Post by Alexia on Jun 14, 2012 12:37:34 GMT -5
Afterglow & Alana Stratt
The previous week, they had ran in the Valorizarre Derby and had performed admirably against tough competition. It had been a splendid race, full of excitement, and they had come close to pulling out the win. But close was not good enough for Alana. She was one of those that strove to be the best, and coming in second did not make them the best. Not even if the horse who had won had ran an almost perfect season this year. No, Alana craved wins and she was determined that she would claim at least one more before they went to the Breeder's Cup.
Alana's ride, Afterglow, was a fine filly and a definite contender for the 3 year old filly of the year award this season. Just as she had been a contender for the 2 year old award the previous year. Last year, it had slipped away from them and it was threatening to do the same again this year. Stormi needed wins. Impressive wins. But she didn't have long in which to do it. While many were headed for the Dubai World Cup the following week, Stormi had been held back. Matthias knew well that the competition in that series was strong and that they would struggle against it. Instead, he had chosen a seperate course. Stormi would attempt the next leg of the Risorgimento Cup - the series she had come second in the previous week. This time, she would be ready.
The filly was bright and alert, her dark eyes glinting as she moved beside the handler, a spring in her step showing she was not too tired from the week before. She tossed her head and urged to move faster but Lucas was firm, holding her back as they moved toward yet another unfamiliar track. Something which definitely didn't phase the filly, she knew no fear to start with and once she was on the track it didn't really matter where she was as long as the surface and distance suited her well enough. She would run, and she would show the world exactly what she was made of. There was no denying her passion once she got started, and there was no denying that of her jockey either. They were a formidable team, and when they started they were able to truly show the world what stars they were.
Moving up beside the filly, Alana seemed distant. Her mind was already on the workout, and beyond that, on the race for which they were preparing. So far, only one other entrant had been announced. That entrant was from their own stable, but had been marked as competition from day one. The colt, Dark Charmer, with whom they had history. But they had beat him out last week, and they could beat him out again. There was no doubt of that fact in Alana's mind, but she also knew that Jacob would be determined to beat her following the defeat the previous week. Silently, she mounted the bay filly and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear an d out of her face. She didn't even speak as she moved the mare away from the handler and on to the track.
Eager was not really the word to describe the way Alana felt about this race. Determined, even desperate perhaps, were more suitable. More accurate. She longed for Stormi to be noticed, to be known for the star she was and one mention in an article certainly was not enough for her. No, it definitely was not enough. The annoyance Alana had been feeling about things on the track lately came through in aggressive riding styles, and it was quite likely that such would happen in the upcoming race. Plus, Stormi herself would feed off of the energy. Anything competitive, and you could guarantee that the filly would give her all.
Following a discussion with Matthias the previous day, it had been decided that they would skip gating for the week. Instead, they would just allow the filly to run without all the fuss of getting the gates ready, then gating, then letting her run. It was so much less time consuming, and so much less faff.
Alana pushed the filly into a trot, and then a canter, her gait changes smooth and precise. Her head held high, she was moving well and the dirt beneath her seemed to shift to ease her journey. Soon, Alana pushed again and the filly leapt forwards into a gallop. The pace was not exactly slow, Alana was intending on pushing the filly hard and she knew that doing so would fill them both with fire for race day. More fire than usual.
Alana drove, biting her lip as they made their was down the course. Stride by stride, length by length. It would not last long, this gallop, but while it did she would fight. It was who she was, who Stormi was, and it would mean that Stormi was prepared for the race. They turned a corner, and Alana knew it was time to start easing off. Something Stormi was not too happy about, and pulling her from the gallop took time. Still, Alana cooled the filly down happy, knowing they were ready.