Post by Socks on Aug 11, 2011 13:58:27 GMT -5
The Cat Came Back and Lucas Stone
"Jeez, James, where'd you find this one? The slaughterhouse?" The teenager struggled along dragging a little bay colt, who had his head thrown up as high as it would go against the bridle. Holden had given up snapping at the groom and was now doing his best impression of a mule, attempting to sit down in the middle of the bridle path. Calvin was doing his best to get him moving, but the horse seemed dead set against anything of the sort. "Why'd you buy a lug like this anyway? Honestly, I'll bet he runs like a cow..."
"One of my connections said I might like him," the trainer was walking ahead, but looked back now to see the young man struggling. A lopsided grin crossed his face as he watched Calvin. "Stop looking back at him like that and just ignore it. He will come. He's not raced any, but I was told he's been run."
"Yeah, run... I bet..." the youth grumbled, blatantly ignoring James's directions. Holden kept protesting with an adolescent air that would have shamed his namesake, but eventually they made the long walk from the paddock to the practice track. It had taken them a good part of the morning to actually get Holden into the trailer, and now it a 8:30. The track closed to morning workouts at 10, so they were in a bit of a time crunch. For some reason James didn't seem too worried about this.
"Mr. Atkinson?" a small boy, younger than Calvin, trotted up to them. He was decked out in breeches and had a crop stuck in his belt loops. When he jogged, it slapped him on the calf, a bright sound. The whole procession came to a halt, Holden straightening up like he hadn't been doing anything but standing there dozing the entire time.
"That's me!" James grinned, "you're Luke, right? The exercise boy? --Ah, great. Here's the horse if you want to mount up. His name's The Cat Came Back, but he goes by Holden." Luke nodded exuberantly, looking past him at Holden. His face fall flat upon seeing the short, stocky, thick-legged colt, looking like he hadn't gone faster than a slow walk in his entire life.
"...Oh." He said, a little quietly, but went and mounted obediently while Calvin held Holden's head. The colt attempted to dance out of the way, head snapping up and swinging his hindquarters away, but Luke managed to get aboard, grasping the mane and ending up with his face buried in the horse's neck. Holden made a half-hearted attempt to throw the kid off before going back to his hoof-dragging, this time with both Luke and Calvin urging him on.
Calvin left the horse and rider on the track, standing by the rail. James rose high above it, he would have had to lean down to place his elbows on the top rail. "Alright, Luke, we don't know what this guy can do, but he's got plenty of muscle on him. Why don't you take him a little slow at first and then see if you can't get him to open up? Show us what he's got." Luke nodded the affirmative, but looked a little doubtful that the horse would prove to be anything at all. He kicked the horse into a start.
"Alright, come on, horse, I have to exercise you," the youth said, almost growling, under his breath. He'd managed to get Holden into a very slow... he didn't know how to describe it. A lope? "Giddy-ap! Mush! DAKOTA!" he cried, a little bit desperately, digging his heels into the horse's sides. He just wanted to get him up to a respectable canter, at least.... The horse had it in him, but he wasn't going to show it. Luke felt glad that the turf course was mostly empty -- there weren't any other bug boys to laugh at him and the donkey that he seemed to be riding.
"Whack him on the butt with that crop of yours, boy!" James called from the rail. Luke complied, and the slap of crop-on-horseflesh rang as two sharp reports. To Luke's surprise, the horse seemed to pick up a little, lengthening his stride and moving out, digging in more. They kept up a respectable pace for a couple of furlongs, at which point James's voice rang out again. It was a good thing he was loud, even though this particular track was fairly small.
"Alright, Holden, it's time to show us what you've got," Lucas said, reaching back again and slapping him with the crop. Holden didn't budge. In fact, he slowed down with a snort. "Awh! Come ON! Go, go, go! Get your butt in gear you lazy good-for-nothing son uva gun." A few more sharp lashes and a whole lot of kicking later, they finally managed to get into a decent gallop. James timed them from the sidelines, only doubting himself internally. Calvin, looking over his shoulder, laughed.
"Well, if he keeps up like this he might just win awards... for being the slowest thoroughbred ever to set foot on turf!" the groom quipped. Boy was mom gonna be mad when she found out what sort of times this bucket of bolts was posting! The little horse didn't run like a cow - he ran like some kind of strange bird, legs tangling and untangling, it was a miracle he managed to stay aloft. Calvin was laughing so hard at the sight that he didn't see what happened next.
The other horse on the track, a gangly grey stretched out low and ready to go, had caught up with Holden from behind. As the grey moved to outstrip him, Holden seemed to finally become aware of his surroundings. The eyes locked as the grey's head drew level with Holden's, and as Luke smacked the crop across the horse's hindquarters again, he found it was hardly necessary as their speed redoubled. They went a few strides head to head, Holden and the grey waging a silent war, until suddenly the little bay colt managed to find speed that no one expected him to have, legs pounding, mane flying, galloping down the stretch and far and away from the grey and the baffled rider. Calvin looked up, bemused, as James started whooping.
"YES! ALLEZ! Whoo, boy! We might have a winner here after all!" he called, as Luke sat back, grinning over at him and patting Holden's neck emphatically. The grey had slowed too, outstripping them easily as Holden edged down, breath rattling through his nostrils, a thin sheen of sweat on his neck. He'd had a good run. Maybe for the first time in his life. James grinned, thinking that he may have made a decent investment at last.