Post by S u N f r O s T ~ on Oct 28, 2012 16:54:37 GMT -5
ETERNAL PHANTOM AND KRYSTAL YHATE
QUEEN'S PLATE WORKOUT
Fresh off that firecracker workout with the younger version of herself, Eternal Phantom was back to ghost the Wire dirt track. The very track on which she had won the Coaching Club American Oaks alongside eventual Triple Tiara winner Paradise Island. She was the only horse of her division who could claim she hadn't lost to the filly all year, and it was the truth. Beating her squarely and then dead heating with her for that Triple Tiara win. Krystal could almost ask for nothing more from her filly. They'd won the Kentucky Derby, placed third in the Preakness, won the Coaching Club American Oaks. Could they be the first ones in history to win a leg of the Triple Crown and the Triple Tiara in the same season? All they needed was a Canadian Triple Crown leg for icing on the cake. Two weeks after the CCAO and they were back on track for another race. Facing Instant Success, Euphoria's Warrior and Apollo Bear, they'd be gunning hard for what they wanted again.
The Queen's Plate was run at what Krystal determined to be Phantie's distance. Ten furlongs. The distance Phantie continued to excel at. And it would be theirs once again. They would break fast and take the lead, and she would rate the filly's pace appropriately. They would not be pushed at too fast a pace - they'd learned their lesson from that loss in the Preakness, when she'd let Phantie set those crazy fractions. Krystal was growing as a rider now and she was Amber's best. Henna may have the spotlight, but Krystal was the best with the tougher horses that were hard to get to know. Amber just connected off the bat with hers. Krystal worked. With Phantie it had been work. She had originally been slated for Amber because of her dark temperament and tough attitude, but Krystal had worked to crack the exterior and now Phantie was irrevocably hers.
Black coated predator snorted and pawed the dirt once before being sent into that floating trot of hers. Phantie's stride was gaining in power after every day's work and Krystal was seeing the work of years in the three year old. She had developed to a great point of maturity, and her mind had an acuity she occasionally found terrifying. After all, the way this mare thought when she was on the hunt, playing closer position...it was as exhilarating as it was scary. Phantie had the most cunning mind of the horses Krystal rode. She could analyze any situation and, when not taken away by the brilliant speed in her hooves she was able to harness her speed herself to devastating effect. Phantie hated losing and it would take nothing less than complete physical exhaustion to stop the motion of her hooves. Indeed, beneath her menacing exterior burned a fiery passion.
Krystal let the filly out into the workout gallop. They were going easy, for maintenance not for improvement. Krystal knew that all they had to do for the Queen's Plate was go out there and run. They had the capability to win the race and she just had to make sure the cards played appropriately for them. The speed of the gallop was breathtaking at first. Phantie's legs flew with abandonment and the dirt track flew away underneath them. Her breaths huffed in the air and the eyes of onlookers burned into both of them as their speed and form were evaluated. They were racing up the backstretch and Phantie was smooth as buttercream. Krystal just let the filly run. No control was necessary.
They curved into the stretch and passed the wire at the same good pace before slowing. The filly felt energetic and just so ready to go. They were off to give it their best shot on race day.
