feel the h e a t

The now fully grown seventeen hands high of terrifying horse glided underneath me with the sureness of a predator at the top of the food chain. A fiery aura filled the air around the three year old beast, an aura that I managed to withstand the effects of. It took a lot of practice - and a certain degree of trust with the filly - in order to take the aura on with your head high. Deadly Desires surveyed the turf track in one brief, condescending glance and then upped the pace, knowing that her dominance of the track was absolute.

It was cold outside, the temperature about thirty to forty five degrees. Autumn had come swiftly with the cold of winter. I shivered in my sweatshirt, but Desiree strode along as if nothing different was happening, as if she created her own personal heat that she alone felt. I huddled deeper within myself but opened up my rein, leaning forward slightly as we accelerated into a canter. The cold air blew past in frigid streaks, slapping my face red. Ignoring my pain for now, I focused on the workout ahead.

Desiree had suffered her first place out of the top three this season in the turf division of the February Stakes. It had been an off day for her, something she thankfully didn't experience often. Her wins this year had me convinced of her excellence, the Unicorn Horn Sprint and So Sassy Sprint being the most notable of her achievements. She had won the So Sassy Sprint last year as well, and was going strong in her three year old season. Her muscles had developed well, and she moved with the confidence of a colt, though her figure was sleekly feminine, with a touch of Arabian majesty in her features as well. She had been sprinting sprinting sprinting, and today would be no different. A blowout was on the menu for her to devour.

Leaning forward at a random moment, I gave the cue for a gallop. No words fell from my lips; we functioned best in silence. Desiree expressionlessly widened her stride and then broke into a swift gallop. She was off and flying fast over the firm, frost-bitten turf. My hands moved with her neck, not encouraging but simply making the job easier as the monster filly romped. Her hooves briefly touched down before lifting again. Inside this personal maelstrom, the power of the most powerful whirlpool that could ever exist was vested with her. She ran like the magnet pulling the water around and around, and anything that got in her way would be sucked in and taken care of.

A wild grin of wicked delight now came to my face. She was practically unstoppable. Not only was she a deadly sprinter, she could run races around a mile with amazing success. She had proved that last year in the Breeder's Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf, coming away with a sound win and then taking home Best Two Year Old Filly honors. Now a grade one with fifteen wins out of twenty six starts, she was a success, and this was why, the power she harbored unmatchable. Being a front runner, she had the most sprint stamina ever seen in one of my mounts. Apparently, according to Henna, Asus had it as well, but I wouldn't know for sure despite his amazing record.

Power, churning deep within her and growing thicker, calling up adrenaline and her buried fury at all of the losses she had ever suffered. Determination to crush all in her path supreme, she sprinted forward in one last burst. A red blur at the corner of my eye, slim but noticeable, let me know the wire was somehow behind us. I pulled the powerful beast up, shaking my head in disbelief but knowing I should have known all along. Desiree was a beast, and any in her path would feel the heat of her passionate determination if they even got close.