Chapter 1 Fast

A groom gave Marie a leg onto the first horse that needed breezed. Normally an exercise rider would be out working the horses but Marie liked to get a feel for the horses she rides. So everyday she comes out and helps with the horses work outs. Today was her first day at Mr. Morgans stables. She had ran a few of his horses in races before but only when his jockeys were unavailable or they were running several horses in the same race. Mr. Morgans wasn't a huge fan of female jockeys but he liked the Marie rode. His other jockeys quit when they found out that he would not have any horses running for the year it took to transition his breeding stock, even though he offered to pay to keep them on. The moment they did he placed an ad and received an inquiry from Marie's agent. He remembered her immediately and offered her the position. Her agent wrote up the contract and she was sent to stay at the stables. Which was far better than her little room she was renting from some old couple. The room was a little bigger than a walk in closet.
Mr. Morgans had given her privileges to one of the two apartments built in above the foaling barn. Sam Corbin would have the other. The apartment was a studio with only one wall to separate the bathroom. For Marie it was heaven, she had never lived in a place so beautiful. She had spent the first night there making sure that her place was perfect. It wouldn't end up like the houses she had grew up in.

The horse she was on was called Get Lost. Mr. Morgans had bought him from an auction. With his sullen attitude he hadn't fetched another bid and was sold quickly for a fraction of his actual worth. David Easton had said that he was the picture of good confirmation. He had seen him run and said that he wouldn't be unwilling but the it seemed that none of the trainers took the time to put drive in him. They handled many two year olds and were more than happy to put their attention on the ones that were a handful. So his training was virtually forgotten and he ran around the track like it was only his second time. It's the only horse, out of the hundreds that were sold that day, that Mr. Morgans bid on.

David walked up to the tall dark brown horse and gave him a pat. In return the horse gave a great big yawn which made him laugh.

“Any instructions?” Marie asked.

“Take him nice and easy to the five pole. They are going to put one of the other horses on his heels. When the other horse comes up I want you to pull him back and let him hear the other horse run. When he acts like he wants to run I want to you to let him go, but not before the six. Hold him with the other horse until then.” David said.

“When do you want me to stop him?”

“When he has won.” David said with another pat.

Marie gave him a confused look as the groom lead her onto the track. The horse sauntered after him as if he were giving a pony ride. When the groom let him go Marie clucked the horse into a slow canter. He smoothly rocked around the track, slowly passing the poles that marked the furlongs. She asked him for more speed when she got to the three pole. He lengthened into a quicker canter and then into a slow gallop. She heard the other horse coming when she got to the four pole. Get Lost's ears folded back as he registered the hoof beats. She felt him pick up his pace a little and she pulled him back. His long neck arched and he tried to toss his head. She moved him over so that the other horse could have the rail. The hoof beats came closer and closer until the other horse was running along side them. To Marie's surprise the other horse was not a Thoroughbred but a paint horse. It was easily keeping up with them, even making it look effortless. They ran side by side for half a furlong, Get Lost trying to pull forward. When they reached the six furlong pole Marie dropped the reins slightly just as the other horse sped forward. Marie was a little shocked, normally the other horse was there to surge her horse forward. Get Lost saw the other horse fly forward and grabbed at the bit so hard Marie almost lost her balance. She gave him more rein and let him catch up. To her surprise it took awhile before they were back beside the other horse. The paint could run and he made it look easy. Once Get Lost was beside the other horse she let the reins drop more and she flicked the whip at him. Snorting and blowing back flecks of foam from his mouth Get Lost flew away from the other horse and passed him by four or five strides. Marie could still fill that he still had a lot left in him. She brought the whip down a couple times and Get Lost pulled forward across the eight pole. Looking under her shoulder she saw that the paint horse was a good eight strides behind them. She pulled the colt up until he came back to a slow trot and headed back to the groom. Once the lead was on him she swung off and walked over to David.

“Whose the Paint?” She asked, smiling.

“That, my dear, is not a Paint.” He said, smiling back. “She's a Thoroughbred. Her name is Missing Asset, or Missy. Her coloring is called sabino.”

Marie looked at the mare as she was being led off the field. She had a bald face and four tall white socks with white crossing her belly and running through her tail. “She sure is beautiful and she sure can run.”

David nodded. “She loves it and so does he, he just doesn't know it yet. How did he go?”

“Well he can run. I can feel it but he's holding back...a lot.” Marie replied.

“Yea.” He says, watching the groom hot-walk the colt.

Sensing the conversation is over Marie started to walk off. David reached a hand out to stop her. “See me in my office about two? We've got a few things to go over.”

Marie looks at him for a moment, trying to gauge his mood. “Sure thing.” She says, then walks off.

After a few more rides and a nice hot bath Marie walks to David's office. She stands there nervously as he finishes a phone call. A horse across the aisle reaches it's head out of it's stall. It nickers at her softly. It's Get Lost. His wide diamond on his forehead shines brightly from his recent grooming. She walks a few steps and gently rubs his nose. He searches her for treats, giving a gentle sigh when he realizes that she doesn't have any. Marie scratches the base of his ear. He lets his lower lip wiggle and droop.

“He's something else, huh?” David says, from behind her.

“Not like any Thoroughbred I've ever worked with. He comes off as lazy.” She says, gently.

“There have been a few Thoroughbreds that have made it in the race world that were lazy. I almost passed this one up because of it. But when they were leading them out of their stalls in front of people I noticed how much, even being lead, he wanted to be in front of the other horses. Not in a mean way, sort of in a persuasive way. He was walking quickly so that his handler had to speed up to stay with him but he had his head turned to the side so there was still slack in the rope.” David explained.

“I would have liked to have been there.” Marie says, wiping her hands on her pants.

David looks at the horse for a moment. “Come into my office?”

Marie nods and follows him. The office is the size of two box stalls. On one wall are pictures lined up of horses in the winner's circles. Some from races she had never heard of and a few from bigger races that she has never had the chance to ride in. None of the horses are ones she really remembers. She goes over their pictures one by one. David pulls out a file from his filing cabinet and sits down behind his brown desk. When she reaches the last picture he motions for her to sit.

“I'm going to give you the chance to ride every horse that will be racing soon. Then I'll determine which ones you will race and which Sam will race.” David starts.

“When will Sam be here?” Marie interrupts.

“He should be here tomorrow. He'll start riding them the day after, hopefully.” David opens the folder. “I really liked the way you rode Get Lost. Except for the extra push at the end, that is. We are trying to be as delicate as possible with the two year olds.”

“I'm sorry.” Marie blushes. “I was just doing what I had been taught.”

“No, no. It's okay. I understand. You didn't know.” David holds his hands up in a quick gesture. “All of our two year olds have been screened from the tip of their ears to their tails. We weeded out the ones the vet thought were a risk. Get Lost passed with flying colors. He'll be ready to race next month if he continues his training well. The thing we don't want is sending them when they aren't ready and them losing. I don't know how much Mr. Morgans told you about our program but only the true winners stay.”

“He didn't tell me that.”

David smiles, patiently. “Mr. Morgans likes his secrets. I'll explain. We will race the horses twice when they are two year olds. More or less for experience, although we do expect them to break their maiden in one of those races. If they don't it counts against them. Their three year old season will depend on them. But if they lose more than a third of their races the prospects of them staying in our program aren't very good. Unless, of course, it's jockey error. Then we start to look at you instead of the horse.” Marie looks at him in shy horror. “We don't expect you to be perfect. That is why you'll be undergoing some training yourself. Both you and Sam will have one month to prepare for your first race. I'll be going through everything with you. Until then you are to exercise and groom Getmo everyday. I want you guys to bond well. Our research shows that a horse runs better with a jockey he knows and trusts.”

“Do you want me to ride any of the other horses?”

“Oh yes. We are shipping all the two year olds to Kentucky for their first races and you guys are going with them. You'll be racing all the horses I choose for you. For right now you concentrate on Get Lost until I choose the others.”