Post by Snowflake on May 6, 2013 16:57:03 GMT -5
DYSPHORIA WORKS FOR THE ACORN STAKES*
The filly had had a great start to the season, and now it was time for her to do what she was born for. Run in the Triple Tiara. The other entrants would not be expecting her to do much, making this the perfect time to strike. Dee had rapidly improved her times in the last month, and had proved herself worthy of a run in the Acorn Stakes when she won the Davona Dale Stakes at The Wire track a month ago.
The chestnut filly moved with purpose as she strode onto the dirt track, her eyes gazed over the course with a certain fire in them. Beneath the shine of her coat rippled muscles that had become more and more noticeable in the few weeks, as a result of a improved training regime. This was the new Dysphoria, the one that was out of a Hall of Fame mare, the one that would now quickly rise to fame if she just had enough in the tank to take Ventura and Tears Of An Angel down.
The workout began when the filly burst forward into trot on cue. She tossed her head slightly, letting Stella know how great she felt. She wanted to run, straight away. But first she needed to warm up, to get her heart pumping and blood flowing and to loosen up her muscles. They were out at the crack of dawn, with the sun just beginning to poke its rays over the horizon. It was better at this time - they practically had the track to themselves with only a few other horses working at this time. And the media were not around to record Dee's workout - so they would not report on her either.
The competition in the Acorn Stakes would not know what had happened when Dee was in the Winner's Circle. They wouldn't see her until it was too late. All three entrants were preceders, which meant that at least one would be forced to lead the race. Dysphoria was starting from gate three, so it would be easy to hold her back slightly to get her into position behind the other two. It would likely be Ventura who was forced to lead, but in saying that, it wasn't as though the filly wasn't capable of it. As a Rising Fury foal, all her siblings were great front runners like their dam, Stride Of Perfection Stables had just chosen to go against the grain and run the filly behind the leaders.
Confidence aside, it was going to be a difficult race. Stella knew though that Dysphoria had the ability and she would have to trust the thoroughbred. As long as they got their preferred position, there would be no problems. As long as it didn't rain spontaneously, Dysphoria would run her best. And with the weather forecast not predicting any rain for weeks yet, it looked like the weather would be A-ok for Dee's preferences. Even though they desired the win deeply, just to beat either Ventura or Tears Of An Angel would be incredibly satisfying and would give both horse and jockey a massive confidence boost.
Dee cantered with strong, fluid strides. Stella had seen the filly canter from the ground many times. She carried herself well, with pride and a regal air. But galloping was Dee's best pace. When the filly was flat out racing, there was an extended amount of time when all four hooves were off the ground. She even seemed to float for a mere moment, right before she gathered herself and took another monstrous stride. Stella came back to reality slowly, a dreamy smile on her face. The four furlong marker was ahead, from which they would breeze the remaining distance to the finish. Stella crouched a little lower to the filly's withers, and then sent Dee flying.
