Post by LK on May 19, 2015 20:37:28 GMT -5
FLAMING CONFIDENZA (Coaching Club American Oaks) && MAVERICK HARRIS
GLORY BELL (Fall Workout) && ISABELLE NOTTINGHAM
PLAN: Denza leads from gate to final. Leo pushes her from behind.
DISTANCE: 5 furlongs
The barn was still buzzing from excitement over the second leg of the Triple Tiara. In a last spur-of-the-moment push, Denza had snatched the win from the Acorn Stakes champion, Calypso's Fury. Felicity was more than ecstatic over the fact that the little golden mare had won a leg of the series, proving her hunch correct. They had a great runner on their hands. Now the question was, would she be able to pull it off again? This time would prove to be much harder. The Intrepid mare was out for blood now, and it was their filly that she was after. The other runner was new to the Triple Tiara. Whispering Melody would be joining the two veterans of the series, but was not new to Flaming Confidenza. They had faced off once before in January in the Don't Blink Stakes when the Firestone filly took the win just ahead of Denza.
Felicity joined them on the track instead of watching from her usual spot up in the trainer's box. It was going to be another unusual workout for the mare once again. Without a doubt Denza would be leading the race when the three horses finally broke from the gate. The competition were both very strong closers and would be pushing her the whole way, hoping to wear her out before the ten furlongs were up. Fell's plan was to run her with another horse pushing her from behind as before. They did not want to wear her out but just give her another feel of leading. Ideally the mare would remember the first workout from the Acorn Stakes.
Glory Bell was called up from the stable. The grey stallion bounced along the path, eager to get his run in for the day. Always full of energy and rearing to go, Felicity paired the smaller stalker horse with the big boned mare. He would be a good partner as he would push Denza in the front, forcing her to take the front runner position. Behind the stallion came the taller golden three year old. Denza was looking around her with reserved curiosity. She could tell everyone was excited about something, but could not pin down the source. After thoroughly examining everything in sight, she huffed and walked alongside her rider with her tail swishing. They joined the other pair on the dirt track where they began their warm up routine.
The morning air was still cool and the fog had finally burned off. So far they were the only ones on the track, but that would soon be changing as the morning wore on. The horses steadily stretched their legs out and were soon settled down from the early jitters. Bella nodded at Maverick when they had finally finished their lap around the track. They approached the gates from the backstretch, not giving the horses a chance to get riled up from the observers that had shown up in the few minutes they were out. The grooms held their breath as they approached. Both had been known to balk at the metal gates, but they loaded without much of an issue. Denza quivered with excitement, knowing she was going to be given the chance to run.
With a clang the gates were thrown open and out came the two runners. Denza had broken a tad faster than her counterpart and was soon pushed up to the front runner position. Glory Bell was holding true to Felicity's prediction. He hounded the bigger mare with his ears pinned. Bella had to hold the stallion back a bit to give Denza the idea that she was to be leading the race. The mare was doing remarkably well as they reached the second furlong. She remembered her training from almost a month before and broke into an even stride in the front.
Maverick was surprised to see his mount had settled well into her leading position. Instead of lagging a bit to let the other horse catch up, she listened to her rider's cues to stay ahead. The only sign of discomfort was a flick of an ear every now and then, listening to the rhythmic hoof beats behind her. Whenever she staggered and showed a sign of easing up, Mav was there with the crop to encourage her onward. Leo continued to push the mare from behind. They were not at top speed quite yet, as they rounded the far corner. As soon as they passed the three furlong mark, Mav squeezed even more gallop from the golden mare.
Denza gladly leaped into her new stride, using her longer strides as an advantage over her competition. As soon as the mare made her move, Leo was backing her up with his own burst of speed. At this point Bella pushed the stallion after the mare, making her work to stay in front. They needed to get her stamina up in order to keep the other fillies at bay in the final race. Denza had worked up a lather in the short run, proof that they were not necessarily taking it easy at a shorter distance.
Soon they had passed the five furlong mark, both horses still running hard. Denza had held off the stallion for the last two furlongs and did not seem to be tiring too quickly. It was a very good possibility that she would be able to do it for an additional five furlongs. Felicity glanced down at her watch, whistling at the time recorded. It was a new record for the mare. If she was not so good at running the longer distances, the trainer would have tried her hand at sprinting with the mare. Blake, her husband, joined her at the gate, watching the two racers cooling down. You think she's ready? Felicity had asked herself that a million times before the Triple Tiara had begun. After a close first race and a win in the second race, she was positive the mare had it in her to give the other two the race of their life. Fell smiled at her taller companion, I think she's gonna give the best run of her life, Boss. With her current conditioning and attitude, she's ready to take on the last race. But no matter what she places, she still gonna be our little flame.
GLORY BELL (Fall Workout) && ISABELLE NOTTINGHAM
PLAN: Denza leads from gate to final. Leo pushes her from behind.
DISTANCE: 5 furlongs
The barn was still buzzing from excitement over the second leg of the Triple Tiara. In a last spur-of-the-moment push, Denza had snatched the win from the Acorn Stakes champion, Calypso's Fury. Felicity was more than ecstatic over the fact that the little golden mare had won a leg of the series, proving her hunch correct. They had a great runner on their hands. Now the question was, would she be able to pull it off again? This time would prove to be much harder. The Intrepid mare was out for blood now, and it was their filly that she was after. The other runner was new to the Triple Tiara. Whispering Melody would be joining the two veterans of the series, but was not new to Flaming Confidenza. They had faced off once before in January in the Don't Blink Stakes when the Firestone filly took the win just ahead of Denza.
Felicity joined them on the track instead of watching from her usual spot up in the trainer's box. It was going to be another unusual workout for the mare once again. Without a doubt Denza would be leading the race when the three horses finally broke from the gate. The competition were both very strong closers and would be pushing her the whole way, hoping to wear her out before the ten furlongs were up. Fell's plan was to run her with another horse pushing her from behind as before. They did not want to wear her out but just give her another feel of leading. Ideally the mare would remember the first workout from the Acorn Stakes.
Glory Bell was called up from the stable. The grey stallion bounced along the path, eager to get his run in for the day. Always full of energy and rearing to go, Felicity paired the smaller stalker horse with the big boned mare. He would be a good partner as he would push Denza in the front, forcing her to take the front runner position. Behind the stallion came the taller golden three year old. Denza was looking around her with reserved curiosity. She could tell everyone was excited about something, but could not pin down the source. After thoroughly examining everything in sight, she huffed and walked alongside her rider with her tail swishing. They joined the other pair on the dirt track where they began their warm up routine.
The morning air was still cool and the fog had finally burned off. So far they were the only ones on the track, but that would soon be changing as the morning wore on. The horses steadily stretched their legs out and were soon settled down from the early jitters. Bella nodded at Maverick when they had finally finished their lap around the track. They approached the gates from the backstretch, not giving the horses a chance to get riled up from the observers that had shown up in the few minutes they were out. The grooms held their breath as they approached. Both had been known to balk at the metal gates, but they loaded without much of an issue. Denza quivered with excitement, knowing she was going to be given the chance to run.
With a clang the gates were thrown open and out came the two runners. Denza had broken a tad faster than her counterpart and was soon pushed up to the front runner position. Glory Bell was holding true to Felicity's prediction. He hounded the bigger mare with his ears pinned. Bella had to hold the stallion back a bit to give Denza the idea that she was to be leading the race. The mare was doing remarkably well as they reached the second furlong. She remembered her training from almost a month before and broke into an even stride in the front.
Maverick was surprised to see his mount had settled well into her leading position. Instead of lagging a bit to let the other horse catch up, she listened to her rider's cues to stay ahead. The only sign of discomfort was a flick of an ear every now and then, listening to the rhythmic hoof beats behind her. Whenever she staggered and showed a sign of easing up, Mav was there with the crop to encourage her onward. Leo continued to push the mare from behind. They were not at top speed quite yet, as they rounded the far corner. As soon as they passed the three furlong mark, Mav squeezed even more gallop from the golden mare.
Denza gladly leaped into her new stride, using her longer strides as an advantage over her competition. As soon as the mare made her move, Leo was backing her up with his own burst of speed. At this point Bella pushed the stallion after the mare, making her work to stay in front. They needed to get her stamina up in order to keep the other fillies at bay in the final race. Denza had worked up a lather in the short run, proof that they were not necessarily taking it easy at a shorter distance.
Soon they had passed the five furlong mark, both horses still running hard. Denza had held off the stallion for the last two furlongs and did not seem to be tiring too quickly. It was a very good possibility that she would be able to do it for an additional five furlongs. Felicity glanced down at her watch, whistling at the time recorded. It was a new record for the mare. If she was not so good at running the longer distances, the trainer would have tried her hand at sprinting with the mare. Blake, her husband, joined her at the gate, watching the two racers cooling down. You think she's ready? Felicity had asked herself that a million times before the Triple Tiara had begun. After a close first race and a win in the second race, she was positive the mare had it in her to give the other two the race of their life. Fell smiled at her taller companion, I think she's gonna give the best run of her life, Boss. With her current conditioning and attitude, she's ready to take on the last race. But no matter what she places, she still gonna be our little flame.
