Post by S u N f r O s t ~ on Oct 7, 2013 18:58:02 GMT -5
LYNARA'S KINGDOM AND KRYSTAL YHATE
AXIS MUNDAE AND AMBER BLACK
SUGAR JAYDE AND HENNA TURATH
PREPS FOR SENIOR SPRINTER SERIES ALL AROUND
It started as a meeting at the Green Horse Fields turf track at five am. The horses had eaten and were satisfied. Some of them waited anxiously for their workouts while their loving grooms took care of them. But some of them, like these three, had been taken out from their stalls, groomed and readied for a workout. Championship season. The end of the sprinter series and the Breeders Cup awaiting them in four weeks. It was time to rock and roll and these three mares knew it. They had experienced championship pressure before, and they seemed to thrive rather than diminish in the face of it. Their wills to win would be tested, and they would have to stay strong if they wanted victory in the face of defeat. They had to look into that face and turn the other cheek. That was the ladies' job, and boy did they look to do just that. Bay, black and gray all met at the turf and gazed into the eyes of the next.
Lynara's eyes glittered with fury and calculation. The gray mare was high off of her wins in the sprinter series, but Amber just felt like the mare was sitting on one more pitfall before the Breeders Cup. With eleven powerful wins this season, ten in big name races, Lynara could go for anything she pleased. And she wanted the world. Amber was relaxed in the saddle but on high alert. Almost no other horses in the barn got Lynara this riled up except for these two. Axis Mundae and Sugar Jayde. The senior mares all had it out for each other on the turf track. The turf blazed when they ran, and these workouts usually resulted in fast, wanting horses next time out. And that was precisely the point. Valencia Andrews sat on the track rail almost lazily, but her eyes were sharp and keenly tuned to the movements of these three great mares. How she wished to be on a horse out there with them, but she was on watch and time duty.
Sugar Jayde remained sweet as sugar and compliant in Henna's eyes, but even her thoughts were not as sweet as they appeared on the surface. She was a powerful turf sprinter who owned ten wins this season and had taken the first leg of the Senior Sprinter Series Turf. She was definitely one of the faster turf mares out there. A deal had been struck with new Valkyrie Stables, who had become fast friends with SOPS, that Sugar Jayde would race for them next season. It was in exchange for Amber's sudden retraction of Infini from the stud market because a different option had presented itself. Jayde would provide Valkyrie with a major force to race and would also free up SOPS's focus to develop Innocent Passion and their other promising turf sprinters and milers. It was a win-win situation. Amber was confident that they would horses that could match Jayde at the races. But right now Henna was doubting that. She knew her mare was fast. She was the speed demon rider, and Jayde was just her brand of speed. As for Axia and Amber...her black mare was retiring and breeding to Frozen Motion for a turf miler foal. Amber was excited. The devilish black mare was tough as nails, having never faced restricted competition in the Breeders Cup and acting often like a colt herself. Her brawny muscle spoke volumes of her toughness.
The mares eyed each other, Axia with darkness in her gaze, Jayde with concentration and Lynara with fury. Amber grinned and turned Lynara, beckoning the other three mares around. Stride for stride, the ladies got started with an air of seniority pervading them. Lynara took the lead, and the fury in her gaze was not yet to be questioned. Krystal was the one who held the gray mare in check. She was the only other rider trusted on Lynara's back due to her special bond with moody horses. She felt excitement crackling through her veins. A ride on Lynara was a ride to remember. The gray mare just didn't seem to want to slow down, ever. Whenever she dropped, she rebounded. Axia piloted by Amber backed onto the rail, close enough to Lynara and the rail that Lynara couldn't take the rail without crashing into Axia. It was clever and annoying, precisely the point, and Lynara kicked into a higher gear. Sugar Jayde then came on the outside, stretched out joyfully as she matched Lynara stride for stride.
The three mares roared down the backstretch, Lynara and Jayde shortly engaging in a battle of wills and drawing away while Axia waited to join the battle. Amber felt poised aboard Axia. The mare had barely placed out of the top two in the last two seasons and she wasn't about to stop now. Amber felt the strength pooling in the mare and grinned. They swept through three furlongs and then she asked for some speed. Axia responded with a bold move. She swung to the outside and bore down on the pair in front on the far turn, sweeping past as though standing still. Her win in the Bucolic Stakes had strengthened her resolve. Lynara and Jayde were left briefly in shock from which both recovered, driving forward with new desire. Jayde was after a sprinter series and she wasn't going to let Axia stop her. Lynara did not want to be denied. The three made a line across the wire as they blistered through the remaining half mile of the workout.
The three riders were breathing hard as they attempted to pull up their horses. Valencia Andrews was grinning broadly and waving around her stopwatch. Amber eyed these horses and her riders and grinned a beautiful smile. This was what she worked for. Now they had to go out and be the stars she knew they could be. They would bring it to the table on raceday and would not accept defeat easily.
