remember him ever even coming close to falling from a horse, and it wasn't for lack of effort on the horses' part. Rhodium was not quite that violent, but she was indeed unpredictable and thus warranted a strong rider.

The filly was actually more anticipated than one would expect. A year ago, both of Rhodium's parents were from nobody lineages and completely unpoven. The dam, at least, had a career to back herself - Valine was a G1 HOTY*-winning mare that placed in two legs of the Triple Sprinter Tiara. The sire Platinum Fox, though, was next to nothing performance-wise. But that changed when a foal from his first crop began her career late, starting at four and giving herself a hell of a run in her first year of racing. Platinum Fuhr ran for Valkyrie for the first half of her career before being sold on to Crimson Haven, where she's currently a grade three racer ready to take Y19 by storm, if things went well. She's more than proven her sire, and the match to Valine is much stronger than that filly's dam. She looked less like the stallion, to be sure - she only had the faintest hints of a sabino gene in the form of a wide blaze and a few white hairs on her flanks. She was little, definitely taking after the dam, but she had so much fight that she wasn't going to let it stop her.

The colt, on the other hand, was less energetic fire and more... well, asshole was a good word for it. Chasing Treason was puffed up and strung out, and only a good workout could settle him - at least, enough to take the edge off of his aggressive personality. He had the newest Valkyrie jockey aboard, a 20-some upstart named Lark Tiernen, aboard. Minske wouldn't say that the headstrong colt was a test, but... he probably was. Minske fought back a smile as the colt half-reared, tossing his head back and nearly smashing Lark's nose as he leaned forward to counter-balance. He jerked his own head back just in time, and a slew of curses could be heard. Filthy mouth or no, he at least knew how to ride. Plus, the irritated look on Clarimonde's face was entertainment of its own - for some reason, he couldn't stand Lark even more that he couldn't stand anyone else, and Lark made a point of teasing the other boy on the regular in spite of it. Or, perhaps because of it. Minske turned his attention to the big bay colt as they approached, trying to get a look at his stride to compare the two, but it was pretty much impossible as he jigged and jumped around. At least he could run in a straight line, even if he couldn't walk in one. He was descended from two Valkyrie homebreds, even if one was from a previous generation of the farm. His sire, Chiquato, had been sold in the July Sale before the purchase fell through, so he was back on the dirt stallion roster at present. Perhaps, if Terry did well, he'd be there to stay. The stallion had a short but incredibly consistent career, which included a third in the Valorizzare Derby. He only had the one foal so far, but he was also half to the Dark Charmer filly Devil You Know, who had finished third this year in the Starshine Sprint. He might not be a hot prospect as a stallion, but he was steady. The dam was even more of an unknown, with poor performance in her first and only races, but she had an amazing physical that she'd passed on to her first foal. It was perhaps an unorthodox pairing, but Larsa's plans generally worked out for the best, so who knew? Minske and Cole would give him the same chance they gave the others, and perhaps he'd be another surprising star.

One thing was sure, Minske thought, watching the two sprinters light off on the backstretch - these two horses, with their exciting fresh lines, had a bright future ahead of them.