battle in focus

SUNSET CRUSADE WORKS FOR THE FOCUS STAKES. GOLD FOX JOINS HIM.

The bay colt arched his neck impressively, breaking into canter on my cue. We had the track to ourselves this morning, being the last ones to work. Well, almost to ourselves. Gold Fox and Stella were joining us for a bit of a race. The fellow two year old colt was warming up not so far behind us. As we rounded the turn into the backstretch, Gold Fox drew level with us. The colts pace quickened slightly, causing both Stella and I to tighten our hold on the reins. We were doing a six furlong run today, in preparation for Cruze's run in the Focus Stakes. Gold Fox wasn't scheduled for a race at the moment, he was just there for a workout partner. That way, the best would certainly come out of both colts.

Cruze was also gearing up for a hopeful run in the Youth Challenge series, then onto the Breeder's Cup Juvenile, along with Euphorion. We weren't too sure what would happen with Gold Fox and True Fire, they weren't eligible for either races as of yet. The six furlong marker approached, and both of us prepared to send the colts flying into gallop. The cue came, and both colts broke into gallop, running quite fast for a furlong or so, then settling into a more appropriate pace. Sunset Crusade took the lead, and Gold Fox settled on his flank on the outside.

I crouched low over Cruze's withers, holding the colt back slightly because he was keen on sprinting the race. As we rounded the turn, the bay thoroughbred leaned to the inside beautifully, and his chestnut counterpart fell back slightly as he covered more ground on the outside. As the turn leveled into the stretch, Cruze made an explosive bid for the win, pulling away with each stride before Fox could even make his move. We flashed past the finish, 4 lengths ahead of Gold Fox and Stella.

After I slowed the colt down, which took a while because he was still eager to race, I turned back to face Stella. She looked disappointed. He's just a little out of shape at the moment. She said, justifying Gold Fox's less than amazing performance. I know, he hasn't been in work nearly as long as Cruze. He'll get there. I replied, giving her a reassuring smile.