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Race Info
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Show: The J.C. Monthly Show : July
Horse: WBS Cedar and Gold
Jockey: Seattle Hengsteler
Trainer: Ruqio Hemenez
Race: Wyoming Downs Derby
3YO | 6 furlongs on dirt | $45,000 USD

Story
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[Word count: 573]
"Are you alive in there?" Seattle joked as he looked over the stall door into Cedar's box. Cedar was laying down on his side in a cushy pile of straw. Cedar lifted his head to look at Seattle for a moment, nickered softly and then laid his head back down.
"Yeah, I know it's early. Unfortunately, you have places to be today," Seattle said as he pulled a halter off the hook near the door before entering the stall. Cedar lifted his head again as he approached. As Seattle fixed the halter in place, Cedar let out a long, low sigh as if to complain about having to get up.
"Listen, I've been up longer than you, so don't give me none of that," Seattle laughed. "Let's go buddy." Seattle said with a wiggle of the lead line.
Cedar sighed again, but slowly got up. He then shook the straw off and licked his lips a bit.
"Good boy," Seattle said giving him a rub on the forehead. "Sorry that I can't give you some coffee or something," He said as he walked Cedar out the door. They made their way down the stall row and headed towards the grooming box to get ready for their workout.

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This was the first time in a long time that Seattle was to race a horse that wasn't their stallion Footloose. Every time Seattle was with Cedar, he kept feeling like he had to look over his shoulder to make sure there wasn't a tricky muzzle trying to get a hold of his shirt. Thankfully Cedar was much more laid back than Footloose, but that also posed the problem of getting him motivated. Even now as they stood in the tacking area with all the people and other horses, Cedar was as cool as a cucumber, practically dozing off in warm sunshine.

"Is he even awake?" Ruqio asked as he finished tightening Cedar's girth.
"I don't think he ever actually woke up this morning," Seattle laughed.
"Hopefully that starting bell will be a good wake-up call," Ruqio said as he began leading Cedar out of the prep stall. Ruqio handed Cedar off to a track handler before giving Seattle a leg up into the saddle.
"See you back here in a few," Ruqio said giving Seattle a pat on the boot before heading to the stands.

It wasn't long before the duo had arrived at the starting gate. Cedar loaded in easily, not seeming to mind all the commotion, and began looking around casually as the other horses were loaded.
"Focus buddy," Seattle joked as he softly pulled Cedar's head back around to face forward. There was a moment of calm before the bell sounded and the gates flew open. Cedar launched forward, though still not nearly as fast as the other horses. Seattle had expected this to happen, so he urged a bit to get Cedar to trail closer to the rest of the field.

Out of the corner of his eye, Seattle noticed that a couple flocks of birds that had landed on the lake in the in-field had been spooked by the sounds from the starting gate and had taken off along with the horses. This created, strangely, a sense of ease as they paced along. Seattle wasn't sure if Cedar would have it in him at the end to make up the distance, but there was only one way to find out.

Artist Comments
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Here's Cedar out for his first race! I struggled with the posing on this one quite a bit, but I like how it turned out!