Post by S u N f r O s T ~ on Jul 6, 2012 16:57:41 GMT -5
SUGAR JAYDE AND HENNA TURATH
JAYDE'S WORKOUT FOR THE OUT OF THE GATE STAKES
These were the unexplored territories of The Wire racetrack, and Henna had been tasked as the one to discover them. Picking a mount to take along on this journey had been a bit difficult, but she had finally settled on Sugar Jayde. The filly was a star, with six wins in eleven starts, and she deserved a chance to relax. She was also a filly curious about the world, and Henna loved that in her mounts. She wanted Jayde to experience the world with her.
The sugar sweet three year old looked gorgeous. Henna did a final rub down of the filly before leading her out to the trail head. She looked around her, admiring the plains with a couple trees dotted here and there, before mounting up and getting ready to go. Jayde had been behaving obediently, but there was an air of excitement about her as her rider vaulted into the saddle. Finally! Let's go! she seemed to say, and her eyes were bright with excitement. Henna's smile was huge as she clucked to the filly and they began to trot along the trail. It was well packed and Henna wasn't worried about stones getting in her filly's hooves.
Jayde had been entered in the Out of the Gate Stakes. It was against Firebird so far and Henna was looking forward to the competition. Jayde had really shone in her juvenile season. She was undisputed as the top turf sprinter of her age group right now, with wins in the Azalea Cup Fillies and the Breeders Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint among others. The Queen Of Hearts daughter was unique. She loved to sprint and carried her dam's heart shaped marking on her forehead, the first foal to do so. As her name suggested, Jayde loved sugar. Her favorite treat was a sugar cube, and Henna had some in her pocket as a post workout treat for the adorable filly.
The bay had really filled out in the new season. More muscle had spread around and she was a bit taller. Her eyes were more confident and her stride held more assurance. She treated the turf as though she owned it, and she moved with the quickness of a sprinter. Henna decided she would enjoy the ride for a bit before getting to work. She wanted Jayde's legs stretched out so she was ready to go. She had only one win until she was a grade three and Henna wanted that win now. Instant Success had just achieved it and Paradise Island had been the only one to achieve it last year. It was their time to get going!
Five minutes of cantering later, Jayde was getting very eager to go and the trail was widening. It was soon replaced with tiny shoots of grass, and then they came to a fork. Henna picked the one overgrown with grass and cantered Jayde down it. There was a gentle incline after the first bend and she leaned forward slightly to help the filly up it. Jayde's muscles worked harder as she carried herself up the hill, and at the top Henna was pleased to find that there was no sudden decrease of pace as there would have been in a less conditioned horse. It meant that her training methods were working!
All of the sudden, the trail ended in a field. Henna grinned. This was the perfect place to do what she wanted. She trotted Jayde around the field a couple of times, getting a feel for the footing. Then she asked Jayde to gallop. The filly responded immediately with some quick acceleration. She loved to sprint, and she was showing it with a quick turnover. Her legs brushed the grass below as she began to gallop with her quick stride. It was glorious to feel the wind in her face in such a peaceful atmosphere! Henna knew that she definitely wanted to come back sometime.
The field was just sharp enough that they had to check their pace slightly at corners. However, it was nice and flat, and the setting was very relaxing. After about a minute or so of galloping, which would be about six furlongs on the track, Henna slowed Jayde down. The filly wasn't panting at all, and instead seemed refreshed. They cantered back to the trail. This time, a downhill greeted them, and Henna leaned back as Jayde picked up the pace slightly going down. They arrived back at the beginning of the trail quickly, and Henna realized just how much she had loved the ride. She fed Jayde two sugar cubes, and the filly lapped them up happily and looked around for more. She pressed her nose against Henna's outstretched hand and sniffed gently.
Henna grinned. There were so many reasons she loved this filly, and this was one of them. They were ready to go!
