two warriors

EUPHORIA'S WARRIOR AND WAR CRY WORK FOR THE SEASPRAY CUP

The bright chestnut and brilliant bay were a stunning pair. They were half siblings through their sire, and both from awesome mares. War Cry, the chestnut, was a filly out of Strictly Speaking. Euphoria's Warrior was a colt from Euphoria. They were sired by Akuma Battlecry. Together they strode onto the dirt, looking confidently over the track. After all four hooves on each horse had touched down on the track a few times, their riders asked them to trot. The pair of thoroughbreds responded instantly, moving forward into the faster pace with quick, fluid strides. Today, they prepared for their first race against each other, the Seaspray Cup. It was a ten furlong dirt race, and it had attracted the caliber of competition they had expected - Afterglow, Fire Dancer and Paradise Island, all grade one mares.

War Cry would be the youngest in the field, at three years old, but she certainly had no shortage of talent. Nicknamed Xena, she was the warrior princess of Star Thoroughbreds' string. She was dominant and aggressive, but distinctly feminine still. She had a muscular, yet slender athletic body and a pretty head. Her mane was long and silky, and was often braided for workouts and races. Her face was slightly dished, and she was marked with a white stripe. She had recently made grade one in her twenty third start, bringing her record to 23-13-9-1. It had been her eighth win of the season. The filly had taken on the boys of her own age and beaten them multiple times, having taken the Blue Grass Stakes, the Santa Anita Derby and the Florida Derby. She'd run third in the Kentucky Derby, and instead of pursuing the rest of the Triple Crown she'd switched to the Tiara, effectively taking out the Mother Goose Stakes and Coaching Club American Oaks.

Euphoria's Warrior was the only colt in the field after the scratching of Ashes to Ashes. At four years old, Warrior was almost completely physically mature. It was likely this would be his last season, and of course he would be sure to go out with a bang. So far, so good this season, with five wins and four second places to his name. But he needed to win more, and he needed to take out the biggest races on the dirt this year if he was going to apply for the Hall of Fame. It was a goal of Stella's to get the colt's winning percentage to over 50%, and he had about fifteen races left to run in the next six months. If he won at least ten of them, she would be overjoyed. Most recently, Warrior had taken out the G1 Stephen Foster Handicap two weeks ago, and he was on form to win again.

Moving on into canter, War Cry kicked up her heels and Warrior attempted to go right into gallop. Handled expertly by their riders, the horses were never out of control and were quickly cantering as they should. The race would not be easy, and it would truly be a down to the wire finish. War Cry was exceptionally talented at leading wire to wire, whereas Warrior could close hard and fast. As for their competition, they would be in between the pair, and of course everyone would be gunning for the win. Five year old mare Afterglow for example had won her last two races and would be hot on Xena's heels. Mid pack mare Fire Dancer of the same age was racing well in undercard races and would be looking to prove she could take the big ones as well. Then there was last year's Triple Tiara Champion, Paradise Island, who would likely run side by side with Afterglow.

With a thorough warm up behind them, the two horses burst into gallop at the four furlong marker. True to their racing styles, Warrior hung back slightly and allowed Xena to take dominance. They began the turn, and Warrior stayed with Xena, not allowing her any more room. Her whole body was ahead of him, but it didn't worry Stella. As soon as the straight was before them, Warrior would bound forward and give his half sister the fight of her life. Stride by stride, the stretch came closer. Then Xena rocketed off suddenly, shooting a length ahead before Warrior kicked it up a notch. His legs stretched as long as they could and each hoof pounded the dirt faster and faster. He began to eat into Xena's lead, and after a few seconds he was hot on her heels with a furlong to go. The filly's ears were pinned in warning and Stella ensured the colt gave put adequate horizontal distance between them in case she fancied a taste of her brother's flesh. Another, final burst of speed from each horse put them at the finish, nose to nose, head to head, neck and neck..

It would be war on race day.