Rise To The Challenge

After finally recovering from her hoof injury, Winnie was back - fighting and tougher than ever. She was against two worthy opponents in the Kentucky Oaks, one of which she had never faced, the other she was arch rivals with. Winning Touch had taken the Oaks Stakes over on the Green Horse Fields track, and it was now time to face her again. It looked unlikely that we would win with both Paradise Island and After Dusk in the field, but it could be done...

After returning to the track for her first workout alongside Union Jaque, the first race for my up and coming champ would be a challenge. The prestigious preparation race for the Kentucky Oaks was a nine furlong dirt race over at the Wire. When a horse is in good form, you mustn't work it too hard. They don't need it unless they are beginning to fall rapidly down hill. This year, Winnie had 100% consistency, placing in the top two in all seven starts. The defeat in our first preparation race was a shock to us, but wouldn't affect us any time soon. The Grade Two filly had made it eleven wins last week, defeating Whipped Cream and Stalkers Fury. The winner of the race was practically obvious before the race as Whipped Cream was still a maiden, and Stalkers Fury had only just broken into Grade Five, with her win in the Stable Face-Off Maiden Dirt to win over nine other fillies to finally break her maiden.

The field for the Oaks was pretty solid at the moment. Paradise Island has been declared for the race, and there was a rumour that Eternal Phantom would also go for it, but after her entry in the Santa Anita Derby was declared, it was not to be. Phantie had just broken into Grade 3, and this season she had defeated Paradise Island to win the Unicorn Horn Fillies Dirt. The other surprise entrant was a filly who would sprint and run over nine furlongs, After Dusk. The filly seemed strong, powerful, and very willing to win this race. The filly had also just broken into grade three, winning the April Dirt Stakes. She hadn't participated in many major races this season, but then again, either had Winnie. The order of the race appeared to be pretty uncertain, but with Paradise Island the current heavy favourite, it seemed like the filly would win it.

Another entrant had just been declared for the race. A filly we'd beaten in the Alabama Stakes, this was Arachne. The Intrepid runner was a Grade 5, but whether the race rules had changed and that Grade 5's could race was a different story. Arachne was a strong runner, a filly that wouldn't give up too easily. The dual surfaced filly was a front runner, easier for us as we would shadow the pace, more than likely alongside Paradise Island. She had two wins, two seconds, two thirds, and a fourth to her name. She was ready and fit for this race, but with some tough competition was she ready?

Sat in the changing room, I sighed. Beth walked in and showed the front cover of the paper to me. It read 'Paradise Island Scratched'. After reading the cover, I gasped. I knew what Matthias had done. I smiled and enthusiastically stood up. Thanks Beth. We both grinend at eachother. The smile on my face stretched from one side to the other. I walked out of the changing room into the barn and Evie had already tacked Winnie up for me. I walked round the corner to be greeted by the loud neigh of my beautiful mount, ears perked and her big gleaming eyes starting at me.

I looked at Evie and smiled, before being bounced onto the wide mare. She had definitely widened and because of that, it meant that she was maturing. I grinned and walked her on to the dirt track, gazing over the sights and sounds. People thought that she was just the same old filly that they'd faced before, but what they didn't know was that she was back, bigger, better, stronger, and as powerful as ever. She was about to show the field what she had today. She was going to blow them away.

The three year old would soon be showing everyone she came and she would be pushing in every race she was entered into. After all, the filly had been getting progressively more competetive since I had first started riding her. This was great because this year was an important one. This was the year she would show off exactly how good she was. This was the year that we were going to shine. Gating was easy and when the gates opened we moved out quickly, moving down the straight at a middle pace and quickening as we reached the corner. By the time we reached the stretch and the crop fell upon Winnie's shoulder, she was ready and the speed she showed in the stretch was faster than she had ran before, of that much Eve was sure. She watched from the stands, her eyes gleaming as she watched us best friend and the young star speed past the post. We were going to kick some major butt, and I was sure of it.