Post by Kenren on Mar 23, 2015 15:15:20 GMT -5
Spitterfly & Vivien Charron
Jericho & Tigris Greenfire
Jericho & Tigris Greenfire
Cole knew he was taking a gamble when, late in Y14, he decided to take in two-year-olds from the surrounding farms. That late in the year, the horses that where given out tended to be those that could easily be considered projects. That what it was, Valkyrie had started off the year with eight three-year-olds at grade five and three at grade four or higher - not the greatest odds to go into another classic season with, but Cole was one for a challenge. He'd sold three of the horses to help focus on the ones he thought he could do the most with, and so far one other had snagged a win against the rough competition to grade up - the blue-blooded Spitterfly. With siblings like Frozen Motion, Spitting Image, and Sweet Inferno, the grey filly had above and beyond the potential to shake up her division. However, because of racing and training interruption due to her stable leaving the industry once more, a filly that could have been a forerunner in the hunt for the Turf Triple Tiara was suddenly underraced and far behind her competitors. It was hard to swallow. However, Cole had not given up on her in any way. She was doing well in the undercards, and had even run in a TTT prep. She might not be able to run in the the first leg or two of the Tiara, but Spitterfly could not be counted out quite yet.
Another three-year-old who had struggled to find races after Valkyrie went on hold was Jericho. Not picked up by any other stables, the highly talented colt had also fallen behind his competition in his two-year-old year. His record was not fantastic, but it also was not bad. He'd suffered early this year from large fields against older horses, but seemed to have somewhat found his footing again against both older horses and his own age group. He too would be absent from likely the first two legs of his intended series, the Turf Triple Crown. In reality, he might not be ready at all - in such a tight, competitive division, Cole wasn't one to bank on an upset if the horse wasn't ready. For both horses, time would reveal their fates.
For once, the jockeys didn't need to worry much at all about antics on the racetrack for the work. Vivien was aboard the amazingly sweet-tempered Spitter, who wasn't likely to cause a fuss unless something truly scared her, and Tigris was on Jericho, who had a habit of acting silly and fussy but really was as solid as could be. They were taken side-by-side, with plenty of room between, down to the track where they were meeting Cole. Jericho kept turning his head and stretching his nose out toward Spitter, then jerking back and squealing even though she'd done nothing more than glance at him with interest. Tigris all but ignored him other than giving a squeeze of the reins when the colt got too rambunctious - he really never did, though. He just liked to be seen and heard. Instead he and Vivien chatted lightly until they got trackside, when attention shifted and Cole assigned them a five-furlong breeze. They quickly moved out onto the track, mostly because Jericho frankly embarrassed Tigris if he got bored standing around. Spitter was pleasant as could be, trotting out under Vivien with long sweeping strides and none of the normal pre-work freshness. She had a very pretty, petite face and thoughtful eyes, and she was one of the crowd favorites for her striking looks on the track. True to form, quite a few more eyes were up from their phones and looking at the pretty filly and her big bay companion as they warmed up.
They were well-behaved, and soon Tigris and Vivien had their horses on the rail and moving into an easy gallop. Both horses liked to strike from behind, but there was no way to make them both happy so they just ran them in company. It didn't result in the blistering pace the hot-headed frontrunners tended to set, but it wasn't pokey either. Jericho seemed to want to sprint off, since the end of the race was normally the time he had open ground in front of him, but he trusted Tigris through his confusion and didn't fight his tempering hands. Spitter was always incredibly responsive, and very rarely took her own head. So even though she normally stalked, she simply sat and waited for her cue from Vivien. The horses began speeding up nearly in unison after two furlongs in the creeping gain they both seemed to prefer, pricking off invisible horses around the turn. By the time they were in the last furlong, Vivien and Tigris had the horses flattened out and driving. It was impossible to tell who went by the pole that marked the finish first, but they were in enough of a duel that Jericho had to be heavily convinced to slow up. Vivien ended up having to ease Spitter first, since she was much more level-headed than her stablemate. Cole couldn't help notice that both horses looked none the worse for wear coming out - they hadn't been nearly at full speed, but they'd put on a very good show. They might be underrated, but they were sneaking up - and quickly.
Another three-year-old who had struggled to find races after Valkyrie went on hold was Jericho. Not picked up by any other stables, the highly talented colt had also fallen behind his competition in his two-year-old year. His record was not fantastic, but it also was not bad. He'd suffered early this year from large fields against older horses, but seemed to have somewhat found his footing again against both older horses and his own age group. He too would be absent from likely the first two legs of his intended series, the Turf Triple Crown. In reality, he might not be ready at all - in such a tight, competitive division, Cole wasn't one to bank on an upset if the horse wasn't ready. For both horses, time would reveal their fates.
For once, the jockeys didn't need to worry much at all about antics on the racetrack for the work. Vivien was aboard the amazingly sweet-tempered Spitter, who wasn't likely to cause a fuss unless something truly scared her, and Tigris was on Jericho, who had a habit of acting silly and fussy but really was as solid as could be. They were taken side-by-side, with plenty of room between, down to the track where they were meeting Cole. Jericho kept turning his head and stretching his nose out toward Spitter, then jerking back and squealing even though she'd done nothing more than glance at him with interest. Tigris all but ignored him other than giving a squeeze of the reins when the colt got too rambunctious - he really never did, though. He just liked to be seen and heard. Instead he and Vivien chatted lightly until they got trackside, when attention shifted and Cole assigned them a five-furlong breeze. They quickly moved out onto the track, mostly because Jericho frankly embarrassed Tigris if he got bored standing around. Spitter was pleasant as could be, trotting out under Vivien with long sweeping strides and none of the normal pre-work freshness. She had a very pretty, petite face and thoughtful eyes, and she was one of the crowd favorites for her striking looks on the track. True to form, quite a few more eyes were up from their phones and looking at the pretty filly and her big bay companion as they warmed up.
They were well-behaved, and soon Tigris and Vivien had their horses on the rail and moving into an easy gallop. Both horses liked to strike from behind, but there was no way to make them both happy so they just ran them in company. It didn't result in the blistering pace the hot-headed frontrunners tended to set, but it wasn't pokey either. Jericho seemed to want to sprint off, since the end of the race was normally the time he had open ground in front of him, but he trusted Tigris through his confusion and didn't fight his tempering hands. Spitter was always incredibly responsive, and very rarely took her own head. So even though she normally stalked, she simply sat and waited for her cue from Vivien. The horses began speeding up nearly in unison after two furlongs in the creeping gain they both seemed to prefer, pricking off invisible horses around the turn. By the time they were in the last furlong, Vivien and Tigris had the horses flattened out and driving. It was impossible to tell who went by the pole that marked the finish first, but they were in enough of a duel that Jericho had to be heavily convinced to slow up. Vivien ended up having to ease Spitter first, since she was much more level-headed than her stablemate. Cole couldn't help notice that both horses looked none the worse for wear coming out - they hadn't been nearly at full speed, but they'd put on a very good show. They might be underrated, but they were sneaking up - and quickly.