Worship The Track

January Week One. The Akita Rose Newcomers Series. It was the first chance for the new two year olds to show what they were made of on the track, and many stables were making the most of that. The fields were competitive, and everyone wanted it to be their two year olds that made the cut. Silver Stride Stables were no different. Like most others, they had their entries and they desired the wins. It would be competitive, but they would give it their all.

Among the entrants, the filly Night Goddess certainly stood out a little. She was pure ebony, not a marking marring her form, with dark eyes and that was just her appearance. All you had to do was look at her pedigree to know that there was more to her than that, however. She was sired by Grand Silence, a very powerful turf racer who had also been quite good on the dirt. Grand Silence had some amazing races to his name, including the Unicorn Horn Juvenile, the King Cup, the Cox Plate and the Breeder's Cup Marathon. Her dam, on the other hand, had not been raced. However, that did not stop her from being a great dam - she was the mother of the Acorn Stakes winner and two-time Breeder's Cup winner Afterglow as well as the impressive three year old, Spitting Image.

Alana Stratt usually rode dirt horses, it was something that she excelled at and she had always found the dirt track more thrilling than the turf. However, she also had a fondness for her regular ride, Afterglow, and had leapt at the opportunity to ride the younger half sister. It would be interesting for everyone to see how the pair worked together, and if Alana would find interest in the turf at long last. What could be said though was that, for once, Alana had shown emotion rather than haughtiness. She was excited for the filly's debut.

Goddess was scheduled for the Flipping Frog Stakes, a race which ran over eight furlongs on the turf and was specifically for two year old fillies. So far, the race had five entrants and Goddess would be starting in gate five. The other entrants were Nightshade, Spectacular Motion, Innocent Passion and Beautiful Liar. It was a tough field, full of beautifully bred horses, but that meant nothing. What counted on the track was talent, and Alana was determined that Goddess be the next turf superstar.

As it was the first race, the racing styles of the various horses was a bit of a surprise. In the yearling shows, it had all been about in-hand work, conformation and bloodlines. Now it was about speed, power and stamina. Everyone was in the dark about everyone else and that made it exciting. Not that races weren't always exciting, but when a whole field was a mystery it certainly made for great fun. What the stable did know was that Goddess was a closer, taking after her father with her preference for positioning on the track.

Alana was already mounted on the sweet-natured filly when Matthias arrived at the track, and he was glad to see she was eager. Her eyes gleamed brightly as she shifted in the saddle, adjusting and testing the stirrups several times before she was happy and sat back into the racing style. The filly fidgetted as the jockey prepared, energetic and ready to go. She loved to run, and she had learnt in training that being brought down to the track generally meant it was time to run.

There would be no starting gate for the workout. The filly hated the gate, and there was no need to upset her so close to race day. It would cause her stress which she certainly did not need, and Alana was not happy with the idea. Matthias had to agree with her, and had already made a note that they would not use the gate in the workout before it had been mentioned by the jockey. Still, it was good to know his jockeys agreed with him.

The four furlongs stretch of turf ahead of them was not exactly a big distance, but it would prepare the filly without tiring her out too much and Alana lined the energetic filly up, pulling her goggles over her eyes before urging the filly forwards. The four-beat was powerful, carrying them forwards at an average pace, the filly moving well. Muscles relaxed and contracted, her audits pressed forwards as she moved forwards. In training, she had shown a highly competitive streak, but today she was not against another horse. She was able to relax and just run.

The turf was a little on the soft side, but it was not sloppy, meaning that while it did move a little under hoof it could have been worse. The movement, however, did not seem to bother the filly. In fact, if anything she seemed more than comfortable in her role on the track. Alana was smiling slightly, the filly was enjoying herself and she was enjoying it to. It felt good to have a horse who reacted to the slightest of signals and as she urged the filly on a little she could feel as they kicked up a gear.

Two furlongs had passed, and now Alana could really enjoy herself. She drove the filly forwards, not yet using the whip as the filly powered forwards and only as they reached the one furlong mark did she bring the crop down on the filly's rump. The filly practically leapt forwards as she threw herself into the final furlong, her powerful movement being used to speed forwards. They passed the post, and Alana had no doubt in her mind that the filly would give her all come race day.