God Save The Queen

[Deleted]

Instant Success & Jacob Donovan
Queen's Plate workout

Three of the four big three year old series had finished and so far had painted a dramatic year - Frozen Motion had claimed two legs of the Turf Triple Crown ahead of favourite, Infinite Warcry; a filly had claimed a leg of the Tripe Crown which each leg going to a separate horse; and Paradise Island had taken the Tiara although the final leg had been a dead heat. All in all, it had been intense but these youthful contests were not yet over. There was one last challenge ahead of them - The Canadian Triple Crown. It was arguably the most challenging of the series for the simple fact that the claim all three legs a horse would need to be adapt on both the dirt and the turf. This year was the first that the series, hosted at The Wire, would run.

The first leg of the series, the Queen's Plate, ran in June Week Four - only two weeks after the conclusion of the Triple Crown and Triple Tiara - and was expected to be quite the contest. The three big runners from the Triple Crown - Instant Success, Eternal Phantom and Euphoria's Warrior - had all been declared for the race and were joined by Akita Rose's Apollo Bear. Apollo Bear was certainly a surprise entry, but after a streak of second places there was no doubt that he would be fired up and ready to run. Of the entries, Instant Success and Apollo Bear were the only dual surfaced horses and so were the two who perhaps had a chance of claiming all three legs.

Given the entrants, the order of the horses on the field was quite predictable. Eternal Phantom would take the lead, with Apollo Bear running as a preceder while Instant Success and Euphoria's Warrior would be closing off the field at the back. All in all, it was set to be an exciting and competitive race and there was no doubt that all four horses would be giving their best and that the teams behind the, would be working their butts off to try and bring out the best in their entrants. The Silver Stride Stables team, who were backing Instant Success in the contest, were no different.

Of the four horses, Instant Success was the best rested for the race, having rested since his victory in the Anathema Stakes in May Week Four. The rest had done him good, bringing back his energy levels and fuelling him with a huge desire to run. In fact, it was clear that the colt was ready to make his return to the track by his behaviour over the last week. Frustrated by how long he had been off of the track he had started to play up, lashing out physically to release his pent up frustration. Lucas had already been nipped once, and he was glad that the colt would be returning to the track shortly.

Jacob felt ready for the race, although he certainly wasn't the most confident heading onto the field. He knew, and accepted, that the competition was tough. Eternal Phantom and Euphoria's Warrior had both proven themselves time and time again, and Apollo Bear was turning into quite the little competitor in his own right. Of course, Isa was also an impressive colt but when it came down to it he probably wasn't the favourite going into the race. No, that honour would go to Eternal Phantom, the filly who had claimed the Derby over the same distance not long ago. Still, Isa had beaten the filly in the past, so victory was certainly not impossible.

As the red-headed jockey arrived at the track he stared up the dirt longingly. He wanted to pull Isa up, to show that the colts were not being left in the dust of the fillies this season, and he wanted the colt to be recognised for the up and coming star he really was. They had hit grade one, they had beaten the Derby winner Souvenir... Now they needed to take another step forwards, to continue proving their class. The racing world would not be allowed to forget the colts, after all they were competitive in their own rights.

The chestnut colt tossed his head in frustration as he was led down to the track by two handlers - Lucas and Mia - and was clearly ready for work. He was moving well, picking his legs up nicely as they moved forwards and didn't even become distracted when one of the studs came to the edge of the pasture as they passed. It was when they asked him to stop at the gate that they had an issue, the colt rearing up and striking at the air with powerful forelimbs while the handlers took a step back - rearing horses, after all, were dangerous.

Once his hooves were firmly back on the ground, Lucas opened the gate and the colt was led on to the track, Mia closing the gate behind them. Matthias, in the stands, shook his head. Typical Isa, really - he never made anything easy. Especially not after a period of rest. For some reason when he had a lot of energy he became difficult. Still, it was one of the things Matthias felt defined who the colt was, and he was not about to change him for the world. Jacob looked up to his friend in the stands, nodded, and then walked over to the colt to mount and prepare.

The workout which had been planned would be short and quick - two furlongs at full speed up the dirt straight. Matthias wanted to see the colt really going for it, both to burn off energy and ensure that he was at his best come race day. After all, these big races were always worth the extra effort. If Isa could claim this first race... Well, the stable would be more than proud of the colt who would have once again proven his talents.

With no need for the gates, Lucas led the colt to the two furlong mark while Mia jumped over the fence ready to watch the run. Matthias smiled at her and she nodded, pleased to be part of such a close-knitted team. She watched as the colt pulled back a little, tossing his head and generally acting up a little but there was no more rearing, no more full on naughtiness. Jacob rose in his stirrups as they reached the two furlong mark, patted the colt's neck. "This is it, Isa. Preparation time." he spoke gently as Lucas prepared and soon the blonde handler released his grip on the rein and they were off.

Sanguis certainly wasn't the quickest horses when it came to the initial break in a race and often took several strides to truly find his hooves. It was no different in this workout, as the colt seemed to be very slow off of the bat however once he had found himself Jacob was right there on his case, urging him forwards. The colt was eager to react and started buillding speed quickly and by the time the first furlong had closed out he was moving at a decent speed - but not quick enough. Jacob gritted his teeth as he raised the crop, bringing it down on the colt's rump and threw his (somewhat lacking) weight into a strong drive.

Now Isa was really with it. His audits pressed forwards as he started to really build up speed and show what he, as a closer, could do. Matthias was grinning as he watched the chestnut firecracker bolting through the final furlong, his acceleration more than enough to turn a few heads as he thundered toward the post with great determination. The distance was quickly reducing as Jacob once again cracked the crop, yelling at the colt as they continued. Determination etched onto his features and soon they practically flew past the post. The workout was done, Matthias seemed pleased, and now all that remained was the actual race.