Believe it or not, somehow Kennington Farm had acquired Apollo Bear during the earlier part of last year as a result of the January Horses of All Ages sale. Not long after, the stud farm also acquired The Huntress as a yearling. The filly is by Apollo Bear, a grandson of the late Augusto. Though Apollo Bear wasn't as aggressive as his dam and damsire, there were high hopes that his offspring would inherit his quiet, gentle demeanor.

The Huntress didn't get the memo.

The tall, beautiful bay filly had literally been out in the paddock ever since she first arrived to KC Racing as a yearling. When she had arrived by trailer, the girl practically bolted off the trailer taking her handler with her, trailing a lead rope in her wake. Whenever someone tried to get her out of the paddock she'd plant her feet and try to take a bite out of their arm. Now, later in the year she was rapidly approaching the beginning of her debut as a juvenile and she was just as foul-tempered as ever.

A groom had managed to catch the filly and bring her into the barn, but not without a few red bruises plastered up and down his arms. "Artemis" - her nickname - had been backed a few times and always liked to give a fight. Her jockey, Lara Hansen, looked the muddy filly up and down before the bay flattened her ears and pawed the concrete. "She did that to you, huh?" She asked the groom who was practically holding the very end of the filly's lead rope, keeping her teeth away from him. "This filly's freaking scary." He admitted as he fought with the filly to put her in cross-ties.

Slipping the head stall over the filly's face was easy, accepting the bit was another issue entirely. Arte refused to open her mouth which prompted her jockey to sneak over and put her thumb in the corner of the filly's mouth which gave the groom ample time to push the snaffle bit in. Of course, the Apollo Bear filly was not happy about that idea and chewed heavily on the bit as though trying to find a way to get it out of her mouth. 

Eventually the filly was finally tacked up and Lara Hansen swung up into the saddle which prompted the horse to give a small half-rear. "At least she has energy." Lara admitted as she adjusted her grip on the reins as the groom led the filly out of the barn, still gnawing on the bit and ducking her head.

At the track, however, the filly proved to be more than ecstatic about the idea of running away with her rider. She fought the starting gate, refusing to go in at first, then refusing to get out once the gates opened. After a couple of do-overs, the filly finally got the memo. Chrome painted legs burst from the gates as soon as they opened and maneuvered over the dirt track with ease. The young filly kept a steady pace for a mile with plenty of energy to burn as Lara asked for more speed. The filly practically said no , a slight tap of the crop caused the filly to balk before tossing her head, showing the whites of her eyes.

Yet she corrected herself and regained stride, presenting more speed and even more determination as her hooves dug into the dirt in the last furlong. Once they crossed over the final marker, Lara pulled up on the filly, now covered in sweat. "Now that wasn't so hard was it?" The filly flipped her ears back, still going at a slow jog in an attempt to maintain her defiance. "You're stubborn as heck, but at least you're fast, I'll give you that girl." The jockey whispered as she patted the filly's glistening neck, giving her the luxury of jogging until she was ready to head back towards the barn.