little devil

[Ripley Marsh]

Little Devil
featuring: Miss Josephine, The Devil's Hourglass & Queen's Honesty

The little filly hardly looked capable of holding a candle to Miss Josephine or The Devil's Hourglass. Miss Josephine was on a two race win streak and had never looked better in her career. The Devil's Hourglass had won two Horse Of The Year level races with all of her old ferocity and determination. While those two would hog the spotlight, Laura DeComte would be biding her time with the little filly that could. She could only do better than two fourth place finishes. A winner of one race, Queen's Honesty could only get better. She was a relation of a Breeders' Cup champion and another grade one mare. Both horses had only gotten better as they'd gotten older. Queen wasn't a wannabe. She had that something extra beneath the surface. Her gallops had been strong of late. She only got stronger as the distances got longer. Laura was reminded of Refute, a son of Witch Creek's DW Flamekissed. Granted, Queen wasn't yet in the same time zone as Refute in terms of quality just yet, but they ran quite similarly.

Laura patted Queen's face, accepted the pinned ears and the angry eyes as Queen's normal response to affection. So she wasn't a sweetheart, sue her. Laura snickered inwardly. There wasn't a horse at Witch Creek that truly was a sweet heart. She fit right in. The filly flicked her tail, whacking Laura's bare arm. Laura winced, tossed a glare over her shoulder and found it reciprocated. "Yeah, whatever filly. Don't take it out on. I'm your best hope to get back in that winner's circle."

Maggie smiled at Laura's remark, but didn't say anything. She would have if Laura hadn't made it known how frustrated she was with the current year. Nirvana, Optimus and Queen were all struggling to get wins. Ripley had sold Lady Timeah to Intrepid Racing and had replaced her with a colt that hadn't even finished second, let alone first. Laura was on the march to war to get a victory. If it was going to come sooner or later, Maggie hoped it came sooner for the benefit of everybody else at the barn.

Miss Josephine's eyes followed Maggie as she moved to tighten the girth. Maggie could feel the tension fill the bay mare up like a balloon. Laura wasn't the only nasty thing around here these days. Winning did not make Miss Josephine any kinder. In fact, it was Maggie's personal opinion that winning fueled her bad attitude. She was a princess in the black heart of hers and the princess liked to have her way. Her way did not include taking a cinch silently. Maggie tapped the mare's belly, forcing her to breathe. Josey lunged forward, would have snapped the cross ties if they hadn't been newly replaced by Brooks. That was the second time today a Night Stalker descendant almost broke equipment.

Maggie shook her head, jerked the mare back a couple steps. Rolling eyes did not effect Maggie when it came to this mare. Miss Josephine, in addition to being a princess, was also a drama queen for the century. "Knock it off."

Seething with mad, Josey cocked a hoof and glared into the stall to her right. Luckily the occupant was out and could not be turned to stone by Medusa's equine impersonator. Maggie completed her routine, ignoring the hate filled looks Josey threw her way. So she wanted to be a b-i-t-c-h, oh well. "You got that? I don't care if you woke up on the wrong side of the bed. You're doing your job and doing it the right way."

Justin let out a laugh as he exited the end stall with The Devil's Hourglass in tow. Hourglass stopped, heeding the obvious warnings by Miss Josephine. "Is my mare the only one that's safe to be near?"

"Until you get on her back," Brooks said as he exited the tack room. "But basically."

Laura and Maggie quickly completed their alterations to their personal equipment and mounted their horses. Brooks led the way out of the barn, quick to grab onto Miss Josephine before she bolted for the track. It wouldn't be the first time today. He shook her back, much to Maggie's chagrin. "Get off my back mare."

"Someone's on the shit list," Laura snickered as she nudged Queen's Honesty down the path. The shorty shrugged off the negative atmosphere, displaying one of her positive attributes. Queen dipped her head, giving in to the light rein pressure exerted by Laura. Unlike Hourglass, Queen became a whole lot less of her hellion self under saddle.

Justin moved Hourglass into a long trot, appreciating her abundance of energy. She seemed to get along with him just fine, tolerated his hands on her mouth. He loved the bay mare, counted her among the top horses he'd ridden. She was a smart horse and she did her job and beyond. Justin glanced over his shoulder, acknowledged the fact that Brooks had finally turned Miss Josephine loose. The towering mare skipped into a fast paced trot, quick to leave behind her new sworn enemy.

When the mare caught up, Brooks' voice sounded over their headsets. "Mile gallop, four furlongs. Keep 'em going on the gallop hill like we've been doing. See y'all when you get back to the barn. Laura, you're up with me in the next set."

Laura flipped a thumbs up sign above her head before she set Queen's Honesty down into her quick footed gallop. She was not as naturally long striding as Josey or Hourglass, but she definitely was fleet footed. She powered away from her older workmates, cruising up the first hill with energy. Laura was tucked neatly at the filly's withers, careful to balance herself when the filly swerved at the top of the hill. Laura heard Hourglass breathing just off her hip and new that was what had caused Queen's reaction. Sometimes, Queen needed to be reminded she wasn't a solo artist.

Justin kept the big horse, nicknamed so not because of her height, but because of her heart, just off Queen's Honesty's haunches. Her eyes blazed and she mouthed the bit for permission to do more. She was a running fool this Hourglass. She could crank out brutal fractions in her workouts and come back three days later and crank out some more in her races. She was a marvelous horse and Justin thought very, very highly of her.

Josey kept Maggie in the back seat of the action. The Passionate Class mare towered over her rivals and she seemed to take one stride for their every two. Her ears were pricked for the first time all day and she appeared to be moving very easily. Maggie believed it was like riding a Cadillac. The mare seemed to lope along as easy as can be. Her confidence had grown since she started racing again. It was showing as much in her bad mood as in her blazing workouts.

The trio cruised over the hills, all of the horses well within themselves. Queen maintained a solid lead, her ears just playing over her head. Laura was very pleased. If the filly could hold her own against The Devil's Hourglass, she had definitely turned a corner in her training. The white faced filly kicked on when Laura asked her to open up across the valley. Her strides were short but swift. She seemed to dare Hourglass to keep up.

Justin could feel the challenge when it smacked Hourglass in the face. The tough as nails mare picked it up immediately when Queen skipped away with a swish of her tail. Fired up, Hourglass launched after the young gun, ears pinning to her head. The challenge had been acknowledged. With three impressive strides, Hourglass had closed the gap and was at Queen's neck up by the time they hit the top of the final hill.

Maggie bided her time four lengths back with Miss Josephine. The large mare was watching the spectacle before her with general disdain. She obviously believed she could reel the front running horses in without much trouble. Maggie knew Queen may not be so challenging as she was still learning her skills. Hourglass though... Hourglass was a completely different animal. You could absolutely know for a fact that you had put the mare away, but by the time the wire hit suddenly you were mired in a battle of wills and looked to be on the losing end. Hourglass had more heart than any horse Maggie had ridden. Para had been extremely talented, but her physical strength often was her foes' undoing.

Queen's Honesty and The Devil's Hourglass charged over the flat, legs blurring beneath them. Ripley and Mal watched the horses soar across the turf. Both of them were quite impressed with the pace of the work and the fact that Hourglass hadn't quite managed to put Queen away. Justin wasn't really asking her and that impressed Ripley. Hourglass had gained another skill under Justin's tutelage. Where the Sand Storm mare used to blaze her competition into the ground during her workouts, now she waited for his cue to move. It made her more potent going forward.

Mal nudged Ripley, nodded to Maggie aboard Josey. The woman had flung the reins against the mare's neck. Like she had just broken out of the gate, the Night Stalker mare suddenly erupted. She became a freight train bearing down on the horses before her. It was so shocking to watch those long legs unfurl, to watch her swallow the ground so easily and know that the whole run was quicker than it looked. Within a matter of moments, Josey was running eye for eye with Queen's Honesty and The Devil's Hourglass.

"There," Ripley clucked. In a movement nearly imperceptible, Justin had given Hourglass her cue to put away Queen. Hourglass buried the younger filly, giving chase to the bigger threat. Miss Josephine and Hourglass would have slammed together in their fury if not for their riders' quick handling. Instead, the pair left behind their younger counterpart, gaining speed with every ground swallowing stride.

Laura shook her head, expecting the filly to be left behind in the final furlong. Queen battled on gamely, not shortening her stride until they were in the gallop out. Queen's ears pricked up as she cruised after her foes, legs sweeping over the turf comfortably. Laura patted the filly's neck, eyed the older mares herself. She hadn't been able to hold a candle to them today, but she'd improved tremendously. It was only a matter of time before the rightful Queen was crowned.