Post by Cruisey on Jan 21, 2015 18:18:53 GMT -5
SCINTILLA && JAMES COLLURA
LIKE A LADY && SAMMIE PICKETT
Last but not least were two fillies that stood in the cross ties waiting for their turn at the track. With Harley and Fancy back from their run, it was time for the two turf runners to make their debut. Like A Lady was the third horse in their two year old string to be a complete brat. If you had a first glance at the small horse, you could probably guess she was a colt by the way she carried herself. Instead, she was the typical nasty mare that followed her relation’s footsteps. The grooms were struggling to saddle her without getting a nasty look at her teeth.
Behind her stood Scintilla, who looked to be ferocious but she really was a sweetheart. Tilly aimed to please, and she would do anything to make her trainer proud. James walked up to the black horse who vibrated with excitement and led her out of the barn. It would be interesting to see them in a race; to see all of the hard work and effort put into making them future champions. Both Sammie and James were given a leg up by Carter as they headed out to the turf.
Lady was agitated all the way to the track; trotting on the spot and constantly swishing her tail. If Tilly got too close, the filly pinned her ears and threatened to kick out. It was a good thing Sammie had experience with moody horses – Red Herring was an example. Once on the track, the duo trotted and cantered slowly in their warm up lap, watched carefully by Carter who was standing on the sidelines. Lady started to relax as she loosened up and was definitely starting to get into the groove. Tilly was a small, fat, lanky legged filly who’s body to leg ratio didn’t quite match up, but that never stopped her from trying her heart out.
They eventually reached the training gates and the gate attendants were waiting patiently to help them load up. Both fillies loaded with minimal fuss, which was surprising for Lady since she was real opinionated. There was a few moments of silence as James and Sammie waited, nothing but the wind blowing past them as they waited for the gate bell to ring, signalling that the gates were about to be opened, and the occasional bump of the horses as they moved about the narrow space the starting gate gave them to stand in. The sound of the shrill bell rang out and the gates flew open.
Lady broke well, moving up to start with the lead with Tilly following close behind. The horses set a decent pace to start since Tilly would be running 12 furlongs and Lady at 10. Carter set the distance at a comfortable nine furlongs that they both were alright with running, so it wouldn’t be long until they started going at each other’s throat. Sammie didn’t really have a hold on Lady’s face; the filly was quite smart and was able to think for herself even at a young age. Tilly coasted along behind her, James quietly perched on top. All he was doing was guiding her and pointing her in the right direction; the running was up to the horse.
As they rounded the backstretch, it was their time to go hard. Their jockeys really let them at it, urging them both on towards the finish line. Tilly surged on at the flash of the whip, digging her toes into the turf to propel herself forwards. Sammie glanced behind her and saw a flash of black, which made her urge on Lady who still had gas in the tank. Both horses streaked across the home stretch, and all that could be seen was a blur of legs and dark fur.
As they flew past the finish line, it was Tilly coming past the finish line on the outside a full head in front of Lady, although the filly had given a pretty good fight to the end. Lady seemed displeased with herself as she snorted all the way across the track. They were both still young and they still had plenty of time to work out kinks, so neither Sammie nor Carter were the least bit disappointed with the result. Tilly was in excellent shape at 10 furlongs, and seemed to have some energy left to spend – which hopefully would be a good thing come race day.
