Post by Deleted on Aug 19, 2012 5:10:10 GMT -5
The Wire Finish Cup Juvenile Dirt was going to be an exciting race, there was no doubt about it. The class of the competitors was high, and their was a certain hype about the race because of this. This was probably not helped by the fact that two of the horses had recently proved themselves against older horses in a major race series, the Spring Cup, at the Green Horse Fields track. It was an impressive feat, and having raced on different surfaces in that series they would now face one another in this one.
Italian Ice, Sweet Inferno and A Royal Legacy - they were all powerful, well bred horses - were the entrants in the race. Of the three, A Royal Legacy was the least successful so far but that was not guaranteed to continue - he was a Merry Bay King foal, after all! It was not like he had been doing badly, either - he had finished third in the Legacy Dirt Stakes, and placed fourth in his other two races. Outside of the top three, perhaps, but certainly not without the power to prove himself and not a horse to underestimate - that would be dangerous. He was a closer, and would be fighting for the win in the final stretch.
Sweet Inferno had proved herself in the Spring Cup, placing second against older horses, and had an edge to her because of this. In four races, she had not placed out of the top two even once and was definitely a classy filly. There was no doubt that Stride Of Perfection Stables would have her well prepared for the race, and that they would be striving to prove the filly as one of the best on the dirt in this series. She was a front runner, and known for fighting to maintain her lead.
Icee would have to be well prepared for face this competition, although she had not placed outside of the top three in her three starts and had not raced in anything other than major race series. She was at a disadvantage, having not raced at The Wire racing circuit before, but then she never really seemed to pay attention to where she was running once she reached the track. Like Sweet Inferno, she had that older horse edge. She had managed to place in the top three at the Spring Cup against a field which had been described as tough, and had certainly benefited from that experience. Matthias, having looked over the field, had decided that Icee would be running as a preceder for the race - a position she had shown in training she was quite happy to take up.
The ebony filly moved out onto the track with confidence, her jockey Alexia Harshing already mounted. The filly had been transported several days earlier and had adapted to The Wire yard well. Now, it was time to introduce her to it's track. Her auds were pressed forwards, her head held high, and she was picking her legs up well as they moved out onto the dirt. She was energetic, and clearly more interested in getting started than checking out the new area as she was pulling against the rein.
Quickly, the handler loaded the filly into the starting gate and moved away. Icee tossed her head, but did not really react to the gating for she soon had her dark eyes fixed on the track ahead of her. Her tassel flicked as Alexia rose in her stirrups, and soon the buzzer sounded. As soon as the gates open, Icee was out of the contraption and out onto the track ahead of her in a powerful movement.
Three furlongs was not a long distance, but it was enough. It was not rare for trainers to use this distance for training young horses as it was enough to enhance their condition without tiring them out which was important. Matthias knew that Icee would handle this distance well enough - she preferred longer races, but seemed to work best over shorted distances.
Alexia directed the filly toward the rail, and they fell into a relatively quick pace early in the work. The confident filly was clearly ready to run and enjoying herself as her long, powerful legs moved in a constant four-beat and her audits pressed themselves forwards. Alexia was smiling on the inside, but she looked serious as she rode the juvenile, focussed and in some ways perhaps a little worried. But it was understandable, this was a tough field and she clearly wanted the best for the filly.
The first two furlongs passed quickly. Occasionally, Alexia would urge the filly on a little but other than that she just allowed her to run at her own pace up the dirt. But as they reached the two furlong mark, she knew the time had come for the work to really begin. She drove the filly, and she drove hard. She threw all her effort into pushing the filly toward the post and the filly responded in kind, picking up her pace as they continued forwards. The crop cracked, and horse and rider worked in unison toward a common goal.
It felt like they were flying as they made their way down the final furlong, their pace reaching a peak as they hit the point where their was only half a furlong to go. They held that pace, working together as they moved onwards and they flew past the post at a good pace. It was done, the work over. Would it be enough to overcome the competition? Possibly. They would see.
Italian Ice, Sweet Inferno and A Royal Legacy - they were all powerful, well bred horses - were the entrants in the race. Of the three, A Royal Legacy was the least successful so far but that was not guaranteed to continue - he was a Merry Bay King foal, after all! It was not like he had been doing badly, either - he had finished third in the Legacy Dirt Stakes, and placed fourth in his other two races. Outside of the top three, perhaps, but certainly not without the power to prove himself and not a horse to underestimate - that would be dangerous. He was a closer, and would be fighting for the win in the final stretch.
Sweet Inferno had proved herself in the Spring Cup, placing second against older horses, and had an edge to her because of this. In four races, she had not placed out of the top two even once and was definitely a classy filly. There was no doubt that Stride Of Perfection Stables would have her well prepared for the race, and that they would be striving to prove the filly as one of the best on the dirt in this series. She was a front runner, and known for fighting to maintain her lead.
Icee would have to be well prepared for face this competition, although she had not placed outside of the top three in her three starts and had not raced in anything other than major race series. She was at a disadvantage, having not raced at The Wire racing circuit before, but then she never really seemed to pay attention to where she was running once she reached the track. Like Sweet Inferno, she had that older horse edge. She had managed to place in the top three at the Spring Cup against a field which had been described as tough, and had certainly benefited from that experience. Matthias, having looked over the field, had decided that Icee would be running as a preceder for the race - a position she had shown in training she was quite happy to take up.
The ebony filly moved out onto the track with confidence, her jockey Alexia Harshing already mounted. The filly had been transported several days earlier and had adapted to The Wire yard well. Now, it was time to introduce her to it's track. Her auds were pressed forwards, her head held high, and she was picking her legs up well as they moved out onto the dirt. She was energetic, and clearly more interested in getting started than checking out the new area as she was pulling against the rein.
Quickly, the handler loaded the filly into the starting gate and moved away. Icee tossed her head, but did not really react to the gating for she soon had her dark eyes fixed on the track ahead of her. Her tassel flicked as Alexia rose in her stirrups, and soon the buzzer sounded. As soon as the gates open, Icee was out of the contraption and out onto the track ahead of her in a powerful movement.
Three furlongs was not a long distance, but it was enough. It was not rare for trainers to use this distance for training young horses as it was enough to enhance their condition without tiring them out which was important. Matthias knew that Icee would handle this distance well enough - she preferred longer races, but seemed to work best over shorted distances.
Alexia directed the filly toward the rail, and they fell into a relatively quick pace early in the work. The confident filly was clearly ready to run and enjoying herself as her long, powerful legs moved in a constant four-beat and her audits pressed themselves forwards. Alexia was smiling on the inside, but she looked serious as she rode the juvenile, focussed and in some ways perhaps a little worried. But it was understandable, this was a tough field and she clearly wanted the best for the filly.
The first two furlongs passed quickly. Occasionally, Alexia would urge the filly on a little but other than that she just allowed her to run at her own pace up the dirt. But as they reached the two furlong mark, she knew the time had come for the work to really begin. She drove the filly, and she drove hard. She threw all her effort into pushing the filly toward the post and the filly responded in kind, picking up her pace as they continued forwards. The crop cracked, and horse and rider worked in unison toward a common goal.
It felt like they were flying as they made their way down the final furlong, their pace reaching a peak as they hit the point where their was only half a furlong to go. They held that pace, working together as they moved onwards and they flew past the post at a good pace. It was done, the work over. Would it be enough to overcome the competition? Possibly. They would see.
