Post by Deleted on Aug 10, 2012 12:06:20 GMT -5
The Triple Tiara. A prestigious race series for three year old fillies on the dirt, a fillies only equivalent to the Triple Crown. A prestigious title, which had only been claimed once before - by the Star Thoroughbred's champion, Born To Soar. After winning the Tiara, Born To Soar had gone on to achieve many great things. She had become a household name, everyone knew who she was. Even those who did not follow racing knew of the filly, and those who did longed to meet her. But now she had retired, and a new champion was called for. The dirt needed a new star, and it would likely go to whoever next won the tiara. If anyone ever did.
Silver Stride Stables had their eye on the title. They had tried the previous year, with the Shiver Me Timbers filly Afterglow, but had failed and now they had a new star. A star who shone even brighter. Paradise Island could not be accused of letting anyone down. She had come from nowhere, raised to great heights, and beaten some of the best bred horses on the track. She had followed in Afterglow's hoofprints to claim the Breeder's Cup Juvenile Fillies, and then taken second place in the Unicorn Horn Fillies Dirt. Now, she was ready to move on to bigger things.
A series like the Triple Tiara could only be tackled once. Their were no reruns, no second chances. Either you performed to expectations and claimed the title, or you fell at the wayside and failed. It was one way or another, there was no middle ground. Silver Stride Stables felt they had a filly who had what it took to take the high road to glory, and they had the time to give her all the time and attention that she would need to succeed. They knew their was competition, they knew their was an aspect of chance, but they could hope.
The bay filly had been receiving a lot of attention from the grooms and handlers in the yard. She was groomed, her tack freshly polished, and she generally had the appearance of a star. As she moved beside her handler she showed good conformation and a determination which marked her as a powerful opponent. She had everything she needed around her, and now all that was left was to prepare.
The preparation, and the road to the Tiara, would be a long process. They would have ups and downs, might even have doubts about their own chances, but they would not give in. Silver Stride Stables were not known for giving in - they were known for taking chances, for pushing their horses and giving them every shot that they deserved. Their name had been on the rise since they had hit the track, they had won the Stable Face Off the previous year, and what they needed now was a champion. A horse who could really pull them into stardom; and they believed that Paradise Island was that horse.
Paradise Island had an incredible race record. In her whole career, which consisted of twenty-two races, she had only placed outside of the top three twice and had a consistency of over ninety percent. She had style, and no one could deny that she was a force on the track. As a two year old, the filly had claimed the Best Two Year Old Filly award, and the Best Grade Three award to boot. She had won in some incredible races, taken on some very strong fields, and she had come out on top time and time again. Paradise Island did not back down from a challenge, and the challenge ahead of her was the biggest challenge she had faced to date.
As the filly reached the track, her jockey was not far behind her. Tanya Stratt was the younger sister of Alana Stratt, who had rode Afterglow in the series the season before. She had felt she had something to prove when she first arrived at the stable, but she had more than proved herself the previous season with two Breeder's Cup wins and pulling Sonja up to grade three at only two years old. Tanya Stratt was known by many on the track for her excitable, but friendly nature. She was the jockey most likely to congratulate the jockey who beat her and she was also the jockey who would celebrate victory with a true party.
But Tanya had not finished yet. She knew she was capable of great things, and she knew that Sonja was a powerful horse. Whenever she worked with Sonja, the bubbly girl everyone thought she was faded away to be replaced by a face of sheer determination. She became focussed, and set on her route. She was willing to fight for every race, and she would not forgive herself when she failed to perform well. No, she did not expect to win every race, but she did enjoy it when she did.
She quietly mounted the filly, shook her head at Lucas, the handler. She was not going to gate today. Today, they were just going to run. The filly tossed her head as the handler released his grip on the rein, pawed at the ground as she waited for instruction from the jockey. Tanya pushed the filly into a walk and moved further on to the track then turned her to face up the track. "I hope you're ready for this." she said to the bay horse beneath her and then pushed her forwards.
They moved swiftly from walk into a canter and then a gallop. Sonja responded well to the instructions from her jockey, and maintained an average pace, her focus clearly on the track before her. Her muscles contracted and relaxed in time with each powerful stride, and she was pushing onwards consistently. The dirt shifted beneath her hooves as they moved onwards and Tanya took the time to enjoy the run. This would be the last unstructured gallop for a long time, and she wanted to make the most of it. From now on, everything would be structured, most workouts would be timed and generally everything would be analytical. It would all be about getting the very best they could out of the filly, at least until after the tiara when things would relax once more.
Three furlongs in, and they were still running strong. Tanya pushed the filly forwards, deciding to see how quick they could get when they had as long as they wanted, knowing that it would shorten the time of this run. The filly practically flew forwards. The constraint of her jockey holding her back removed, she was able to allowed herself to just run, and she loved that feeling. It was like being free as she powered onwards, accelerating as she did. She was no closer, but with the space she had she had more than enough time to gather speed. She wasn't the tallest filly, but that counted on her side at times like this. Her legs were able to unfurl more easily, and she was making a real impact on the track.
Tanya bit her lip. She drove the filly, and she was driving hard. They were flying, or it felt like it, and the wind was hitting her face hard. She felt herself bursting into a smile and remembered now why she had come out here for one last free run. It felt amazing, and Sonja seemed to be really enjoying herself. The acceleration had stopped, but they were maintaining a good speed. Still, she knew she needed to start slowing things down and stopped driving for a few seconds before starting to pull the filly back down from the full on charge to a much slower gait. Finally, they were at walk once more. The filly was lathered with sweat, but she seemed happy, and Tanya was excited for the future ahead of them.
Silver Stride Stables had their eye on the title. They had tried the previous year, with the Shiver Me Timbers filly Afterglow, but had failed and now they had a new star. A star who shone even brighter. Paradise Island could not be accused of letting anyone down. She had come from nowhere, raised to great heights, and beaten some of the best bred horses on the track. She had followed in Afterglow's hoofprints to claim the Breeder's Cup Juvenile Fillies, and then taken second place in the Unicorn Horn Fillies Dirt. Now, she was ready to move on to bigger things.
A series like the Triple Tiara could only be tackled once. Their were no reruns, no second chances. Either you performed to expectations and claimed the title, or you fell at the wayside and failed. It was one way or another, there was no middle ground. Silver Stride Stables felt they had a filly who had what it took to take the high road to glory, and they had the time to give her all the time and attention that she would need to succeed. They knew their was competition, they knew their was an aspect of chance, but they could hope.
The bay filly had been receiving a lot of attention from the grooms and handlers in the yard. She was groomed, her tack freshly polished, and she generally had the appearance of a star. As she moved beside her handler she showed good conformation and a determination which marked her as a powerful opponent. She had everything she needed around her, and now all that was left was to prepare.
The preparation, and the road to the Tiara, would be a long process. They would have ups and downs, might even have doubts about their own chances, but they would not give in. Silver Stride Stables were not known for giving in - they were known for taking chances, for pushing their horses and giving them every shot that they deserved. Their name had been on the rise since they had hit the track, they had won the Stable Face Off the previous year, and what they needed now was a champion. A horse who could really pull them into stardom; and they believed that Paradise Island was that horse.
Paradise Island had an incredible race record. In her whole career, which consisted of twenty-two races, she had only placed outside of the top three twice and had a consistency of over ninety percent. She had style, and no one could deny that she was a force on the track. As a two year old, the filly had claimed the Best Two Year Old Filly award, and the Best Grade Three award to boot. She had won in some incredible races, taken on some very strong fields, and she had come out on top time and time again. Paradise Island did not back down from a challenge, and the challenge ahead of her was the biggest challenge she had faced to date.
As the filly reached the track, her jockey was not far behind her. Tanya Stratt was the younger sister of Alana Stratt, who had rode Afterglow in the series the season before. She had felt she had something to prove when she first arrived at the stable, but she had more than proved herself the previous season with two Breeder's Cup wins and pulling Sonja up to grade three at only two years old. Tanya Stratt was known by many on the track for her excitable, but friendly nature. She was the jockey most likely to congratulate the jockey who beat her and she was also the jockey who would celebrate victory with a true party.
But Tanya had not finished yet. She knew she was capable of great things, and she knew that Sonja was a powerful horse. Whenever she worked with Sonja, the bubbly girl everyone thought she was faded away to be replaced by a face of sheer determination. She became focussed, and set on her route. She was willing to fight for every race, and she would not forgive herself when she failed to perform well. No, she did not expect to win every race, but she did enjoy it when she did.
She quietly mounted the filly, shook her head at Lucas, the handler. She was not going to gate today. Today, they were just going to run. The filly tossed her head as the handler released his grip on the rein, pawed at the ground as she waited for instruction from the jockey. Tanya pushed the filly into a walk and moved further on to the track then turned her to face up the track. "I hope you're ready for this." she said to the bay horse beneath her and then pushed her forwards.
They moved swiftly from walk into a canter and then a gallop. Sonja responded well to the instructions from her jockey, and maintained an average pace, her focus clearly on the track before her. Her muscles contracted and relaxed in time with each powerful stride, and she was pushing onwards consistently. The dirt shifted beneath her hooves as they moved onwards and Tanya took the time to enjoy the run. This would be the last unstructured gallop for a long time, and she wanted to make the most of it. From now on, everything would be structured, most workouts would be timed and generally everything would be analytical. It would all be about getting the very best they could out of the filly, at least until after the tiara when things would relax once more.
Three furlongs in, and they were still running strong. Tanya pushed the filly forwards, deciding to see how quick they could get when they had as long as they wanted, knowing that it would shorten the time of this run. The filly practically flew forwards. The constraint of her jockey holding her back removed, she was able to allowed herself to just run, and she loved that feeling. It was like being free as she powered onwards, accelerating as she did. She was no closer, but with the space she had she had more than enough time to gather speed. She wasn't the tallest filly, but that counted on her side at times like this. Her legs were able to unfurl more easily, and she was making a real impact on the track.
Tanya bit her lip. She drove the filly, and she was driving hard. They were flying, or it felt like it, and the wind was hitting her face hard. She felt herself bursting into a smile and remembered now why she had come out here for one last free run. It felt amazing, and Sonja seemed to be really enjoying herself. The acceleration had stopped, but they were maintaining a good speed. Still, she knew she needed to start slowing things down and stopped driving for a few seconds before starting to pull the filly back down from the full on charge to a much slower gait. Finally, they were at walk once more. The filly was lathered with sweat, but she seemed happy, and Tanya was excited for the future ahead of them.
