Post by Deleted on Jul 13, 2012 7:46:08 GMT -5
Italian Ice was more than ready to make her debut. The Silver Stride Stables team had spent time to ensure that she would be. From bloodlines of gold, she was a filly for whom there were great expectations and it was because of this that they had so carefully selected her debut. The Legacy Stakes was a maiden series like no other, allowing only entrants from Hall Of Fame inducted parents, and that was not all for it was a Horse Of The Year selection race. If Icee were to perform well here, she would have proven ready to become one of the year’s top two year olds.
With Icee being a dual surfaced filly, the stable had a choice of where to send her and they had considered the options carefully. In the end, however, they had decided to send her to the turf and this decision had been based on one simple fact. Basically, Icee’s half sister Ventura would be running in the turf and it would be the first time that the two had competed on the track. The previous year, in the show ring, Icee had won against her sister on several occasions and the team were interested to see how they would perform against one another on the track. So the Legacy Turf Stakes would be the debut for the impressively lined filly.
In their previous turf workout, Icee had shown herself to be a true powerhouse and it was hoped that she could make the most of that on the track; especially because of the fact that her competitive nature would not allow her to give in to the other horses in the home stretch. Of course, expecting her to win in her debut would be asking a lot. Few horses ever managed it, and the other entrants had raced previously, but Icee was not completely out of her depth. She had, at least, a chance to perform well and they had hope that she would do just that.
The sun had rose several hours before, and in the nearby village the church bells chimed to mark that the time had reached ten o’clock. The stable had been alive for five hours, with horses being moved around and the grooms were hard at work cleaning out the stables. Several horses were tied up outside of the stables while grooms tidied up their appearance and outside of Icee’s stall the filly stood proud in her tack. She had been tied for a moment while the groom who had prepared her went to inform Matthias, Lucas and Alexia that the filly was ready for her workout and while to start with she had pulled against the restraint she had then started to eye up the yard.
To a competitive and dominant creature like Icee, it was imperative to know what the competition was like. She had, of course, already seen many of them moving through the yard while she was a yearling. But she took a keen interest, and she made a show every time another equine was walked by her. In fact, as the trio approached the filly she was just throwing her head and posing as the three year old, Paradise Island, was walked by. The three year old, like Icee, had not yet raced this year and would soon be out on the track preparing for her first race of the year. Matthias rolled his eyes. It was typical of Icee to make a show, especially around other fillies and she was as on ball as ever today. Lucas took hold of the filly’s rein, untying her, while Alexia mounted the filly. Today, they wanted to get this workout rolling as quickly as possible. Matthias walked beside them as they made their way down to the track.
”I know you already know most of what I’m going to say Alexia, but just listen ok. Icee is young, and this is her first race. Today, while a win would be nice it isn’t a necessity. Use your common sense, push her but don’t push her so hard she will injure herself. She’s competitive to start with, she won’t let you down. Just see how she performs, and we can build on that.” Alexia nodded, she had seen this talk coming. It was a usual speech from Matthias and this was their second year with two year olds starting within the first month. ”I have faith in you.” he told her. They had reached the track, and those were Matthias’s parting words as he walked into the seating area beside the track. Lucas smiled at Alexia, moved the filly’s head away from him as she got a troublesome look in her eye. He, too, had faith in her. But he didn’t need to tell her that.
As they loaded into the gate the filly seemed a little over-energetic. She threw her head, halted for a moment before walking into the small area which was her place in the starting gate. Come race day, Icee was expected to start in the third gate and so it was that she had been loaded into the third hole. As the shutters shut behind her she did not move, and Alexia rose in her stirrups in preparation. When a horse debuted, that was when things got serious. When a horse debuted in a major race series you never expected things to be easy. Icee would have a battle on her hands, and they had yet to see if she could deal with that fight.
Soon after loading had been completed the buzzer sounded and the gates opened. There was no hesitation on the part of either the horse or the jockey as they broke well and started up the turf. Their pace was not slow. The three furlong stretch ahead of them was short, designed to work the horse while maintaining their energy for the race. Furthermore, it would be a test of their speed and that was one thing that Alexia was sure they had on their side. Alexia did not hold the fast-moving filly back but instead encouraged her forwards.
The turf was a little soft, but it was not terrible. The sky held mainly cloud, but the sun had peaked from behind the barrier to light the track and there was a slight breeze. The filly moved well. Each short stride was firm and well placed. Each movement was purposeful and filled with power. The breeze pulled her mane back, and her audits twitched to unheard sounds a distance away. Alexia could feel the movements the filly made through her muscles. She could hear as hooves crashed against the ground.
They were killing the short stretch. The turf churned under-hoof and the filly pressed forwards. She was eager, and Alexia was making the most of that. She pushed the filly a little more, and the filly responded by moving faster over the dirt. Sooner than she could have hoped, the filly passed the two furlong mark and she cracked the crop against the filly’s rump. They fought hard for the post, pressing powerfully forwards and they passed the post at a good speed. It had been another good work, and now they could only hope that it would help them come race day.
With Icee being a dual surfaced filly, the stable had a choice of where to send her and they had considered the options carefully. In the end, however, they had decided to send her to the turf and this decision had been based on one simple fact. Basically, Icee’s half sister Ventura would be running in the turf and it would be the first time that the two had competed on the track. The previous year, in the show ring, Icee had won against her sister on several occasions and the team were interested to see how they would perform against one another on the track. So the Legacy Turf Stakes would be the debut for the impressively lined filly.
In their previous turf workout, Icee had shown herself to be a true powerhouse and it was hoped that she could make the most of that on the track; especially because of the fact that her competitive nature would not allow her to give in to the other horses in the home stretch. Of course, expecting her to win in her debut would be asking a lot. Few horses ever managed it, and the other entrants had raced previously, but Icee was not completely out of her depth. She had, at least, a chance to perform well and they had hope that she would do just that.
The sun had rose several hours before, and in the nearby village the church bells chimed to mark that the time had reached ten o’clock. The stable had been alive for five hours, with horses being moved around and the grooms were hard at work cleaning out the stables. Several horses were tied up outside of the stables while grooms tidied up their appearance and outside of Icee’s stall the filly stood proud in her tack. She had been tied for a moment while the groom who had prepared her went to inform Matthias, Lucas and Alexia that the filly was ready for her workout and while to start with she had pulled against the restraint she had then started to eye up the yard.
To a competitive and dominant creature like Icee, it was imperative to know what the competition was like. She had, of course, already seen many of them moving through the yard while she was a yearling. But she took a keen interest, and she made a show every time another equine was walked by her. In fact, as the trio approached the filly she was just throwing her head and posing as the three year old, Paradise Island, was walked by. The three year old, like Icee, had not yet raced this year and would soon be out on the track preparing for her first race of the year. Matthias rolled his eyes. It was typical of Icee to make a show, especially around other fillies and she was as on ball as ever today. Lucas took hold of the filly’s rein, untying her, while Alexia mounted the filly. Today, they wanted to get this workout rolling as quickly as possible. Matthias walked beside them as they made their way down to the track.
”I know you already know most of what I’m going to say Alexia, but just listen ok. Icee is young, and this is her first race. Today, while a win would be nice it isn’t a necessity. Use your common sense, push her but don’t push her so hard she will injure herself. She’s competitive to start with, she won’t let you down. Just see how she performs, and we can build on that.” Alexia nodded, she had seen this talk coming. It was a usual speech from Matthias and this was their second year with two year olds starting within the first month. ”I have faith in you.” he told her. They had reached the track, and those were Matthias’s parting words as he walked into the seating area beside the track. Lucas smiled at Alexia, moved the filly’s head away from him as she got a troublesome look in her eye. He, too, had faith in her. But he didn’t need to tell her that.
As they loaded into the gate the filly seemed a little over-energetic. She threw her head, halted for a moment before walking into the small area which was her place in the starting gate. Come race day, Icee was expected to start in the third gate and so it was that she had been loaded into the third hole. As the shutters shut behind her she did not move, and Alexia rose in her stirrups in preparation. When a horse debuted, that was when things got serious. When a horse debuted in a major race series you never expected things to be easy. Icee would have a battle on her hands, and they had yet to see if she could deal with that fight.
Soon after loading had been completed the buzzer sounded and the gates opened. There was no hesitation on the part of either the horse or the jockey as they broke well and started up the turf. Their pace was not slow. The three furlong stretch ahead of them was short, designed to work the horse while maintaining their energy for the race. Furthermore, it would be a test of their speed and that was one thing that Alexia was sure they had on their side. Alexia did not hold the fast-moving filly back but instead encouraged her forwards.
The turf was a little soft, but it was not terrible. The sky held mainly cloud, but the sun had peaked from behind the barrier to light the track and there was a slight breeze. The filly moved well. Each short stride was firm and well placed. Each movement was purposeful and filled with power. The breeze pulled her mane back, and her audits twitched to unheard sounds a distance away. Alexia could feel the movements the filly made through her muscles. She could hear as hooves crashed against the ground.
They were killing the short stretch. The turf churned under-hoof and the filly pressed forwards. She was eager, and Alexia was making the most of that. She pushed the filly a little more, and the filly responded by moving faster over the dirt. Sooner than she could have hoped, the filly passed the two furlong mark and she cracked the crop against the filly’s rump. They fought hard for the post, pressing powerfully forwards and they passed the post at a good speed. It had been another good work, and now they could only hope that it would help them come race day.