Post by tyra on Apr 30, 2012 4:01:21 GMT -5
It was only a few days until raceday, and Amber was determined to get all that she could from her ride, the beautiful Union Jaque, in her debut ride. To her, failure was not an option. This race was her first chance to really prove herself to her mother. She was determined to make an impressive start to their new lives here, and she wasn't planning on taking no for answer. Her goal was not to win, even though it would be an amazing start. No, her goal was to place in the top three in the six-horse field. A field which had grown in the last few days since their last workout.
Since her mother's talk after the workout earlier in the week, Amber had taken her time to look at the entrants herself. After all, knowing the competition was half of the challenge and she felt that she'd get a better feel if she checked them out herself. She was right. Now she knew what lay in wait come race day, and as she walked down to the racetrack for her next workout with Jackie she was going through the findings in her head..
Gate One. Dawn Of Silence, Grand Silence colt. Half brother of Sillenia and Worldbreaker. Unstarted so far, but a few workouts under his belt. Talent yet to be demonstrated. Gate Two. Runaway Oneleg, three year old with a poor record. No real threat. Gate Three. Eclipse. No known relations, unstarted but with a few workouts. Gate Four. Nochebuena. Started nine times for two seconds and a third. Inconsistent. Gate Five. Ourselves. Unstarted, no known relations, a few workouts. Gate Six. Terror Smile, a fairly consistent four year old. Main threat.
She smiled slightly to herself. The majority of the field were either unstarted or inconsistent. It meant that they stood a chance, and she was going to fight to make the most of that chance. She was going to fight for a chance at glory, and with Jackie on her team that was a tangible possibility. Christ, she would more than happily state she felt that Jackie had the talent for it. She definitely had the mind for it, and judging by the way she was prancing for the handlers ahead of her, while waiting for her to arrive, she had the energy for it too.
As she arrived she did little more than nod at her mother, who was already situated in the stands, before mounting the dark bay thoroughbred. She shifted her position, checked everything and then indicated to the handlers that it was time to move. Something that made the filly both excited and anxsty as they were headed for the gate, and the gate was the filly's main vice. Amber prepared herself for the drama, and was not disappointed. First, the filly just point blank stopped. Froze, right there in front of the gate. When the handlers tried to coax her in she began to pull away and half reared. It took several attempts, and even then the handlers struggled to get the filly into the gate.
With the shutters closed, the filly lashed out behind her. Angry, and hateful of the small space into which she had been trapped. Her ears pressed against her skull, her tassel snapped unhappily against her rump and when the gates opened it took her a moment to react. Come race day, Terror Smile would take the lead alongside Dawn Of Silence. Nochebuena would settle in the middle and the rear would be held by Union Jaque, Runaway Oneleg and Eclipse. If they needed to, Amber would ride the filly in a more mid style to avoid high levels of competition within the back three.
But with a slow start like they were guaranteed to get, Jackie seemed liked the prime candidate for her desired spot, right at the back of the pack. Today, the run was four furlongs on the turf and the hard turf was a sound surface which would provide a solid run. Each time the filly's powerful flints crashed into the ground, Amber was greeted by the sound of the impact added to the air rushing in her ears. Her eyes burned brightly as she imagines the race, the dirt being kicked up by the horses ahead as they started to move forwards.
Having chosen to run the filly in a much shortened version of the race, she had not urged the filly in the first furlong. Now, she started to urge her ride a little. Not much, but enough the get her to start moving forwards. In the race, this was where they would push past the other closers and come up beside the mid pack filly, Nochebeuna. Amber could image the dark bay filly beneath her getting fired up now, the game fast approaching and as they came into the final furlong the race was on. Amber drove the filly hard, cracking the crop against her rump. She worked hard, and the filly responded well. The burst of speed was incredible, and the filly's raw energy was easily observable. As they passed the post, Amber was smiling. She could not wait for raceday.
Since her mother's talk after the workout earlier in the week, Amber had taken her time to look at the entrants herself. After all, knowing the competition was half of the challenge and she felt that she'd get a better feel if she checked them out herself. She was right. Now she knew what lay in wait come race day, and as she walked down to the racetrack for her next workout with Jackie she was going through the findings in her head..
Gate One. Dawn Of Silence, Grand Silence colt. Half brother of Sillenia and Worldbreaker. Unstarted so far, but a few workouts under his belt. Talent yet to be demonstrated. Gate Two. Runaway Oneleg, three year old with a poor record. No real threat. Gate Three. Eclipse. No known relations, unstarted but with a few workouts. Gate Four. Nochebuena. Started nine times for two seconds and a third. Inconsistent. Gate Five. Ourselves. Unstarted, no known relations, a few workouts. Gate Six. Terror Smile, a fairly consistent four year old. Main threat.
She smiled slightly to herself. The majority of the field were either unstarted or inconsistent. It meant that they stood a chance, and she was going to fight to make the most of that chance. She was going to fight for a chance at glory, and with Jackie on her team that was a tangible possibility. Christ, she would more than happily state she felt that Jackie had the talent for it. She definitely had the mind for it, and judging by the way she was prancing for the handlers ahead of her, while waiting for her to arrive, she had the energy for it too.
As she arrived she did little more than nod at her mother, who was already situated in the stands, before mounting the dark bay thoroughbred. She shifted her position, checked everything and then indicated to the handlers that it was time to move. Something that made the filly both excited and anxsty as they were headed for the gate, and the gate was the filly's main vice. Amber prepared herself for the drama, and was not disappointed. First, the filly just point blank stopped. Froze, right there in front of the gate. When the handlers tried to coax her in she began to pull away and half reared. It took several attempts, and even then the handlers struggled to get the filly into the gate.
With the shutters closed, the filly lashed out behind her. Angry, and hateful of the small space into which she had been trapped. Her ears pressed against her skull, her tassel snapped unhappily against her rump and when the gates opened it took her a moment to react. Come race day, Terror Smile would take the lead alongside Dawn Of Silence. Nochebuena would settle in the middle and the rear would be held by Union Jaque, Runaway Oneleg and Eclipse. If they needed to, Amber would ride the filly in a more mid style to avoid high levels of competition within the back three.
But with a slow start like they were guaranteed to get, Jackie seemed liked the prime candidate for her desired spot, right at the back of the pack. Today, the run was four furlongs on the turf and the hard turf was a sound surface which would provide a solid run. Each time the filly's powerful flints crashed into the ground, Amber was greeted by the sound of the impact added to the air rushing in her ears. Her eyes burned brightly as she imagines the race, the dirt being kicked up by the horses ahead as they started to move forwards.
Having chosen to run the filly in a much shortened version of the race, she had not urged the filly in the first furlong. Now, she started to urge her ride a little. Not much, but enough the get her to start moving forwards. In the race, this was where they would push past the other closers and come up beside the mid pack filly, Nochebeuna. Amber could image the dark bay filly beneath her getting fired up now, the game fast approaching and as they came into the final furlong the race was on. Amber drove the filly hard, cracking the crop against her rump. She worked hard, and the filly responded well. The burst of speed was incredible, and the filly's raw energy was easily observable. As they passed the post, Amber was smiling. She could not wait for raceday.