wild thrill

[S u N f r O s T ~]

BLACK THRILLER AND VALENCIA ANDREWS
WILD TIDE AND KYLIE SILVERSTAR

Iron will, sheer determination, overwhelmingly aggressive confidence - all of these things only fed into Valencia's perception that she had made the right decision in buying this beautiful black colt. Oh yes, he clashed with the stable's self-proclaimed dirt king in the form of Promethues, but how could she have said no? Valencia had bought a dirt router like this before, a horse by the name of Limited Edition, and boy had he turned out well. Black Thriller was likely to be no different. She had seen the way the stable admired her purchase, tracing the finely muscled black form of her horse on the way to the track. The descendant of Night Stalker and El Sol Del Mar was out of Eternal Phantom's sister Midnight Thriller, and that was enough to win him the respect he deserved. Campaigning two horses for the Triple Crown could be difficult, but they were no new stable on the block, and they could pull this off. Valencia knew for certain she was going to make this work. She set her chin and felt an answering wave of determination and will from her mount. They would take over the dirt world and take no prisoners. That was all.

Kylie nervously eyed Valencia. The other jockey always seemed to waft aggressive fumes of world domination in her direction, and it was so contrary to Kylie's gently competitive nature that she found it difficult to deal with. But that did not mean she could not ride against the stable's upstart king and give him a run for her money. While Prometheus and Black Thriller had become the stable's most bitter rivals, Wild Tide's ardent passion had lingered in the background. This bay filly, however, was not to be underestimated. She was perhaps just a touch faster than Black Thriller, in Kylie's opinion, but that could just be because they hadn't faced the colt yet. And what a showdown this would be. Ardent would not back down and Prince would not find an easy horse to defeat today.

Valencia eyed Kylie like she would a meal, and Prince joined in. The physical, aggressive, imposing black colt would not show much as give notice to this bay filly. It would have to be won. Kylie set her chin and a flickering wave of determination washed through her. She and Ardent would win that recognition and more.

The energetic Ardent took the lead as the pair cantered up the stretch. The dirt coasted underneath the well bred horses' hooves; the way these two moved spoke of generations of greatness. Prince would keep an eye on this filly and dispatch her at his leisure. Such was the way of her world conqueror. Valencia could not wait to smash Kylie's confidence against a wall. She viewed Kylie as similarly successful to herself, but the fact that she was so with such a completely opposite personality never failed to bother her. How could a girl lacking in such confidence be such a good jockey? She would show her some real skill aboard Prince. And thus it was as they carved up the dirt, shifting to a gallop so suddenly she was certain they would take the lead. Ardent proved aware, matching their pace as they drifted up the outside to directly challenge. Determination shone in the filly's eyes, energy in every stride, unwavering resolve in Kylie's hands. So it would be a race then. All the better.

The two juveniles curved into the final half mile of their jaunt and all hell just broke loose. Valencia flicked the reins; Prince accelerated, a wave of power rolling over the track as he shifted gears in an instant. But much to their surprise, Ardent proved their equal. Wild Tide would have nothing of defeat. She accelerated sharply, a defiant head in front, staring down her competition and liking what she saw - him behind her. Valencia clucked her tongue, Prince accelerated again, and to her pleasure appeared to nab the race by a head - but it was not be so, as Ardent surged in the last second as though anticipating the satisfaction Prince's victory would bring him and denying it.

Ardent and Prince glared each other down as only horses could as they cooled out. It appeared that Theus and Prince were no longer the only rival pair in the barn. Valencia felt hot excitement bubble in her belly, making her heart race. Prince was totally her type of horse - in the barn for all of two weeks and already rivals with two horses. The drums of war were beating and Valencia was ready to answer the call.