Post by Deleted on Sept 1, 2013 4:18:50 GMT -5
Beautiful Liar had done extremely well to get to Grade Four with five win in six starts at In Stride that season. She had been entered in the Arete Stakes, a Grade Four race over nine furlongs on the turf - Jacey Leigh was hoping this could be her big break, to help her bump up the ranks and crank up them wins under her belt to do well in the future as both a racer in her four year old season, and broodmare too - it was all dependant on how the filly ran in the upcoming seasons as to when she would be retired.
Her race had three runners in. She would be starting in Gate Three, on the outside - perfect for her stalker or mid-pack position. Royal Cadenza would start in Gate One, he was a colt previously owned by Jacey. He had recently been sold to Stride Of Perfection stables where he had been racing under his new jockey, Valencia Andrews. This season he had done well and had gotten himself to one win away from Grade Three. He won the Quiff Stakes at the start of the year, a race that he had placed sixth in the year before, the Lacis Stakes back in April, and his most recent win was a month ago in the Eclat Stakes. He raced as a Stalker or Mid-pack horse to, which would be a down side to Leah.
In Gate Two was the Merry Bay King colt, A Royal Legacy. The colt had five wins to his name and placed a third in his previous start last week in the Alot to Live Up To Stakes. He had a win, a place and a show under his new ownership at Dark Justice Stables with Lillith Wick. The colt raced as a closer, leaving Jacey and Beth in a dilemma for what to do and how to run the race. In the end, they decided to see what would happen if they ran right beside Royal Cadenza and stay with him. It was a weird race with Legacy bringing up the rear.
Beth wasn't worrying too much, she was just thinking about the possibilities. She decided it would be a good idea to run her beside Spectacular Motion as a workout for this race. Maya was entered in the seven furlong Sprinkler Sprint at Green Horse Fields. Eve would ride the filly. Both fillies walked side by side out onto the turf. Leah looked around, not fazed by the sight she had seen a million times. Maya on the otherhand was fiery, prancing on the spot and throwing Evie out of the saddle several times before finally settling down.
The aim of the workout was to keep each filly side by side and then race at the end in the final two furlongs as warm ups for both there races. It would be good competition for both three year olds, even though they had raced eachother several times, they knew which filly was the better one who was bound to come out on top on most the occasions, but after a long lay off, would it be different today? It appeared the oats in Maya's feed had kicked in, she was on it. Leah relaxed and stayed calm, not wanting her energy wasted for her big race, whereas Maya was a huge tense ball of stress. She just wanted to go.
They trotted up the track, well at least Leah did. Maya threw her head around. Evie tried her hardest to keep the filly under control but it didn't seem to be working. They got to the starting gates and both loaded... Leah loaded perfectly and quietly for the short three furlong blast... whereas Maya jogged in the gate. When the bell rang, both fillies jumped out. They stayed side by side through the first furlong. Beth kept Leah at a nice steady pace, hoping they would be alright when it came to race day.
Through the second furlong, both fillies were let lose. Leah began to go forward and sprint her way to the finish. Maya dropped back, beginning to wear off a bit. It was proof that Leah was the better of the two fillies. As they crossed the wire, Leah was five lengths ahead of Maya. It appeared she was far too hyper and focused more on acting an idiot than racing her best friend. Leah pulled up. She wasn't sweaty, she wasn't even warm. Smiling, Beth patted the filly. She was more than ready for the race.
