Post by Alexia on Feb 1, 2018 5:41:29 GMT -6
Ribbon Of Fate & Thomas Young
If there was one horse that the apprentice was worried about riding in the coming year, it was Ribbon Of Fate - or Faith, as she was known around the yard. It wasn't that he thought she would lack in talent - oh no, he never presumed any such thing - but that she was about as stubborn as an ox. If you wanted Faith to do something, you had better be prepared for a struggle. In truth, he was surprised that Alexia had assigned the filly to him, but he wasn't about to back down. Sure, she was going to be a challenge but somehow he would make it work. However, he was definitely going to ask for some advice as he didn't want to completely mess up.
As he arrived in the office his face was a little pale, and Alexia smiled at him knowingly. She understood that he was nervous - and he would have been stupid if he was not. Faith's antics were pretty well known around the yard, after all. But she also felt that she had made the right decision. Despite his inexperience, Thomas understood that some horses just needed handling in a completely different manner to most and Faith was one of those.
"Alexia, I..."
"No, you aren't pulling out. I know you can do this."
"I wasn't asking to pull out, I just wanted some advice." Alexia smirked shaking her head.
"You are not going to like it."
"What?"
"My advice - hold on."
After a short conversation, the two made their way down to the track where the chestnut filly was prancing around with her head held high and clearly had been causing some mischief. The poor handler lime of itooked like he'd had a time of it, and seemed relieved as the jockey approached.
"Alexia, we'll need two on this one come race day. She's a handful." Alexia nodded, taking a note down in a little book which she then tucked into a pocket. Thomas refused to show fear, however. But he didn't come across as domineering either. Instead, he approached Faith calmly and stood, allowing her to sniff at him before trying to mount. At first, he thought she was going to bolt as he felt her stiffen beneath him but then she relaxed as the handler led her toward the starting gate.
To the jockey's surprise, the filly posed little issue as they loaded. She entered the chute without fuss, and her ears flicked forwards with sudden enthusiasm. He could almost feel the change in her, but he also remembered Alexia's advice... Hold on. Was she wild or something? He was about to find out, and part of him was not sure that he wanted to.
The gates clattered open, and he soon discovered the reason that he needed to hold on. The filly lauched herself like she was hydraulically powered, steaming forwards in a battle charge. He tried to slow her, but she refused. Instead she built speed and held it, running like a well-oiled machine. She listened to directional cues, but there was no way this one was going to slow down and quite frankly that was a scary thought. Her sheer desire to run had taken hold and she was going for it.
The world whizzed by, and still the filly powered forwards seemingly unphased by what must have been a tiring pace. How long could she do this for? Sure, she wasn't exactly at a top speed but this was by no means slow either. He'd been right to think she would be a handful, but not in the way he had initially thought. Instead of fighting her, the jockey relaxed and allowed her to run. Maybe in time, she would grow to trust him more and allow some direction but for now just seeing the usual temperamental filly so clearly happy and relaxed was worth the fearsome pace.
If she wants to run, let's see what she's got in the tank.
He urged the filly forwards and, for a moment, nothing happened, then the pace began to build again. Stride by stride she gained momentum before hitting a level and holding it - an impressive speed, and one which he suspected might be pushed even further with competition. Five furlongs from the start, they soared past the post and with a bit of a struggle he slowed the filly. He slid from the chestnut's back, the two making eye contact for a long moment before the filly turned away. Perhaps not the greatest of starts, but things would improve. If he had to visit her three times a day to try and build some trust with her, he would. Something told him that this filly was stronger than he had given her credit for.
As he arrived in the office his face was a little pale, and Alexia smiled at him knowingly. She understood that he was nervous - and he would have been stupid if he was not. Faith's antics were pretty well known around the yard, after all. But she also felt that she had made the right decision. Despite his inexperience, Thomas understood that some horses just needed handling in a completely different manner to most and Faith was one of those.
"Alexia, I..."
"No, you aren't pulling out. I know you can do this."
"I wasn't asking to pull out, I just wanted some advice." Alexia smirked shaking her head.
"You are not going to like it."
"What?"
"My advice - hold on."
After a short conversation, the two made their way down to the track where the chestnut filly was prancing around with her head held high and clearly had been causing some mischief. The poor handler lime of itooked like he'd had a time of it, and seemed relieved as the jockey approached.
"Alexia, we'll need two on this one come race day. She's a handful." Alexia nodded, taking a note down in a little book which she then tucked into a pocket. Thomas refused to show fear, however. But he didn't come across as domineering either. Instead, he approached Faith calmly and stood, allowing her to sniff at him before trying to mount. At first, he thought she was going to bolt as he felt her stiffen beneath him but then she relaxed as the handler led her toward the starting gate.
To the jockey's surprise, the filly posed little issue as they loaded. She entered the chute without fuss, and her ears flicked forwards with sudden enthusiasm. He could almost feel the change in her, but he also remembered Alexia's advice... Hold on. Was she wild or something? He was about to find out, and part of him was not sure that he wanted to.
The gates clattered open, and he soon discovered the reason that he needed to hold on. The filly lauched herself like she was hydraulically powered, steaming forwards in a battle charge. He tried to slow her, but she refused. Instead she built speed and held it, running like a well-oiled machine. She listened to directional cues, but there was no way this one was going to slow down and quite frankly that was a scary thought. Her sheer desire to run had taken hold and she was going for it.
The world whizzed by, and still the filly powered forwards seemingly unphased by what must have been a tiring pace. How long could she do this for? Sure, she wasn't exactly at a top speed but this was by no means slow either. He'd been right to think she would be a handful, but not in the way he had initially thought. Instead of fighting her, the jockey relaxed and allowed her to run. Maybe in time, she would grow to trust him more and allow some direction but for now just seeing the usual temperamental filly so clearly happy and relaxed was worth the fearsome pace.
If she wants to run, let's see what she's got in the tank.
He urged the filly forwards and, for a moment, nothing happened, then the pace began to build again. Stride by stride she gained momentum before hitting a level and holding it - an impressive speed, and one which he suspected might be pushed even further with competition. Five furlongs from the start, they soared past the post and with a bit of a struggle he slowed the filly. He slid from the chestnut's back, the two making eye contact for a long moment before the filly turned away. Perhaps not the greatest of starts, but things would improve. If he had to visit her three times a day to try and build some trust with her, he would. Something told him that this filly was stronger than he had given her credit for.
