strut your stuff

DEADLY DESIRES AND AMBER BLACK
FOOLISH LAD AND KRYSTAL YHATE

It was a beautiful day, cold but beautiful. Amber looked out at the grounds of SOPS and sighed with contentment. Even if things were hectic at the racetrack, everything was beautiful here. Losses didn't matter. Disappointments didn't matter. All that counted was effort and gain by effort. Sitting astride her thirty-win veteran mare, Deadly Desires, Amber felt at peace. Desiree responded silently to Amber's sudden command to trot. The mare was at the point where she could have anticipated Amber's desires. Being a pair since the mare was two had its advantages. This was their fourth season racing together, and their last. Desiree had loads left to prove. She was a monster horse with a monstrous desire to crush those in her path. One of those obstacles was presenting itself today, in the form of Foolish Lad.

It had been a foolish challenge, Krystal realized. It had come after Laddy's last race. She had walked right up to Amber and had challenged her and Desiree to a race. Nine furlongs, on the turf, no holding back. Desiree's limit was nine furlongs, while Laddy's beginning was at nine. The outcome of this race would be very interesting because of this. Like Desiree, Laddy was five years old and had been riding with Krystal for four seasons, but unlike Desiree Laddy was easy to handle, and Krystal had developed a love for her little bay stallion. They had been wonderful this year, surprising all ahead of them, including the staff at the stable. This race would get the competitive juices flowing in both horses, prepping them for the end of the year that was approaching fast. They had to be ready to go out with a bang.

Customarily, a warm up here at SOPS consisted of trotting back and forth on the stretch, turning wide ovals until the horses were deemed loose enough to kick butt. Without even needing direction, Desiree set forth in this business. She trotted forward, then turned gracefully and trotted back in the other direction. A heavy aura of intimidation lay around her, mainly because Laddy was there. The two had worked together once or twice, only out of necessity, but now it was an actual showdown. She appeared to have picked up on this aura, and steely determination and threatening challenge became the taste of the air around her. Desiree did not like to lose. She liked clinching the lead and staying there, and was certainly fast enough to pull it off.

to be continued




WILDLY NATURAL AND AMBER BLACK
THE INNOCENT SKIER AND KRYSTAL YHATE

This had been another foolish idea by Krystal Yhate. She had decided to challenge Wildly Natural, only the best if not second best turf horse in the stables, to a race against Ian. And Ian didn't yet have Tura's experience or class. It would obviously be a race in her favor. But for some reason, Krystal had wanted this race to occur. She had wanted it to happen. It was as though she was trying to prove something, something that could only be proved through a race.

to be continued





PEGASUS WINGS AND HENNA TURATH
AXIS MUNDAE AND AMBER BLACK

This time, it had been Amber that was foolish. She wanted a race against Pegasus Wings so that Axia could learn how to harness her sprinting capabilities. It would only be over four furlongs, at a full out sprint, something both horses were capable of.

to be continued






WILD KISS AND AMBER BLACK
FLASHY WINGS AND HENNA TURATH

This race would be a bit more fair. Or at least, that was what Amber was hoping. It was Wild Kiss, the flirtatious bay filly with the fabulous bloodlines, against Flashy Wings, the rising star Triple Crown hopeful and Youth Challenge winner with a taste for both surfaces. Though both were immensely talented, they would be racing over a distance of ten furlongs, a longer race but necessary for conditioning. If Kiss wanted to stand a good chance in the Juvenile Fillies Turf, she needed to be exposed to some tougher competition.

to be continued






WORLDBREAKER AND AMBER BLACK
SILLENIA AND KRYSTAL YHATE

This race was one worth looking towards. It was between two foals of Grand Silence, one with the Hall of Fame mare Wild Flower for a mother and the other with an unknown mare who had mothered Hail To Prince. Both loved the turf, and both carried accomplishments. This short six furlongs workout was not a true race until the final two furlongs. Both horses, true to their sires, functioned as closers, so working together and then exploding forward would come naturally to them. Hopefully.

to be continued