Post by S u N f r O s t ~ on Feb 7, 2015 21:50:39 GMT -5
SILENT SNAP AND AMBER BLACK
COINCIDENCE AND HENNA TURATH
ARES AND VALENCIA ANDREWS
EVERYONE'S WORKOUT FOR UNICORN HORN SERIES
And so it was that these three horses cut a warpath around the first turn. Silent Snap was rolling on the lead, bulky muscle speeding him forward over the dirt. The look in his eyes...it could kill. Silent Snap had become brilliantly fast, only adding to his already ridiculous amount of power. The sprinter-miler was embarking on his classic season, and the Unicorn Horn Dirt Mile would serve as a proving ground. He was against two older horses, champions of last season, so Amber Black was perhaps not expecting a win...but another With A Snap horse had upset her elders first start back off the Breeders Cup, and that horse had been Lynara's Kingdom. Snapper was just as talented, and he was taking these two brilliant juveniles on with easy power. But they were not to be outdone...both had broken their maidens in their first starts for a reason.
Ares stalked powerfully in the back, ready to shed blood at a moment's notice. He was a chestnut god in motion, moving with unmistakably raw talent. Valencia Andrews always felt like yelling war cries when she rode this colt. He just embodied enjoyable war to her. And alongside Ares, Coincidence flickered like a lingering shadow. He did not have the flashiness of Ares or the raw power of Silent Snap...but even at this point in the season, it was not easy to mistake Coney's brilliantly tactical mind. Henna Turath felt like she barely had to do anything aboard this colt. Coney just instinctually knew how to race to his best advantage. He knew how to control the pace, moderate it or himself if he needed to, lead or close or play in the middle of the pack. He was just so brilliantly adaptable, a professional at such a young age. Even now he had taken the measure of his two competitors. He had flown to victory in his first race using this brilliant mind. With time, he would adapt his pace style to suit every distance range...experience would only make this horse deadlier.
Snapper was pure power on the front end. He was rolling like a tidal wave down the dirt. He had forged a three length lead with ease. Here was a horse that moved impressively - the only issue sometimes came in getting the job done. The two juveniles behind would provide an interesting challenge in the stretch. Could he hold them off? Four furlongs clipped by, six...and then the responding tsunami wave from behind broke. Ares accelerated sharply, and Coney, sharp as ever, kept with the other juvenile. He would not be left behind. They slashed into Snapper's lead. Jockeying instincts keen as always, Amber glanced under her arm and then turned, wildly urging Snapper into flight as they raced into the stretch. The With A Snap son responded, an easy spurt of speed putting off the juveniles...yet still they came, undeterred. Three lengths, two and a half...they ate steadily into the lead.
As younger horses, they were simply not up to Snapper's speed yet, and the older chestnut won easily by two at the wire. But down the stretch they had shown strength, speed and courage, as well as the gameness with which they took defeat. It was showtime.
