Post by S u N f r O s t ~ on Jan 23, 2015 20:59:49 GMT -5
ARES AND VALENCIA ANDREWS
ANIMATIA AND HENNA TURATH
BATTLE WINGS AND KRYSTAL YHATE
Henna Turath wondered what the hell had happened to produce the vibrating gray filly in front of her. This was not a horse that hailed from potent lines. Her sire TDI Live This Lie had been easy to manage and a solid runner. Her dam Flash At Dawn had produced a couple of horses with intense tempers, such as Sizzling Dawn, but Animatia was another level up. She had all the energy of her bloodline and it made her absolutely uncontrollable - so uncontrollable, that for the first time ever Stride Of Perfection would not campaign the filly along the lines of their regular juvenile schedule. Instead, the filly would skip the majority of her two year old season if not the entirety of it in order to train her into a horse that could actually function on the racetrack. As it was...Henna knew she was up for a wild ride whenever she got on this filly's back. She let a broad grin stretch across her face - the wildly energetic ones were always the fastest - and settled deeply into the irons as she vaulted onto the back of the crazy juvenile.
Animatia was moving before Henna had even settled into the saddle. She was a powerhouse, a livewire as she strode with energetic purpose out towards the open expanse of the dirt track. This was a horse who loved to work. Henna knew that all she could do was make sure other horses stayed clear of hers once they got onto the track. Tia didn't care about what lay in her way between her current place and her planned destination - she just needed to get to the track as soon as possible. She pulled on the reins and Henna tightened her grip on them and planned the route of least interference to the track. It would be hard to get there, what with the press converging to see new two year olds work out before their first starts. What the press didn't know was that Tia was the problem child of the bunch and wouldn't be starting for a good long while.
Tia accelerated sharply as her hooves contacted the dirt. Henna knew this was it - she had to keep others safe when working this horse out. Tia's aggressive side was the only one to make an appearance on the track - everything else remained in the background. This horse absolutely could not stop moving. If they went to the gates now...it would be a nightmare. Instead, Henna circled the filly in tight circles. Tia was happy to be led through the monotonous exercise - at least she was moving. Henna kept a sharp eye out for the filly's workmates, praying they would come soon. This was a filly that needed release fast, and while they certainly wouldn't be able to work out with the workmates they would at least get instructions.
Whereas Animatia burned with hyperactive energy, Ares burned with the more feral kind. Valencia's blood sang with the anticipation of war as she let this horse bully his way onto the track. The reporters seemed to sense that this was not a horse to crowd around. It was clear in the aggressive, arrogant way that Ares carried himself - this was not a horse to mess with. Pure strength rippled beneath her. This was a horse ready to fly like one shot out of a cannon. He had already displayed immense flexibility at a young age, with the speed to get five furlongs but the ability to rate that speed to get ten. This was a special horse, Valencia felt. Her spirit was clearly mirrored in him - they hungered for battle and felt themselves the best out there. Ares accelerated sharply as they hit the track, showing the workmanlike attitude that would make him feared. This horse trained like a horse with a mission.
Valencia caught sight of Animatia and sent a small nod in Henna's direction. Henna nodded back from her position on Tia's back. The gray filly was the most muscular, fit filly of the crop. She was always in motion and it showed in her form. In Valencia's secret opinion, she was the best looking juvenile out of the bunch, but ironically would be starting last. Ares snorted, not impressed with what he saw, and proceeded to stride impressively towards the first turn, expecting the cue to work out. Valencia held him back, circled him once. They were expecting another any second now...and there she was. Krystal Yhate approached aboard none other than Battle Wings. The now four year old mare had finished second behind Mastermind in the Breeders Cup Dirt Mile. She was starting back sooner than the usual Stride Of Perfection Breeders Cup participant, but she was simply uncontainable. An undying racing spirit had been taken up by this filly since she won the Juvenile Fillies over a year ago, and the spirit demanded little rest and more racing. What was for sure was that Battle thrived off the extra work.
Krystal couldn't help her admiration of the mare beneath her. Battle bounced back from tough races easily, coming back stronger each time. And this season, with Eternal Phantom out of the picture, they could stake the claim for Dirt Queen. Nightshade and others would surely challenge for the title as well, but Krystal had confidence in her mount. She had ridden the last Dirt Queen, after all - she knew what her mount was capable of. Battle had the same deadly grace and amazing power that Phantie had possessed, and just as much tactical speed. Her maturity was beginning to show now in the way she moved in full command of her faculties and the way she regarded the track - as though no horse could stop her. She moved with grim purpose and Krystal liked her attitude. She called out to Valencia, received a call in response and joined Ares over the dirt. Ares regarded the older horse with respect - Battle was taller than him and behaved like an older horse. But Valencia knew the world of speed she rode and felt confident. Working Ares against an older horse would give him a lot of advantages.
Krystal called out her instructions as Henna trotted Tia close enough to hear - Ares and Battle will break from the gates and work four. After four, Battle is going to tail off - we don't want to push her so soon after the Breeders Cup. Ares will continue for a speedy two. As for Animatia, we know better than to take her from the gates. She'll start running when Ares hits his third furlong, but not fast. Start ahead, wait for Ares to catch up...and then we'll see how game your filly is. Got it? Henna nodded, grinning. It was time to run down some opponents and see how Tia reacted to that. Ares would work well with Battle, and Battle would work easy. Everybody would win.
The gates were already set up. Henna eased Animatia out into a canter past them, striking out for the third furlong pole. Tia moved quickly, like quicksilver or liquid mercury. She was fast and full of easy power and speed. It was a shame she wouldn't start early, but developmentally she just wasn't ready. Meanwhile, at the gates, Battle loaded like a pro with a quick snap of her teeth in the starter's direction for fun. Ares snorted but strode right in - he wouldn't be shown up by another horse. The gates were still for only a moment before they opened and the horses were off. Battle broke like a shot out of a gun and ran for the lead, bit nearly in her teeth and eyes glaring. Ares was off almost as quickly, settling down comfortably and letting the pace sizzle. He was comfortable with letting Battle go for now - every competitor knew he would come for them eventually.
The pair raced through the first quarter in a shade under twenty-four; Battle was taking no prisoners today. Ares settled a length and a half off of her and waited patiently. Up ahead, Henna was circling Animatia. As the pair behind came up to bear at the third furlong, Henna timed the circle perfectly before leaning forward, straightening Animatia along the length of the backstretch and letting the filly fly with a flick of her fingers. Tia exploded into pure speed as the pair behind came up with them. She was fast, so bloody fast that Henna was briefly taken aback. Where the heck had this come from? Battle snorted, recognizing a sudden competitor and lengthened her stride. She came up on the inside of Animatia, and the gray filly reacted near violently to it, showing sudden heart and digging in, accelerating with reckless abandon. Henna clung on for dear life it felt as Battle and the juvenile fought it out. How could this filly be so fast? Ares remained three, four, five lengths behind, content to let the front runners duke it out while he bided his time.
The fourth furlong slowed and Krystal lightly grasped the reins and slowed the mare much to her displeasure. Now Animatia was alone on the lead, and Ares was coming for her. The chestnut colt struck out, dirt flying as he revealed his vicious turn of foot and came for the leader. Eyes narrowed, Valencia measured the distance between them and their opponent. Four lengths, three, two, one...they cut the distance quickly, like a knife slicing through warm butter. Valencia smirked, expecting nothing of the other filly. Until she saw the smirk Henna directed her way, the way the woman leaned and asked for more. Animatia gave it, blowing away Ares as though he was standing still. Valencia was left reeling in shock as the craziest horse in the barn made them eat her dust, a gray blur of impossible speed as she struck out for the final turn. Ares was shocked as well, but recovered quickly, digging down for more speed. They barely managed to regain any ground by the end of the second furlong, and Valencia was left slowing the chestnut colt down, shaking her head in disbelief. How was Tia so fast?
Henna was on a bolt of lightning, a comet rocketing in toward earth. This horse was her dreams - pure, uncontainable, tireless speed. They rocketed around the first turn and still managed to keep their speed - a lot of healthy stamina inherited from both sides of the pedigree, no doubt. Henna knew she could fly forever on this filly and demolish their competition if they chose, but they couldn't push her too far. She began to slow the filly down as they hit the seventh furlong, and luckily the filly complied. Tia slowed, sweat beading on her neck but satisfied. She tossed her head, still refusing to stop moving as she was jogged off the track before a stunned crowd. One person leaned over and whispered I don't know if that horse was even under control. The other person responded It won't matter if under control or not - did you see those fractions? The filly needs some training, sure, but once she gets in a race... He trailed off, eyeing the filly.
Krystal sent a coy smirk in the direction of the crowd, talked to Valencia as she finished cooling out Ares. Your colt wasn't bad out there either. Kept pace with my mare. I'm excited for his first start...and when Animatia finally figures things out, we'll have another bloody fast horse on our hands.
