After Your Heart

[Deleted]

Afterglow & Alana Stratt
Dark Charmer & Jacob Donovan

She had done it, after several disappointments the filly had finally done it. She had taken her first win of the year and, with doing so, she had stepped over the threshold and into Grade Two. Now that she had found her stride, they just had to make sure she maintained it. Alana would now be pushing for more races on the bay filly, she had understood the need for the low work load when she had been struggling but with that win she had shown she was not going down yet - Afterglow had what it took to be among the best. She had proven it as a two year old when she had won in the Breeder's Cup; she had proven it again as a three year old with five wins including the Acorn Stakes and another Breeder's Cup win. Now, she needed to prove she still had it so that Matthias did not end her career at the end of the year.

Alana knew that Stormi had what it took to run with the best, she had the spark and desire of a champion and her record showed that she certainly was no pushover. While Matthias had been looking to enter her in another low-level race Alana had her eyes on he big prizes, and had in fact been the one to encourage Matthias to go along with her plan of entering Stormi in a major race. But not just any major race - the Zenyatta Derby, which was only open to horses of grades one and two. It would push Stormi to the limit of her distance range, at tend furlongs, against some tough competition but if they could come out on top then she could prove that Stormi really was back in top form. If they could pull back, Stormi would have proven herself worthy of the people's hearts.

The field, although there were only three horses including Stormi, was looking tough. The other entrants were highly talented horses, both of whom had been performing at a very high level this season - TDI Live This Lie and Sunset Crusade. Matthias had done his best to persuade Alana to scratch but she had refused, she was going in this to win it and even if she did not pull that off the experience would do the filly a world of good. Yes, they were going against the odds but sometimes the underdog could win. Especially because most people were starting to have lower expectations of Stormi and would underestimate her now.

Alana had looked over the other two entrants with Matthias, and she could understand his worry. TDI Live This Lie, who ran for Stride Of Perfection Stables, had been running very well this year and was only one win away from Grade One. At five years old, he had more experience and was from a very strong stable. All in all, he definitely was a threat and Sunset Crusade was... Well... Sunset Crusade. A Grade One Four year old who had a perfect season the year before and who had placed in the Unicorn Horn Dirt Mile where Stormi had come in fourth.

Still, Alana was not backing down and Matthias was not going to argue with her. She was right, of course. If she could perform well here she would have the eyes of the racing world once more. But if they wanted the filly to perform well she would need a strong workout, and Matthias knew that Alana would give her just that. Just to be safe, however, he had asked Jacob to come in with Dark Charmer - Stormi's rival, and a strong racehorse in his own right, who had shown his skills to beat out Euphorion earlier that week although he had placed below the incredible Flashy Wings.

The workout plan was simple. A three furlong gallop, side by side. Not allowing either horse to edge in front of the other, not allowing them to even go for it in the final stretch. They would finish nose on nose, leaving both hungry for competition and desperate for a win. If things went well, then Stormi should be more than ready to run come race day, fired up an ready to take on any competition. They could not guarantee that she would win, but they could guarantee that she would try.

The four year olds had matured a lot since they had first started to work together as two year olds. They had grown into themselves physically, but also developed mentally. Now, it was possible to walk them to the track together without Stormi kicking up a storm and Dark had developed a much more competitive streak than he'd had at the very beginning. But the one thing that had not changed was their desire to better the other, and that was where this workout would get interesting. After all, the rivals were unlikely to be happy about riding side by side. They certainly were not going to be happy about not going for it in the home stretch. Making them cross the post together, well that could just push them over the edge. The horses would be hungry for competition and for Stormi that competition was not far off.

Matthias had decided that, for this workout, the gates would be used. He wanted to see Alana having to hold Stormi back a little, to see how the filly became more and more hungry for competition as the work passed while she was forced to remain beside her rival. The jockeys would have their work cut out, keeping them together, but he knew they would do it. They understood the reasons behind it and would not question that judgement. If Alana wanted to go against the best she needed to be ready, and this was the best way to ensure that she was.

Gating was simple, the bay horses were more than used to the contraption and did not kick up a fuss. They waited, side by side, and so did their jockeys. They knew this was going to be difficult, they knew that their horses would not be happy at the end of this workout, and they knew that this was going to work to their advantage. Silence, as they waited for the workout to start. Eyes on the track, horses still and eager beneath them. Alana was hyped, but Jacob bit his lip as he prepared for the war to begin, his eyes closing for a moment and opening again.

The buzzer sounded, the gates opened, and the horses were out. Stormi had a slightly lead over Dark as they exited the contraption, used the running further forwards in the field but Alana reined her in a little while Jacob urged Dark up until they were side by side. Alana could feel the filly pushing to speed up, held her back, and the frustration was clear. For Jacob he had the opposite problem, with Dark trying to drop back a little behind the preceder and having to urge him on.

Over all, the pace set was around average and the battle of horse against jockey continued for quite a while. Although neither horse was happy with the situation, they seemed to begin to understand that they would not win the argument and started to settle in after around three quarters of a furlong. The jockeys looked to each other, then back at the track as they continued onwards, the first furlong coming to a close.

Stride for stride, the horses continued up the track, leaving a cloud of dry dust behind them. Following several hot weeks, the track was completely dry now and so every stride kicked up dust. Glancing back, Alana knew that she would soon be racing in similar conditions, behind another horse, and was instantly glad that she would be wearing goggles. Luckily for her, however, she knew that the dust did not bother Stormi so that at least would not be an issue.

The second furlong came to a close, and the horses (as expected) made a move to try and speed up. Jacob and Alana allowed the pace to increase a little but then held the horses back. This time, they really did meet some complaints. It was not in the nature of these horses to take the final stages of a race so easily, they did not want to run side by side as they came up to the post and they were fighting the restraints that the jockeys were putting on them. For a moment, Dark seemed to have gained control but then Jacob controlled him so Alana allowed Stormi to catch up.

It was over quickly, the horses storming past the post side by side. Their competitive nature was up, yes, but Alana knew that Stormi would be agitated until race day.