Post by Kenren on Apr 4, 2015 23:44:32 GMT -5
Aphrodite's Chant & Clarimonde Tusaint
Baciami & Halexia Suhail
Baciami & Halexia Suhail
She was a beauty, she was talented, and she was completely unexpected. Cole still couldn't quite get over the way Aphrodite's Chant was performing. She didn't care that her sire had never gotten above grade four or that he was untried before this year. She didn't care that she was her dam's first foal to run and that she'd never gotten more than a single win. She didn't care that she was an underdog, or that those she raced against were more often than not blue-blooded. All the filly seemed to care about was striving to come out on top. Again and again Chance had run against larger fields and come out unscathed, not finish below third in six races regardless of the tough competition. She was brilliance and passion and diva all rolled into one, and they wouldn't want her any other way. Clarimonde seemed to know all of the right buttons for the antsy grey, and Cole was once again glad for the intuition that more often than not paired the horse to the correct rider.
Chance's work partner for the day was one of the few maternal siblings to Italian Ice, Baciami. Ami had run into a lot of adversity early in the year. Struggling to compete against older horses, the colt had still managed to finish out of the money only once. And as soon as he was paired against horses his own age, he'd finally gotten himself back into the winner's circle. The colt was so strong and able, and had a bloodline that gave him all of the potential he needed - Cole had no doubt he'd hit his stride and blow everyone away. He just wished he knew when. Hal had the same unflappable confidence in him that she showed for all of her mounts, and the trainer was inclined to let her instill that confidence in Ami. After all, she'd gotten him where he was, and he had a lot more to give.
Ami wasn't particularly fond of working in company, but Chance wasn't aggressive to him in the least and he seemed fine with her so long as she didn't turn him a pinned-ear glance. Cole had pretty much bribed Hal into silence, so she wasn't teasing or flirting with Clarimonde like she normally did. Cole felt bad for the boy, even if he never seemed bothered by it - Hal could be a force of nature if she got her mind set on something, and he really wanted these horses to get a good work without the distraction. So they went on in silence, putting the two through their paces. Ami was eager, but not too headstrong, only tossing his head every now and again. Chance was pretty much perfect under Clarimonde's steady hands. They were both distance runners, so there work was a hearty five furlong breeze and a bit of a gallop out after. Hal judged their pace and once she deemed the horses ready, she signaled Clari to take Chance to the rail. Ami was a true frontrunner, and Chance preferred to run alongside another horse. Cole had decided to test the older horse a little and had told Clari to keep Chance no more than a half-length back from Ami's nose. As they went into a gallop, Ami immediately resented the intrusion on what he considered his territory. However, as the furlongs flew by, Hal got the horse to settle and ignore the filly, and the colt seemed to realize she wasn't trying to pass him at the moment anyway. So while it wasn't the prettiest to watch, the end result was promising. Chance was game all the way around, and even when Hal really got Ami moving for the last two furlongs, she drove under her own power to keep up when Clarimonde let her loose. However, regardless of her heart and determination, she just didn't have the muscle quite yet to keep up with the older horse. So Baciami got his heart's desire and gladly opened distance on the filly, rewarded for his patience throughout. Hal rubbed his neck emphatically when they went by the wire, then kept him at a moderate pace to gallop out. Clari had to pull Chance back after the wire, since she very much wanted to keep charging after the colt. He seemed to deem that fire exactly what she needed to sharpen up, and therefore never actually did let her pass Ami while going at any real speed.
They'd both gotten a bit of what they needed, and Cole was excited to see what the summer would have in store.
Chance's work partner for the day was one of the few maternal siblings to Italian Ice, Baciami. Ami had run into a lot of adversity early in the year. Struggling to compete against older horses, the colt had still managed to finish out of the money only once. And as soon as he was paired against horses his own age, he'd finally gotten himself back into the winner's circle. The colt was so strong and able, and had a bloodline that gave him all of the potential he needed - Cole had no doubt he'd hit his stride and blow everyone away. He just wished he knew when. Hal had the same unflappable confidence in him that she showed for all of her mounts, and the trainer was inclined to let her instill that confidence in Ami. After all, she'd gotten him where he was, and he had a lot more to give.
Ami wasn't particularly fond of working in company, but Chance wasn't aggressive to him in the least and he seemed fine with her so long as she didn't turn him a pinned-ear glance. Cole had pretty much bribed Hal into silence, so she wasn't teasing or flirting with Clarimonde like she normally did. Cole felt bad for the boy, even if he never seemed bothered by it - Hal could be a force of nature if she got her mind set on something, and he really wanted these horses to get a good work without the distraction. So they went on in silence, putting the two through their paces. Ami was eager, but not too headstrong, only tossing his head every now and again. Chance was pretty much perfect under Clarimonde's steady hands. They were both distance runners, so there work was a hearty five furlong breeze and a bit of a gallop out after. Hal judged their pace and once she deemed the horses ready, she signaled Clari to take Chance to the rail. Ami was a true frontrunner, and Chance preferred to run alongside another horse. Cole had decided to test the older horse a little and had told Clari to keep Chance no more than a half-length back from Ami's nose. As they went into a gallop, Ami immediately resented the intrusion on what he considered his territory. However, as the furlongs flew by, Hal got the horse to settle and ignore the filly, and the colt seemed to realize she wasn't trying to pass him at the moment anyway. So while it wasn't the prettiest to watch, the end result was promising. Chance was game all the way around, and even when Hal really got Ami moving for the last two furlongs, she drove under her own power to keep up when Clarimonde let her loose. However, regardless of her heart and determination, she just didn't have the muscle quite yet to keep up with the older horse. So Baciami got his heart's desire and gladly opened distance on the filly, rewarded for his patience throughout. Hal rubbed his neck emphatically when they went by the wire, then kept him at a moderate pace to gallop out. Clari had to pull Chance back after the wire, since she very much wanted to keep charging after the colt. He seemed to deem that fire exactly what she needed to sharpen up, and therefore never actually did let her pass Ami while going at any real speed.
They'd both gotten a bit of what they needed, and Cole was excited to see what the summer would have in store.