Taste Victory

They were on a track toward fame and they were not going to stop, nor slow down. Having started the season as a grade four they had pushed hard to get to grade two. With two weeks left they were not going to make it to grade one for the end of the year, but they at least stood a chance in their races. Of that there was no doubt, together they were a team like no other and the world could not deny them. Not for long, anyway. Together, they had at least another year on the track and they were not going to take it steady. If they wanted to be remembered as one of the greatest racing teams ever they needed a high number of wins, a high number of impressive races under their belts. They had started their task but it was far from over and it was going to be an interesting year. As soon as this year was finished.

Alexia had been thrilled with their performance in the The Pressure's On Cup, in which they had taken the track in hand to come out in first place. It was always great to win. Especially on the beautiful and exotic Mona. But this had been special. The win had pushed them over the threshold and into the next Grade. The win had taken them one step closer to their goal and brought on a fresh feeling of achievement. That was now three wins that they had achieved together since Mona had been transferred to the small but industrious stable and there were surely more on the way.

She had also been pleasantly surprised by the mail which had been recently received, in which they had been invited to enter Mona into the Palm Tree Invitational, a dirt race for which only the best were eligible. It meant that they were considered among the best, and they would be sure to prove themselves worthy of such a thing. It would be a great chance to show their potential, as well as being a nice preparation race for the Breeder's Cup. To make things even better, at ten furlongs the race was right in the middle of the filly's tolerance range meaning she would be able to handle the distance with considerable ease. Of course the competition would be tough but it was nothing with which they would not be able to cope. Not when they had been working so hard together recently and when Mona had been doing so well. Alexia refused to give in without a fight.

That morning in the meeting she had been practically bouncing, rivalling even Tanya for the amount of energy she seemed to have available to her. But how could she not? Everyone knew why she was so excited, everyone knew of the chances which had been presented to her. As an owner she was proud of the horse and as a jockey she felt a great competitive edge. Mona really did seem to put the elegance into racing, anyway, and she would make a stunning broodmare when she was retired from the track. Retired a successful and hopefully renowned star.

The meeting seemed to drag as Alexia waited to be released to work with her up and coming queen and as it continued she became irritable until Matthias finally gave up. He knew that Alexia would not calm down until she had done preparation for their next race and so he just called the meeting to an end. There was no point in continuing when he couldn't get the staff to focus on the matters at hand. Plus, he could not help but also be curious as to how the filly would perform in both the workout and the race. He gave Alexia instructions to fetch him before heading to the track and allowed her to get on her way.

Walking through the stable Alexia wore a smile, energy seeming to radiate from her form as she did so. Today was going to be a good day, she could just feel it in her bones, and she wouldn't allow anything to ruin it. Even as she had left the office the agitation which had built in the meeting had dissipated. She headed into the tack room to fetch the filly's tack and a grooming kit before heading out into the yard.

Mona stood calmly in her stall, watching the yard with bright brown eyes. The princess of the yard ruled with an iron hoof and she needed to know who was playing up so they could put them in their place. She also needed to figure out who was growing as a threat, and the filly Stormi had already caught her eye. It was upon such things that her mind was focussed when she spotted the blonde jockey moving toward her stable and her head rose, auds perking in interest. As Alexia unbolted the door the filly stepped back calmly to allow her to walk in and the blonde woman proceeded to put the tack over the door and the grooming kit on the floor before stroking the filly's nose softly.

"Mona, you star, you make me proud. Let's make you even more beautiful before we run, yes?" the jockey spoke in soft and lilting tones as she reached into the grooming kit and selected a soft-bristles body brush and started to run it over the bay filly's coat. With each gentle stroke dust removed itself from the filly's coat and soon her pelt appeared to almost shine with cleanliness. Next, Alexia took a sponge from the box and used it to clean one of Mona's eyes before returning it and collecting another to use on the other eye in order to prevent the spread of infection if there was any. Alexia smiled at the filly, for whom she had developed a great deal of care, and stroked her neck and face once more. Next, she used a hood pick in order to remove the dirt which had compacted itself into the filly's hooves, being careful not to hurt the star racehorse. "I bet that feels better, right? Now let's sort out this mane and tail and we'll be ready to go for our run." she said as she finished, putting away the hoof pick.