Post by archibald on Jan 31, 2012 2:25:26 GMT -5
calle ocho & destined for glory ,
Eight and Destiny both tugged on the reins, raring to go. The older filly was a little more patient, not trying too hard to get her head away from her rider’s control, which helped keep the colt a little calmer than he normally would have been on a solo workout. And the calmer he kept before he was actually out and running, the better, it meant that he wouldn’t use up all of his energy reserves farting around before he had even gotten around to being loaded in the practice gates. They started on their warm up lap, going from a walk, to a trot, eventually to a slow canter, keeping almost perfectly side by side the entire time.
Once they had reached the gates, it didn’t take them long to load, both horses being relatively easy to handle compared to most of the Close racing string, and then soon the bell rung shrill across the track, signalling that they were about to be let out to run. Their run was ten furlongs, both horses were closers so they didn’t really put on the accelerator whilst they ran, swapping who had control of the lead between them a couple of times as they made their way towards the backstretch. That was when their jockeys really got them going, urging them into a much faster speed.
The only thing that stopped Eight from taking over and coming across the finish line in front was Destiny’s experience, her rider keeping the filly just that tiny bit behind during the sprint right until the very end, taking the colt over by a head because she’d had just that extra bit of energy reserves waiting for her to kick them into use. All in all, it was a fairly decent run, although in a practice, it was to be expected, considering it was, well, a practice.