Happy And Glorious

The perfectly conformed three-year-old filly was slowly coming back into work. She had been given a break after winning her maiden race back in January – now the filly was up against the filly she beat in her maiden race, Bella Luna – but would Jackie beat her this time out? Lulu wasn’t as well rested as Jackie, but her record lately has kick-started her career. We had placed in the top three every time out, making our consistency perfect. Jackie is known to be a bit of handful. Bright and energetic, she loves to be outdoors, and to feel free. She is always on the move, and does not cope well with being penned up for long periods of time. Jackie is one of those horses that will barge through the door as soon as it's open and then play a game of catch me if you can with her handlers.
Jackie isn't happy unless she is the best at every game she plays, and to her racing is a game. She enjoys running, she enjoys being put against the other horses, and she is highly competitive due to her desire to win. She will put her all into every race but is currently a little immature and hasn't really recognised the serious side of racing. The fact is that Jackie has a good head on her shoulders. She is creative, and she learns fast. Her desire to always improve has led to her being able to analyse situations and she realises that every player has their part and this includes in races.

Before a race, Jackie tends to be quite excitable, but this was just the filly’s quirks.. She will practically prance beside her handlers and her ears flick to every sound. She isn't afraid of the atmosphere at the track, in fact she loves it. During the pre-race parades she will be full of life and although she might have moments where she pulls away from the handlers she seems to know that there is a race coming. If there is one thing about racing Jackie doesn't like, it's the starting gate. It freaks her out, the idea of being in such a small space where she can't move does not sit well with her and she will make a real song and dance about being put into the box. Even once she is in, and the shutters are closed, she doesn't settle and her starts tend to be quite slow because of this.
The fact she starts at the back of the group, however, does not phase the filly. In fact, she would rather be at the back of the group. Having dirt being kicked into her face doesn't phase her and she is able to reserve her energy. She listens well to her jockey, and can be quite responsive. All in all, she just enjoys the game for the most part. It isn't really until later on in the race that her competitive nature shows through. She will start to rally when her jockey instructs her to, usually around four to five furlongs from the end of the race, in order to close the gap between her and the front runners. Although she does not gain great deals of speed she is usually up with the bulk of the pack when they start their moves in the stretch. Here, the stamina that she saved up earlier in the race comes into play as she makes a great burst of speed. This powerful filly will usually make her move from the outside of the group and move quickly down the stretch. Her highly competitive nature as well as her love of the game she finds in racing, power her on and she will fight in every last stride until she passes the post.


Taking hold of the leather reins, Ivana stroked the filly's neck and gently nudged the rein slightly to get her to move. It took the filly a split second to react and even then she was hyperactive and showing off. Quick, temperamental, almost as she followed the jockey. But again it was the filly's quirks. She wasn't purposefully being difficult, she just over responsive but didn't understand much about the world. Until they got onto the track she would continue to be just as mental and freaked out. Why? Ivana never was sure, but she just had to hope the filly would continue to mature, and get out of the freaky reality she was living in currently. As they reached the track the filly seemed to become even more alert, her head lifting and eyes gleaming. She pawed at the ground, nuzzled at Ivana impatiently. She wanted to go. She wanted to go now. But she was a relatively polite filly, and waited while the jockey mounted and adjusted herself. For anyone who didn't know Jackie it might have been odd to see her become suddenly even more hyped up. For those who had never spent time with the filly, they would think Ivana had done something. But she had not, it was merely the gate that pulled the attention of this filly and really showed her dark side. She pushed the filly on towards the gate, but did not allow them to load her into the gate. Pinning her ears, she backed up and kicked out. "I think it is best we get the blindfold." Ivana spoke slowly, and stroked the muscular bay filly's neck. "Come on girl, let's kick some butt now..." She walked her round in a circle and squeezed her on after the blindfold was applied. Jackie loaded and Ivana took the blindfold off. It wasn't until the gates opened and Ivana pushed her forward that the filly reared and leapt forward out of the gate, her pace high typical not too typical of a front runner and as she moved up the straight her pace did not drop. Instead, it seemed the filly would put every ounce of her strength into the short workout, even as a closer and they were only doing five furlongs after all - and she was obviously full of energy. Her ears twitched, her tail flew out behind them and her hooves made a quick four-beat as they tore down the soft turf. Ivana didn't even need to push the filly as they soared past the post, a smirk on her face. "Let's go win this race."