dance the polka

SUGAR JAYDE JOCKEYED BY HENNA TURATH
AXIS MUNDAE AND AMBER BLACK

JAYDE'S AND AXIA'S WORKOUT FOR THE POLKADOT STAKES

Things were looking up for Henna, with Flash's Belmont Stakes win. The grin was still plastered on her face. That had been last week. This week, she had other horses to care about, mainly her lovely two year old filly Sugar Jayde by Sweet Sugar Cane and out of Queen Of Hearts. The lovely turf sprinter was already a top class two year old who had been taking on fields of older horses and coming away dancing. Most recently, she had come fourth in the Violet Sprint in a field of nine or so, all of whom had been older. Henna had been pleased. They were at the point where all Jayde needed to hit grade four was another win. Though given their competition in the Polkadot Stakes this week, that was looking to be a tough task. The entire field was looking good, but their main competition were White Chocolate and Beltane. Jayde was going to be hard pressed to keep up with these veterans...

...hence her pair workout for Amber and Axis Mundae. Axia's full sister was entered in the field, and Amber wanted vengeance. She wanted Beltane to be put away behind Axia, and she wanted Axia to prove her dominance. Axia was two wins from grade three. Amber wanted to hit grade two by the end of the year with her, and was going to be working hard to hit that goal. Axia did need to step it up a notch, though. The competition was tough, and though three years old and mature Axia needed to do better if she was going to go where Amber wanted her to go. Working with a two year old was probably beneath them, but Jayde was entered in the Polkadot Stakes too, and Amber wanted to keep an eye on the promising filly while also helping her develop.

Jayde was, as per usual, a sweetheart. She obeyed Henna's commands at a twitch of the reins. Though she listened, she was also, as all two year olds are, slightly high strung. Her eyes wandered around the track incessantly, practically begging for something to spook at, and her ears twitched nervously every now and then. Though gaining experience, Jayde was young, and she had a lot of development to do. As for Axia, the filly had never been scared of anything. She prowled forward under Amber's experienced hand, practically howling for a challenge based on the tilt of her head and the glare in her eyes. This was Axia in race mode, where she gave the field a war face, was often the first to load and then broke into the position of her choosing. Lately that had been the position of stalker. For some reason, she was into stalking the leaders these days. Even though she had run this style for her past two races, Amber knew that it was liable to change to front runner or closer in their next race depending on Axia's mood.

Today they were going to do a four furlong sprint from the half mile pole. They were already cantering smoothly towards it. Jayde found a bird to spook at and threw her head. Henna interpreted it as being high strung and tightened the reins, but it could also be interpreted as a desire to break free and start running. About a furlong to the half mile pole, Amber and Henna dropped their reins and got their horses going into a gallop. They wanted to be sprinting for their workout, after all. Instantly Jayde took it upon herself to nose her way slightly in front of Axia. The flashy bay favored preceder and front runner positions. Axia adopted her stalker routine, staying just off of Jayde and waiting to make her next move. When the pair was asked to sprint, nothing changed except for their speed.

After two furlongs, Axia was raring to go, and Amber released her. Henna and Jayde were enjoying a good sprint when they were passed by the pair, the black three year old filly truly enjoying demoralizing the bay two year old. But Jayde picked it back up slightly, making up some ground before hitting the wire. Henna was satisfied with her filly's performance, and Amber hoped for a repeat on race day. They were going to be ready to go!