survivor

[S u N f r O s T ~]

TDI LIVE THIS LIE AND AMBER BLACK
FALSEHOOD'S FIRST WIRE FINISH CUP DIRT PREP

It was worse to ask too little than to ask too much. Amber Black was asking a lot with this bold decision to run in the Wire Finish Cup Dirt.

Falsehood had never been a star on the track. He had risen to grade two, but he had never been the horse others looked to as a winner. Amber was going to make that change. This horse that had partnered with her for years and years was in his final season. He was a survivor, and despite his record he stood tall and strong today. This season was already looking up for him, and Amber felt her ambition humming as she watched the gray stallion play in his paddock. He acted like the five year old he was, grazing sedately on the fresh grass, but there were times when he threw his heels into the wind and raced along the paddock fence, as though trying to beat the horse trailers that arrived regularly in the stable yard. This gray stallion had partnered with her heart. She had fought to get him as a weanling and had never looked back. Their bond was strong.

Her mere presence was enough. Falsehood was attuned to the woman who had ridden and cared for him. He looked up as she appeared at the gate, and without being asked trotted over and waited to be taken to the track. Muscles gleamed under his beautiful light gray coat. His eyes were intense, looking out into the distance, fantasizing about running once more. He had never been so ready to go as now and Amber wanted the Classic to be his. She wanted him to prove that talent could indeed be found this late in a horse's career. It was a rare thing for SOPS to have a horse that wasn't talented from the get go. Falsehood was that rare thing. It had never been questioned; he was a permanent resident.

Amber glided the brush over his slightly ruffled coat and saddled him. The stallion had been standing with an arrogant lilt to his head, looking about him testily. The other males in the barn whistled challenges at him, and he ignored them all as though he was just that much better than them. His imperious attitude was best compared to that of Fire Dancer's. Now as the bit was in his mouth he tuned out the others completely. He could already hear the wind whistling in his ears. Amber led him out and vaulted atop him. It took the barest of aids to get him trotting. The dirt track greeted his hooves like an old friend and they were already off and cantering down it.

Knight Rousseau, Predator, Heartless Revenge and Dark Charmer had all been heaps of talent since their owners saw them. Falsehood was the oldest in the field and he was probably going to be the long shot despite that. But these young upstarts didn't know what Amber did. Falsehood may have had the odds stacked against him, but he was talent from head to toe. He moved like a champion, and Amber had felt what was growing within him come to fruition this year. He was going to be a star - at last. The dreams she had envisioned for this mighty horse would finally come true. She had had the stallion for easily over four years [both SIM and real life] and she knew him like the back of her hand.

She asked and received easily. The stallion was a machine, gliding along as though nothing could stop him, moving as easily as a horse half his age. He was all calm seriousness now, and the traces of cunning buried deep inside were coming out. He was sizing his competition up and finding none. He was a solo worker for today. But that wouldn't stop his will. Amber barely asked him to move into the gallop. She lightly flicked her fingers and felt her heart stop. The world became a blur and she knew only speed. To Falsehood, even though he was going faster the world became crisper, more defined. He knew only speed. They moved as one, easily, smoothly, as though born this way.

They crossed the wire in a quick time and Amber's face was the most peaceful it had been in ages. They were ready to show the world what they had been missing. They were ready to show the world Falsehood the Great.