Three for the Carnations

“It’s coming down to the wire….. Helios is blowing full steam ahead ...and Delta D’Oro has won the preakness by half a length. What a close race!” The announcer called as the colts started to slow down, not realizing on one of their opponents had tumbled just after the finish line. 

Matthew was all smiles as he patted the bay colt with flaring nostrils. One of the out riders cantered over to catch the two and started the walk back towards the winner’s circle while the officials checked over the tape to just make sure. That’s when both boys caught site of the Pimlico vet team and ambulance blaring down the stretch towards the downed colt. The celebration was short lived. All rivalries aside, no one wanted to see a top quality horse down on the track. 

After pictures and the susans being draped over the pair, they were walking back to the barn with a tired Delta. That lead was one hard battle for him to keep his lead, especially since the colt didn’t like to be behind horses. 

“Well, we have given ourselves a chance….” Matthew called out as the group nodded and agreed. Mostly shock of today’s events, both good and bad, still on everyone’s mind. Mary, one of the new admins for the changing stable came over and gave Delta a kiss on the nose which he snorted to. 

“Good job, buddy. You ran excellent today in case anyone hasn’t told you.” She pushed his sweaty forelock aside and ran her hand along his blaze. Turning to face everyone who sat with their hands in their lap.

“Matthew, go ahead and clean him up and get him ready to ship out tomorrow. I want to get to Belmont as soon as we can. I want to run him on that track and get him used to the distance.” John explained handing over the lead shank and pulling on his tie to loosen it. 

“Will do.” Matthew nodded and clipped the colt and walked him towards the bath stalls. 

                                                                                                                                        ~Belmont Day~

“Rise and shine, buddy!” Matthew called in a cheery voice as he walked towards Delta’s stall. The colt quickly shuffling around as he rose up and greeted his groom with a whinny. Mostly because his stomach was empty and he wanted breakfast. Matthew opened up the stall door and dropped his load of oats into his bucket. Grabbing his bucket of water next and taking it over to the nearby hose to rinse out and fill with cold water. He brought it back over and set it in its proper place. Letting the colt fill himself up for the last time before the race as Matthew got out his grooming supplies. The farrier had already came by earlier in the week to check on Delta’s feet and they came out well from the track. 

“Looks like we are gonna have a bright and sunny day! Exactly the weather we wanted.” Mary called out as she brought a carrot and a muffin for the boys. 

Mary had recently joined and was becoming a commoner around any horses at the shows. Mary was like an aunt for most of the riders, always having food and an extra jacket or blanket around. While she was the new show jumping representative and admin, she wanted to be involved in any equines representing the stud farm. Matthew enjoyed her company and never took for granted her never ending purse of snacks and pens. She was only 29, but she acted a lot older. Father had attempted to get her to ride one of the horses but she insisted that she had seen her days of riding and wanted others to do it. Adelaide was her padawan in training and she soaked up everything she could. 

“Yeah, Delta loves the sunshine. I’m sure he’ll enjoy the weather as long as it doesn’t get too humid. That’s always hard on their lungs.” Matthew commented as he scarfed down the muffin and Delta stopped his breakfast to eat the carrot from Mary. Matthew smiled as he tossed his trash and walked back into the stall to start his grooming. Mary stood outside keeping Delta distracted and soon the colt was ready for race day. 

“Do you want to walk him this morning? Just go around the hot walker ten times and he should be awake enough for the day.” Matthew offered and handed the lead shank to Mary who seemed to come alive with excitement. She took the colt and began his morning walk routine as Matthew cleaned out his stall and the rest of the family started to arrive. Steve and John were wearing blue polo shirts, khaki pants, and a Delta ball cap on. Mom and grandma chose simple navy dresses to represent the team. Even though the stable would be going through an identify shift soon, they wanted to ride out the Triple Crown races in the same silks. 

The stable was going to be shifting to Northridge Stud to be more worldly rather than just America. Especially since soon Matthew and his brother Sebastian and their close friend Peyton would be taking over as the co owners. Each representing different portions of the stable. Matthew would be the racing representative, Sebastian the western representative, Peyton the english representative. Of course Mary would be shifting towards the public relations personnel and help Peyton settled into his position. She knew show jumping better than anyone and would be there to lend help with sales of horses as well. 

“Before we go out there and history is either made or written… let’s just keep positive thoughts towards him coming home safely. After the preakness events, we need to remember that he is a horse and he can have a bad day. Let’s not hold it against him.” John calmly stated to the group and the group seemed to nod in unison. 

“But… a Triple Crown win would be pretty cool too…” Matthew added with a smirk and Delta neighed in agreement, finally a laugh came from the group.

Word Count: 1015