Post by Deleted on Sept 19, 2012 6:25:11 GMT -5
Italian Ice was filly who was bred to race, who had been trained to race, and who lived to race. She was competitive, focussed, and determined. From the beginning of her career she had raced in nothing but major races and she had always, always placed in the top three. Her five races had resulted in two wins, two places and a show. She had raced against older horses successfully and she had proven herself to have real potential time and time again. But she was not the only horse out there who had been bred for the track, she was one of many, and what she needed to do was find her stride to become the best of the best. After all, she was already being aimed for the Triple Crown the following year and she would be going in with some strong credentials. She'd already taken two major races, but the question was how many more could she take before the year ended?
Her next race was the Silver Stride Stakes, a race named for the stable from which she raced. It was a nine furlong dirt race for two year olds, and the competition this year - it's first year of running - was looking fierce. Eight entries had been announced, making it a large field, and their was no doubt that all of the two year olds would be well backed by their stables. It would be a battle of talent, of heart, and every stable would want their entrant to come out on top.
Alexia, who rode the filly, sat in the office looking over the field. Matthias would be coming in for a little bit today - even though he was supposed to be taking time off to be with his fiancee and newborn - and they would be working Icee once he arrived. For now, however, Alexia had enough to think about to keep her busy. This field was a nightmare, but the competition it would provide was sure to make for an exciting race and some great press coverage. If nothing else, it would show each stable just what their horses were capable of.
Sizzling Dawn would be starting from gate one. This was the filly who had beaten them in the Magic Millions, an incredibly powerful racer with eight races under her belt and having never placed outside of the top three. She had three wins and was known to be a front runner who would fight heavily for the lead due to an incredibly dominant streak. She would lead the race, there was no question about that, because she would not let anyone out-pace her.
Starting next to her, another Stride Of Perfection Stables entry, was Dirty Diana. The filly had been transferred to the stable following the barn fire and while she had nice lines she had yet to really prove herself on the track and had not won a race yet and having raced three times she had placed outside of the top three twice. She raced as a closer, but seemed to have been issues closing the distance between herself and the rest of the field in her races. Still, the team at SOPS had more than likely been training her and an improvement would come around sooner or later.
Gate Three would hold the colt Sea Siren of the new Bowen Acres. He had started only once, on the dirt, in the Magic Millions and had taken fifth place in that start. During the race, he had displayed himself as a closer and definitely had some potential - he had just been outclassed by more experienced horses, and the same was likely to happen in this upcoming race. With him being sourced from outside lines, it was difficult to say much about him due to the fact little was known regarding him.
Barely Legal, of Close Racing, would be starting in Gate Four. The filly had some experience, with six races to her name, but had never placed inside the top three. On the track, she had proven herself to be a closer although like Dirty Diana she seemed to be struggling to pick up the pace enough to catch the top horses. Still, she was another one with potential and a horse to be watched.
Red Herring of Witch Creek Stables would be starting in Gate Five, and the colt had really caught the attention of some of the larger stables when he took the Magic Millions Colts Dirt - his second win in two starts. Experience was heavily against the preceder, but he had some real talent behind him and could be a real threat on the track. Like many horses, he had been sourced from outside lines and little was known about his pedigree however with his talent it would be no surprise if his pedigree held some legends. Icee had never raced against the colt before, and it would be interesting to see how she faired against him.
Icee herself would be starting in Gate Six, and beside her in Gate Seven was her brother Born To Impress. The colt had been bred for the triple crown, being by a triple crown champion himself and a half sibling to the tiara winner Born To Soar. The siblings had faced each other once before, and in that race Icee had come out on top, taking the victory while her brother ended in third place. But they had both gained experience since then, and the siblings going head to head was bound to bring some fire to the race. He raced mainly as a preceder but was versatile.
The final entrant, from Intrepid Racing, was Nightshade. The filly was Grade Four, and a truly powerful competitor. She had raced nine times, winning four and placing in five. Her most recent race, the Magic Millions Fillies Turf, had seen her place second to Icee's half sister, Ventura. Icee and Nightshade had not yet gone head to head, and it would be interesting to see who came on top in this face-off. She was a closer, and would be looking to take her victory in the home stretch.
As far as Alexia could see, the first half of the field was pretty easy to predict, and the final half of the field would be falling behind to make their move in the stretch. Of course, with no many closers it was likely going to be difficult for any one closer to really make a real show of things. It wasn't that they wouldn't make splendid moves, more that the glory of closing would be taken by too many horses.
Sizzling Dawn would be taking the lead in the race, with Red Herring just behind her. Icee would settle behind them, and Born to Impress behind her. Nightshade, Barely Legal, Sea Siren and Dirty Diana would all sit at the back. Alexia shook her head. "Damn, that's one closer-heavy race..." A laugh behind her, a hand on her shoulder. "You know, talking to yourself is the first sign of madness." Alexia had no idea when Matthias had arrived, but just grinned at him, shrugging. It wasn't like anyone was normal, everyone was mad to some degree. What did it matter, really?
"I was just looking over the Silver Stride Stakes field. It's kind of crazy." the trainer nodded knowingly. "Ready to get Icee worked?" Alexia nodded, her eyes hardening. She was determined to take this victory, to show the world just what they were dealing with when it came to Icee. Matt smiled knowingly when he saw that look - Alexia was out for the win, and with several horses in the field she had vowed to defeat including the filly who had snatched away the Magic Millions she would be fighting to take it. Plus, there was no doubt that Alexia was not the only one distraught by their defeat, Icee would be out for blood too, the domineering filly did not take defeat well.
"I'll meet you at the track, Matt... Say ten minutes." The jockey did not wait for a response, she left the office and promptly walked off toward the changing room. Lucas, who had just arrived at the office as Alexia walked off, couldn't help but chuckling a little at Alexia's attitude. His girlfriend really was a competitive one at times, and she seemed to have some real fire inside her when it came to her more competitive rides. He looked to his brother, shaking his head. "Think you've got your work cut out with this one, bro." Lucas said and Matt just laughed. "You have a lot more work than I do. Go fetch Icee, you know your darling missus won't be happy if you are late."
The black filly had not been in the best of moods since the Magic Millions. She had not taken the loss at the Magic Millions well and had become a little difficult because of it. Lucas was not looking forward to walking her down to the track because she had been displaying a lot and acting much more domineering than usual. There was no doubt she would act up walking through the yard, but he hoped she would calm down a little as they neared the track.
As he came to the door of her stall the filly, who had been tacked up by the grooms earlier, came to greet him with an expectant look. She knew that, when tacked up, Lucas tended to mean she was going for a run and she was determined to show what she was made of. She wanted to gallop, she wanted to show her class and style, and she wanted to prove herself as one of the best. It was, in her mind, what she was supposed to do but while the filly might have something of a superiority complex her jockey and team were much more realistic in their expectations.
Lucas opened the stall door, pushing the filly back as he entered and untied the reins, which had been secured behind her neck. He ran his hand down her neck, the filly pulling back away from him. She had not bonded with him, and wasn't overly fond of the contact so, sighing, he took hold of the rein and led her out of the stall. It actually looked like Icee was going to behave as they made their way through the yard. She passed Sophie's Voice without an issue, gave only a look to the colt Blue Me Away, and seemed to be more interested in getting to the track. More confident in her behaviour, Lucas loosened his grip on the rein a little and started to lead her past the older horses, and that is where things started to go wrong.
It was Paradise Island who had grabbed the filly's attention, kicking at the stall door for human attention. Icee froze in her tracks, and refused to move forwards despite Lucas trying to urge her onwards, her audits pinning against her skull. She tossed her head, snorting and cracking her tassel against her muscular rump. Sonja just watched her, not responding to the display, and Icee soon grew bored and moved on again.
There was no real drama from then on. Icee moved well beside the handler, her head held high and clearly alert. Her stride was purposeful, powerful and she was developing well. As they moved around the corner and the track came into site she pulled at the bit and insisted they sped up so Lucas jogged beside the filly who seemed to be getting more and more excited. Certainly, she seemed to be in good shape and he had to force her to a halt as they arrived at the gate. It only took a moment, however, and they strode out onto the dirt track, Lucas closing the gate behind them.
The handler walked the filly on the dirt as he could see that trying to get her to stand still was going to be improbable and Alexia had not yet arrived at the track with Matthias. She was dying to get moving, she kept trying to pull away from him and he was having to fight to keep her attention on him instead of on the track. This cycle continued for several minutes before Alexia arrived, jumping the gate onto the track and walked over to Icee. She greeted the filly, who took her contact much better than she had Lucas' and then pulled herself into the saddle.
"So, Lexi, what's the plan?" he asked her and Alexia looked down at him with a smile. "Three furlongs on the dirt, but I'm going to be holding her back. I want her to be even more determined than usual come race day." Lucas rose an eyebrow, shaking his head. "Not a problem. I assume no gates, seems as they are not set up right now." Alexia nodded and Lucas led her and the pure black filly up to the three furlong point. He watched as Alexia found her balance in the stirrups, the filly shifting beneath her impatiently, tossing her head and making quite a show. Alexia patted the filly's powerful neck for a moment. "She isn't going to like this." she commented to Lucas. "Not one bit." he confirmed.
The jockey rose in her stirrups again, signalled to the handler that she was ready, and Lucas released his grip on the rein. Icee bolted forwards, taking long powerful strides from the get-go and clearly showed an intent to speed through the three furlongs. As she moved onwards she started to build speed well and seemed sure in herself until Alexia started to pull her back a bit. It seemed most unusual to the filly, who was used to going for speed in workouts and for a moment she seemed to fight the jockey's request but then her speed began to level off although it was quite the battle.
Icee wanted to move forwards quickly, but every time she started to build speed Alexia would pull her back and the filly's audits were soon slicked back against her skull. Due to being held back, the workout went much slower than usual and as they passed the end of their second furlong it was no surprise that the speed did increase a little. This was the point that Icee really wanted to power onwards, to show off and make an impression but Alexia still held her back. They came to the post, and Alexia pulled the filly to a halt. Icee was obviously frustrated by the workout, but would be all the more determined come race day because of it.
"Don't you worry, you'll get your chance come race day Icee. Then you can really run."
Her next race was the Silver Stride Stakes, a race named for the stable from which she raced. It was a nine furlong dirt race for two year olds, and the competition this year - it's first year of running - was looking fierce. Eight entries had been announced, making it a large field, and their was no doubt that all of the two year olds would be well backed by their stables. It would be a battle of talent, of heart, and every stable would want their entrant to come out on top.
Alexia, who rode the filly, sat in the office looking over the field. Matthias would be coming in for a little bit today - even though he was supposed to be taking time off to be with his fiancee and newborn - and they would be working Icee once he arrived. For now, however, Alexia had enough to think about to keep her busy. This field was a nightmare, but the competition it would provide was sure to make for an exciting race and some great press coverage. If nothing else, it would show each stable just what their horses were capable of.
Sizzling Dawn would be starting from gate one. This was the filly who had beaten them in the Magic Millions, an incredibly powerful racer with eight races under her belt and having never placed outside of the top three. She had three wins and was known to be a front runner who would fight heavily for the lead due to an incredibly dominant streak. She would lead the race, there was no question about that, because she would not let anyone out-pace her.
Starting next to her, another Stride Of Perfection Stables entry, was Dirty Diana. The filly had been transferred to the stable following the barn fire and while she had nice lines she had yet to really prove herself on the track and had not won a race yet and having raced three times she had placed outside of the top three twice. She raced as a closer, but seemed to have been issues closing the distance between herself and the rest of the field in her races. Still, the team at SOPS had more than likely been training her and an improvement would come around sooner or later.
Gate Three would hold the colt Sea Siren of the new Bowen Acres. He had started only once, on the dirt, in the Magic Millions and had taken fifth place in that start. During the race, he had displayed himself as a closer and definitely had some potential - he had just been outclassed by more experienced horses, and the same was likely to happen in this upcoming race. With him being sourced from outside lines, it was difficult to say much about him due to the fact little was known regarding him.
Barely Legal, of Close Racing, would be starting in Gate Four. The filly had some experience, with six races to her name, but had never placed inside the top three. On the track, she had proven herself to be a closer although like Dirty Diana she seemed to be struggling to pick up the pace enough to catch the top horses. Still, she was another one with potential and a horse to be watched.
Red Herring of Witch Creek Stables would be starting in Gate Five, and the colt had really caught the attention of some of the larger stables when he took the Magic Millions Colts Dirt - his second win in two starts. Experience was heavily against the preceder, but he had some real talent behind him and could be a real threat on the track. Like many horses, he had been sourced from outside lines and little was known about his pedigree however with his talent it would be no surprise if his pedigree held some legends. Icee had never raced against the colt before, and it would be interesting to see how she faired against him.
Icee herself would be starting in Gate Six, and beside her in Gate Seven was her brother Born To Impress. The colt had been bred for the triple crown, being by a triple crown champion himself and a half sibling to the tiara winner Born To Soar. The siblings had faced each other once before, and in that race Icee had come out on top, taking the victory while her brother ended in third place. But they had both gained experience since then, and the siblings going head to head was bound to bring some fire to the race. He raced mainly as a preceder but was versatile.
The final entrant, from Intrepid Racing, was Nightshade. The filly was Grade Four, and a truly powerful competitor. She had raced nine times, winning four and placing in five. Her most recent race, the Magic Millions Fillies Turf, had seen her place second to Icee's half sister, Ventura. Icee and Nightshade had not yet gone head to head, and it would be interesting to see who came on top in this face-off. She was a closer, and would be looking to take her victory in the home stretch.
As far as Alexia could see, the first half of the field was pretty easy to predict, and the final half of the field would be falling behind to make their move in the stretch. Of course, with no many closers it was likely going to be difficult for any one closer to really make a real show of things. It wasn't that they wouldn't make splendid moves, more that the glory of closing would be taken by too many horses.
Sizzling Dawn would be taking the lead in the race, with Red Herring just behind her. Icee would settle behind them, and Born to Impress behind her. Nightshade, Barely Legal, Sea Siren and Dirty Diana would all sit at the back. Alexia shook her head. "Damn, that's one closer-heavy race..." A laugh behind her, a hand on her shoulder. "You know, talking to yourself is the first sign of madness." Alexia had no idea when Matthias had arrived, but just grinned at him, shrugging. It wasn't like anyone was normal, everyone was mad to some degree. What did it matter, really?
"I was just looking over the Silver Stride Stakes field. It's kind of crazy." the trainer nodded knowingly. "Ready to get Icee worked?" Alexia nodded, her eyes hardening. She was determined to take this victory, to show the world just what they were dealing with when it came to Icee. Matt smiled knowingly when he saw that look - Alexia was out for the win, and with several horses in the field she had vowed to defeat including the filly who had snatched away the Magic Millions she would be fighting to take it. Plus, there was no doubt that Alexia was not the only one distraught by their defeat, Icee would be out for blood too, the domineering filly did not take defeat well.
"I'll meet you at the track, Matt... Say ten minutes." The jockey did not wait for a response, she left the office and promptly walked off toward the changing room. Lucas, who had just arrived at the office as Alexia walked off, couldn't help but chuckling a little at Alexia's attitude. His girlfriend really was a competitive one at times, and she seemed to have some real fire inside her when it came to her more competitive rides. He looked to his brother, shaking his head. "Think you've got your work cut out with this one, bro." Lucas said and Matt just laughed. "You have a lot more work than I do. Go fetch Icee, you know your darling missus won't be happy if you are late."
The black filly had not been in the best of moods since the Magic Millions. She had not taken the loss at the Magic Millions well and had become a little difficult because of it. Lucas was not looking forward to walking her down to the track because she had been displaying a lot and acting much more domineering than usual. There was no doubt she would act up walking through the yard, but he hoped she would calm down a little as they neared the track.
As he came to the door of her stall the filly, who had been tacked up by the grooms earlier, came to greet him with an expectant look. She knew that, when tacked up, Lucas tended to mean she was going for a run and she was determined to show what she was made of. She wanted to gallop, she wanted to show her class and style, and she wanted to prove herself as one of the best. It was, in her mind, what she was supposed to do but while the filly might have something of a superiority complex her jockey and team were much more realistic in their expectations.
Lucas opened the stall door, pushing the filly back as he entered and untied the reins, which had been secured behind her neck. He ran his hand down her neck, the filly pulling back away from him. She had not bonded with him, and wasn't overly fond of the contact so, sighing, he took hold of the rein and led her out of the stall. It actually looked like Icee was going to behave as they made their way through the yard. She passed Sophie's Voice without an issue, gave only a look to the colt Blue Me Away, and seemed to be more interested in getting to the track. More confident in her behaviour, Lucas loosened his grip on the rein a little and started to lead her past the older horses, and that is where things started to go wrong.
It was Paradise Island who had grabbed the filly's attention, kicking at the stall door for human attention. Icee froze in her tracks, and refused to move forwards despite Lucas trying to urge her onwards, her audits pinning against her skull. She tossed her head, snorting and cracking her tassel against her muscular rump. Sonja just watched her, not responding to the display, and Icee soon grew bored and moved on again.
There was no real drama from then on. Icee moved well beside the handler, her head held high and clearly alert. Her stride was purposeful, powerful and she was developing well. As they moved around the corner and the track came into site she pulled at the bit and insisted they sped up so Lucas jogged beside the filly who seemed to be getting more and more excited. Certainly, she seemed to be in good shape and he had to force her to a halt as they arrived at the gate. It only took a moment, however, and they strode out onto the dirt track, Lucas closing the gate behind them.
The handler walked the filly on the dirt as he could see that trying to get her to stand still was going to be improbable and Alexia had not yet arrived at the track with Matthias. She was dying to get moving, she kept trying to pull away from him and he was having to fight to keep her attention on him instead of on the track. This cycle continued for several minutes before Alexia arrived, jumping the gate onto the track and walked over to Icee. She greeted the filly, who took her contact much better than she had Lucas' and then pulled herself into the saddle.
"So, Lexi, what's the plan?" he asked her and Alexia looked down at him with a smile. "Three furlongs on the dirt, but I'm going to be holding her back. I want her to be even more determined than usual come race day." Lucas rose an eyebrow, shaking his head. "Not a problem. I assume no gates, seems as they are not set up right now." Alexia nodded and Lucas led her and the pure black filly up to the three furlong point. He watched as Alexia found her balance in the stirrups, the filly shifting beneath her impatiently, tossing her head and making quite a show. Alexia patted the filly's powerful neck for a moment. "She isn't going to like this." she commented to Lucas. "Not one bit." he confirmed.
The jockey rose in her stirrups again, signalled to the handler that she was ready, and Lucas released his grip on the rein. Icee bolted forwards, taking long powerful strides from the get-go and clearly showed an intent to speed through the three furlongs. As she moved onwards she started to build speed well and seemed sure in herself until Alexia started to pull her back a bit. It seemed most unusual to the filly, who was used to going for speed in workouts and for a moment she seemed to fight the jockey's request but then her speed began to level off although it was quite the battle.
Icee wanted to move forwards quickly, but every time she started to build speed Alexia would pull her back and the filly's audits were soon slicked back against her skull. Due to being held back, the workout went much slower than usual and as they passed the end of their second furlong it was no surprise that the speed did increase a little. This was the point that Icee really wanted to power onwards, to show off and make an impression but Alexia still held her back. They came to the post, and Alexia pulled the filly to a halt. Icee was obviously frustrated by the workout, but would be all the more determined come race day because of it.
"Don't you worry, you'll get your chance come race day Icee. Then you can really run."
