for eternal glory

[S u N f r O s t ~]

ETERNAL PHANTOM AND KRYSTAL YHATE
PHANTIE'S WOOD MEMORIAL STAKES WORKOUT

The Triple Crown trail was calling their name and the first big milestone was coming up this weekend. The Wood Memorial Stakes. The first big Triple Crown prep race. Krystal knew that there were many out there who thought she was crazy for sending Phantie out against colts when she could send the filly to the Tiara. What they didn't know was that Krystal didn't want to send the filly where she couldn't steal something. Phantie didn't run the distance of the first Tiara race. Therefore, she could not run the entire series, and if she could not run the entire series then Krystal didn't want her to run it. They were much better contenders for the Crown, where they could run every race and live up to the legacy of Phantie's legendary dam El Sol Del Mar. But the legacy wasn't the only reason they were doing it. They were chasing glory. They were chasing the glory that few fillies had attained. They were chasing the dream of being the first female winners of the Triple Crown. Some had tried, and they had fallen. It was their turn to steal it or go down trying for it.

The Wood Memorial. Four others had shown up to try and defeat the black three year old. They were all colts, of course, but Krystal was serious about this. She wanted this so badly that she was willing to face this stiff competition with a grin on her face and determination flaring in her heart. And this was only how she felt. The great Eternal Phantom felt even more strongly. Intimidating, strong, breathtakingly fast, a lover of the night...Phantie was everything she was bred to be and more. Hot tempered, fiercely competitive, a love of speed in her blood - it was all there in spades. And she had long since committed herself to the colt competition. She had placed third in the Breeders Cup Juvenile, passing the Juvenile Fillies by. She had signed her fate into the Crown and Krystal would not keep her from the competition they both craved to defeat.

It had been decided that the biggest threat they would face was Predator from Intrepid Racing. He was a relative newcomer to the track and lacked the publicity of Euphoria's Warrior, but he had been very consistent, well worked and well raced this season and could take the win here. He had been conditioned and he would be the horse nobody saw winning against these top class colts. However, he had been defeated by Euphoria's Warrior at the Unicorn Horn Series. The Star Thoroughbreds colt had taken off midway through his juvenile season and was grade three. Surprisingly, he had had a rather quiet presence on the track thus far and hadn't really been heard of this season. He was one for one though, proving he still did have that speed from last season. Apollo Bear from Akita Rose was an interesting wild card. He had defeated Predator as well but lost to Warrior. He had been quietly raced and even now Krystal didn't know the depths of his talent. The last entrant was a late one, This Means War from Oak Hill Farm, who had not been seen at all this year. He had not been overly talented as a two year old and this would be his first start coming into his three year old season. He had been seen working on the track but Krystal somehow doubted that he would be up to snuff with the competition here. Nevertheless, he had experience and had been actively seen last season. His physical maturity had definitely increased and therefore he was still a threat.

The sun was just going down as Krystal held Phantie in through their warm up. The evening was their favorite time to work and Krystal wanted to treat Phantie a bit before they really got into their Triple Crown campaign. They had been working their butts off to be prepared and Krystal hoped that they would come out of this race with a win. They only needed one more to reach grade three, after all, and then after this was the Blue Grass Stakes. Their odds of success were increasing, though, with two wins and a second this year. Phantie's canter felt firm and fast. There was power here with the promise of more to come. Her eyes were bright with excitement as the sun continued to flow down and the sky grew darker. Her favorite hour was upon them.

Race tactics for this race would be interesting. They had War in the back, Apollo in the front or just behind, Warrior in the back and Pred in the front or the back. Phantie was also a front runner or a closer, and she would definitely recognize some threats. She would likely want to lead, but with the amount of potential front speed Krystal didn't think that was wise. Apollo would take the front, with Pred either with him or against him. War and Warrior would definitely be behind. Phantie could adopt either position, and Krystal vaguely wondered if she should just go for the front and challenge for it. Or, they could be up at the front and challenge for it, and if there was a lot of resistance back up a bit and let the other two colts duke it out. Apollo and Pred were both very competitive. They were likely to burn each other out. With this in mind, it would be better to stick close by but not be quite all the way up there. Phantie could stalk. It wasn't a known position for her, but she could get the filly to play it if she had to.

Their canter became a gallop. They powered over the dirt to what Krystal thought would be a glorious victory. To an eternity remembered they galloped. To eternal glory.