Drink To That

Winning Touch and Ivana Babicova's workout for the Quickum Stakes

<sup>After we sprinted to success in the Utanali Stakes, Winnie had now been entered in the Quickum Stakes, over seven furlongs on the dirt. It would be our second start, then we’d have a break. We were currently Grade Five – with two wins and perfect consistency, and it was now time to go and kick even more butt. Currently, we were the only ones entered in the race, but we’d beaten Midnight Thriller and Fiery Touch the week before. My next hope was to keep her racing at The Wire track, as she deserved to. She’d romp the tracks over here. Midtee and Fie were her main filly rivalries right now, along with Georgie’s Girl and Dazzling Dame over the turf. I hoped that this year we could begin to move in the Grade’s and get to Grade Two by the end of the year at least. The filly had never been placed out of the top three – yet – and I hoped this year we could maintain that. I loved Winnie so much, she was my little babe. First thing I’d do in every morning would be to run up to her, give her a treat and give her plenty of kisses. She was my sweet heart and no one was going to take my pride and joy away from me. Standing at sixteen one hands high, she was average height for a racehorse. Not too big, not too small – but just right. She was in between. In her races, she will precede. Winnie will break from the gate quickly, but drop back to just behind the leaders, settling in around third or fourth, depending on the amount of horses in the race. If she is the only horse that likes to race at the front, she will happily take the lead but only by a length or two and she won’t set a furious pace. She can travel with just about all paces. She can race quickly, or slowly, depending on the ground. If it’s sloppy, she prefers to go slightly slower than if it’s dry and fast. We’d finally been recognized for beating some big names in the racing industry. Midnight Thriller – half sister to Eternal Phantom – by Night Stalker and out of El Sol Del Mar, the filly that nearly stole the Triple Crown – but lost out to GM Execute in the Kentucky Derby.

Fiery Touch – well, she’s a lovely filly, ever so friendly, and such a goof too in my opinion. I adore her. They are still grade fives. Fie is actually a half sister to Winnie – they are practically twins in most cases. They have the same dad, Touch Up. Touch Up was a tall horse, owned by Battle Brook Stables. Though he never got to race on the track, he turned out to be quite a good sire. He sired The Devils Touch, widely regarded as a vicious threat on the track - or at least, she was, and also, these two beauties. Fiery Touch is more of a calm, caring type of horse. She will not stick up her nose at actions she doesn't like, and just goes with the flow, whereas Winnie is no different from any of the other foals except she is a bit more cautious. Her nature is completely unlike her dam's. While Strike the Win possesses a calm and collected disposition, Winning Touch is a bit of a minx, meaning playful and a little bothersome. She isn't mean like her sire, just very curious about the world around her. This particular morning, Winnie was on her toes. She was pawing at the floor and tossing her mane everywhere – unlike her usual self, but this meant she had a bit… of… well… energy. I think them oats in her feed last night definitely helped. She’s ready to go. I saw Alice walk down the barn just as I lead Winnie out the stall. She tilted her head. Blooming heck, what is wrong with her today? She said. I shrugged. I think them oats in her feed may have given her ‘rocket up the arse syndrome’. Alice laughed at me and gave me a leg up. The filly was definitely more active than usual.

Walking Winnie out on to the dirt, the filly pricked her ears. She looked around with enthusiasm and walked forward with the energetic bounce in her step. I walked her in big loops to calm her down slightly – whilst attempting to lengthen my stirrups a hole. My red hair fell in my face lightly and I blew it away, trying not to look stupid with no hands free. I’d finished and I trotted Winnie round towards the seven furlong pole for the start of out workouts. She moved swiftly across the dirt surface, excelling effortlessly with a positive vibe. The rain continued to fall, hitting the ground, but only making the turf damp underfoot, and not slippy. Rising and falling in the saddle, I sat back down and brought Winnie back to a walk. We neared the gate and Winnie pricked her ears. She used to have an unruly fear of the gate, but now she’s got over it, she was a lot easier to handle. The handler lead Winnie into the gate and she began to paw at the turf again. She snorted and the gate opened. She stumbled out but quickly regained her step, proceeding down the dirt at a fast pace. Continuing down the backstretch, I began to push her along a bit. Her stride was long and covered a lot of ground – which would be handy in races. Into the turn and she changed her lead effortlessly, pricking her ears and sticking to the rail. I showed her my crop when we reached the three furlong pole and I began to make myself as small as I could as I pushed her along. The filly sprinted around the turn in this seven furlong workout, pricking her ears and focusing merely on what was ahead of her. The rain blew in our faces, and my crop rose and fell easily onto her rump. The filly extended her stride and reached out as far as she could go. She changed her leads in the stretch and excelling over the surface, she flew effortlessly under the wire. Good girl Winnie, I said, relaxing and stroking her dark bay wet neck – dripping from the rain blowing in our faces. We walked back to Alice who stood at the side of the track. 1 minute 25 flat. My jaw practically dropped. I was amazed at how a filly that fast could run. I patted her and dismounted before I gave her some treats.

Words; 1,129
Characters; 5,852
Distance; Seven furlongs
Surface; Dirt
Listening to; Rihanna - Cheers (Drink To That)</sup>