Post by alicekcrose on Jun 7, 2012 4:27:27 GMT -5
Union Jaque
works for the November Maiden Turf under temporary jockey, Alice Kacey
[/size][/center]works for the November Maiden Turf under temporary jockey, Alice Kacey
The beautiful bay filly stepped on to the turf with steadyness and power. She pricked her ears tall, and pawed effortlessly at the floor. Having a new jockey was like, buying a new dog... well, not exactly like that, but it was something new. It was the transition to being under a new jockey which would be an overwhelming change. Today was going to be tricky, though there was possibly one horse we could beat. We'd had a long break since the last race, but it was now time for Alice to get Blueblood Racing back on it's feet. Today, Jackie would be racing in the November Maiden Dirt. The field consisted of only three horses at the moment, but it was likely that Stalkers Fury of Star Thoroughbreds would possibly enter and take the win... then again, their idea was to send her to the Juvenile Fillies. That's what I'd wanted with Jackie, but I knew by then she wouldn't be ready to take the Juvenile Fillies. We'd have to go and claim the Triple Tiara to comfort ourselves, wouldn't we?
In Gate One, there was Cosmic Warfare of Intrepid Racing Inc. The colt was currently three years old, so older and slightly more experienced than we were at this particular moment in time. He's started four times, with a second, fourth, fifth, and seventh. The previous year, he finished fifth in the Azalea Cup Colts... he was possibly the biggest threat of the race so far, but it's nothing we couldn't beat. And in Gate Two we had Wannadoo Voodoo of Gelli Aur Stables. The filly was a beautiful dapple grey, and a stunner - her racing wasn't the best recently. She started seven times and the highest she'd placed was in the Magic Millions Fillies Turf where she placed fourth. We could take her down, but to take Warfare down would be a huge challenge.
Jackie pranced and leapt about beside the pony horse. She snorted and pawed at the turf. I laughed and stroked her neck. Easy girl. I said to her, muttering softly. I'd been in the same race as the filly before... she despised the starting gate, so I was prepared for a challenge. She was also a closer... a very good one at that. She would begin to make her move around the four to five furlong pole, where she would bulk up with the others and use the stamina saved from the earlier part of the race to close and get to the front. This is what she did in her other races... it was an interesting race to watch though. I was on Danny, and I watched her as she waltzed past to take the third place. She was so close to the leaders, it was unbelievable. If she'd made her move a tiny bit earlier, she would've won that race... I stroked the fillies neck and calmed her down. She tried to pull away from the handler. Excuse me, Jackie! I said, bringing her back next to the pony horse.
We came to the gate. A handler tried to lead us in, but Jackie dug her heels in and pulled back, even rearing a tiny bit. The gate at the five furlong pole wasn't new, she'd already worked from the gate before, and I knew she could do it again. I squeezed her forward, and after a few minutes of trying, I decided to blindfold her. The handlers placed a blind fold over her eyes and walked her round a few times, before walking her back towards the gate. The pricked her ears and walked straight in. I grabbed the mane, ready for the start of the workout. I leaned forward, and put one hand on the blind fold. The bell rang, and I ripped the blind fold off her face and threw it backwards before pulling myself up and standing in my stirrups. She broke slowly, as I expected. I let her breeze softly along the remainder of the backstretch as her large stride covered the turf in style.
She really stretched her legs out when she ran, something I wasn't used to, but it made her gallop really comfy and easy to get with. She continued to gallop as she entered the turn and I crouched down and began to niggle at her. Jackie pricked her ears and stayed toward the rail. I imagined the field ahead of us, getting closer and closer with each stride. I continued to work her, pushing her more and more. We slowly began to weave between the imaginary field. I stretched my arm out as far as it would go, and my crop fell on the fillies rump as she began to pull away from the 'field' of horses. We flew under the wire and I relaxed, standing in my stirrups and letting her cool down and come back down the paces. Good girl, I said, patting her neck. She was a joy to ride.