Post by Deleted on May 3, 2012 7:32:13 GMT -5
The filly was not exactly a bad racer, she had proved herself the have the talent to be great with her two wins this year - especially when you considered that they were both in major races. She'd also placed in a further two major races, missing out narrowly on further achievements. But two wins was not enough for Jacob, and he was itching to further their already impressive record. He wanted to make it to grade four at the least by the end of this year, and he had big plans for the filly's future. She had only had two bad races, and the rest of her record placed her consistently in the top three. She was best known for her efforts on the dirt, but she was also a turf racer, and exactly where she would race at the end of the year was as of yet undecided. Would she go into a turf race for the breeders cup, or a dirt race? Would she race against only her gender, or would she take on the boys? Decisions which had yet to be made, decisions which would depend on her performance until the major race series.
The Lucky Day Futurity provided her with a chance to once more prove her talents against those in her age group that did not yet have the four wins to reach grade four, and being only a mile long she would not have to deal with the pressures of Instant Success either - a colt who ran distances of nine furlongs or longer. She would be battling for recognition on the dirt in this race, and then she would move to fight for recognition on the turf in the Azalea Cup Fillies. First, though, they would be fighting for gold on the mile-long track.
Paradise Island did not have the bloodlines of many of the two year olds on the track. She had been sourced from outside of the racing scene, and her unknown blood meant she would be a good stock horse when it came to breeding - she would have no worries about her bloodlines becoming inbred. First, though, she had the potential to be a great racer, and she would be raced to the best of that potential. Jacob was determined to make the most of her talents, and the two year old had definitely been showing herself to have some skills. Indeed, Sonja was becoming recognised on the circuit, and the more they worked with her the more likely she was to become more well known. By the time December came, there was every chance that she would be among the best known fillies in her age group.
Jacob had arranged for another workout. It wasn't that he didn't trust the filly to perform well, but he didn't want to take any chances. He wanted to see her take this win, and he wanted to give her every chance of success possible. Everything was falling into place, their year so far had provided them with some positive results and there was still time yet to continue with their improvements. Sonja was becoming more and more attuned to her jockey, with whom she already had a strong relationship, and he was prepared to put as much work in as he had the time for.
Jacob walked into Matthias's office and nodded, the signal that he was ready to start the workout, and Matthias stood up swiftly. As they walked out of the office, their was a sense of understanding between them. They were good friends, and Matthias had rarely seen Jacob this fired up. Normally, it was only Dark that could bring Jacob to this point but of late there had been another. Of course, it was Sonja. When Jacob clicked with a talented horse, he would give anything to help them succeed. "So you said you wanted to do a mile run on the dirt, just you and Sonja right?" he asked and Jacob nodded. "With her energy levels, frequent workouts not only keep her exercised and in form but prevent her from being too energetic come race day. I want to see her win, not make stupid mistakes because she has too much pent up energy." it was a good point. Sonja had a habit of becoming far too energetic.
As they reached the track, Sonja was not far behind them, and they could hear her coming. Obviously she was having a bad day, and it seemed like she was fighting the world. Throwing herself and her weight around like some sort of weapon. A thoroughbred like her could cause some serious damage, and they were lucky in the fact that she tended to go for less dangerous methods. It still hurt though, and it seemed she had taken a bite out of one of the handlers, who walked down a little away from the filly, nursing a rather red arm. "Jake, you sure you want to work with her today?" the handler asked and Jacob nodded, walking over to the filly. He looked into her dark eyes for a long moment, and then walked around and mounted her.
The bay filly's head lifted, and she seemed to resist the temptation to rear. If it had been any other jock, she'd probably have thrown them off without hesitation, but his was Jake. Her and Jake had a special bond, and nobody was going to get in the way of that. But that did not mean she couldn't continue to fight the handlers as they led her to the gate, and it certainly didn't mean that she would gate easily. Her ears pinned back across her skull as she snorted, fighting the gating process. She planted her hooves, she veered away, and it took the handlers a number of attempts to finally get her into the gate. Once they did, they closed the shutters behind her, relieved, in a way that their job was over.
The gates opened and the filly bolted, pushing at high speed up the dirt track. She showed no signs of slowing down, as she thundered onwards. Like a dart, she took a straight course and her eyes were set firmly ahead of her, audits still pinned to her crown. Jacob had expected this, had known that when the filly was in such an aggressive mood they were destined to run at a high speed throughout. She took a front runners position, fought hard throughout. It was what she did, and Jacob knew to adapt with her moods. In a calmer mood, she was a preceder. In this mood, she was all about the speed and taking the lead.
Her flints thundered against the solid dirt, her powerful limbs pushing them forwards. Each stride was long, precise, and she showed no signs of slowing down. The wind pulled through her black mane and her eyes flashed dangerously. She was crying for a challenge, desperate to show herself as the star she was. But instead, she just ran. Tearing up the dirt she was moving at incredible speeds.
It was clear to Jacob that Sonja was just as tired of not taking the number one spot as he was. Everything about her just screamed that she was ready for a race. As he rode he counted the furlongs, and he read her body language. He mixed his knowledge of her with what he could read and came to the conclusion that the race would be an interesting one. Sonja was determined, he was determined, and there was no doubt that the talent was there. Two furlongs remaining. He cracked the crop against her rump and he drove her. Hard. No games, this was all about securing a win and he would not let up. Not for anyone. Sonja continued her relentless pace, stride after stride drawing them closer to the post. It was so close now. As they passed the post their was no denying it - they were ready.
The Lucky Day Futurity provided her with a chance to once more prove her talents against those in her age group that did not yet have the four wins to reach grade four, and being only a mile long she would not have to deal with the pressures of Instant Success either - a colt who ran distances of nine furlongs or longer. She would be battling for recognition on the dirt in this race, and then she would move to fight for recognition on the turf in the Azalea Cup Fillies. First, though, they would be fighting for gold on the mile-long track.
Paradise Island did not have the bloodlines of many of the two year olds on the track. She had been sourced from outside of the racing scene, and her unknown blood meant she would be a good stock horse when it came to breeding - she would have no worries about her bloodlines becoming inbred. First, though, she had the potential to be a great racer, and she would be raced to the best of that potential. Jacob was determined to make the most of her talents, and the two year old had definitely been showing herself to have some skills. Indeed, Sonja was becoming recognised on the circuit, and the more they worked with her the more likely she was to become more well known. By the time December came, there was every chance that she would be among the best known fillies in her age group.
Jacob had arranged for another workout. It wasn't that he didn't trust the filly to perform well, but he didn't want to take any chances. He wanted to see her take this win, and he wanted to give her every chance of success possible. Everything was falling into place, their year so far had provided them with some positive results and there was still time yet to continue with their improvements. Sonja was becoming more and more attuned to her jockey, with whom she already had a strong relationship, and he was prepared to put as much work in as he had the time for.
Jacob walked into Matthias's office and nodded, the signal that he was ready to start the workout, and Matthias stood up swiftly. As they walked out of the office, their was a sense of understanding between them. They were good friends, and Matthias had rarely seen Jacob this fired up. Normally, it was only Dark that could bring Jacob to this point but of late there had been another. Of course, it was Sonja. When Jacob clicked with a talented horse, he would give anything to help them succeed. "So you said you wanted to do a mile run on the dirt, just you and Sonja right?" he asked and Jacob nodded. "With her energy levels, frequent workouts not only keep her exercised and in form but prevent her from being too energetic come race day. I want to see her win, not make stupid mistakes because she has too much pent up energy." it was a good point. Sonja had a habit of becoming far too energetic.
As they reached the track, Sonja was not far behind them, and they could hear her coming. Obviously she was having a bad day, and it seemed like she was fighting the world. Throwing herself and her weight around like some sort of weapon. A thoroughbred like her could cause some serious damage, and they were lucky in the fact that she tended to go for less dangerous methods. It still hurt though, and it seemed she had taken a bite out of one of the handlers, who walked down a little away from the filly, nursing a rather red arm. "Jake, you sure you want to work with her today?" the handler asked and Jacob nodded, walking over to the filly. He looked into her dark eyes for a long moment, and then walked around and mounted her.
The bay filly's head lifted, and she seemed to resist the temptation to rear. If it had been any other jock, she'd probably have thrown them off without hesitation, but his was Jake. Her and Jake had a special bond, and nobody was going to get in the way of that. But that did not mean she couldn't continue to fight the handlers as they led her to the gate, and it certainly didn't mean that she would gate easily. Her ears pinned back across her skull as she snorted, fighting the gating process. She planted her hooves, she veered away, and it took the handlers a number of attempts to finally get her into the gate. Once they did, they closed the shutters behind her, relieved, in a way that their job was over.
The gates opened and the filly bolted, pushing at high speed up the dirt track. She showed no signs of slowing down, as she thundered onwards. Like a dart, she took a straight course and her eyes were set firmly ahead of her, audits still pinned to her crown. Jacob had expected this, had known that when the filly was in such an aggressive mood they were destined to run at a high speed throughout. She took a front runners position, fought hard throughout. It was what she did, and Jacob knew to adapt with her moods. In a calmer mood, she was a preceder. In this mood, she was all about the speed and taking the lead.
Her flints thundered against the solid dirt, her powerful limbs pushing them forwards. Each stride was long, precise, and she showed no signs of slowing down. The wind pulled through her black mane and her eyes flashed dangerously. She was crying for a challenge, desperate to show herself as the star she was. But instead, she just ran. Tearing up the dirt she was moving at incredible speeds.
It was clear to Jacob that Sonja was just as tired of not taking the number one spot as he was. Everything about her just screamed that she was ready for a race. As he rode he counted the furlongs, and he read her body language. He mixed his knowledge of her with what he could read and came to the conclusion that the race would be an interesting one. Sonja was determined, he was determined, and there was no doubt that the talent was there. Two furlongs remaining. He cracked the crop against her rump and he drove her. Hard. No games, this was all about securing a win and he would not let up. Not for anyone. Sonja continued her relentless pace, stride after stride drawing them closer to the post. It was so close now. As they passed the post their was no denying it - they were ready.