twilight zone

SILENT FURY WORKS FOR THE TWILIGHT STAKES

The mighty stallion was five years old, and this would be his last season of racing. You could say, as the end of the year edged closer, that he was in the twilight zone of his career. One of the biggest races of his career, the race they had been working towards all year, was just a matter of days away now. It was the prestigious Twilight Stakes, held at The Wire track. It was an eleven furlong race for four year olds and above and had attracted only a small field this year, with two entrants besides Silence.

Marissa trotted Silence to warm up, growling at him as the stallion fought for his head. He was in a particularly foul mood after losing a third race in a row last weekend, and his behaviour would only get worse until he won. He was a very talented racehorse and usually lead races wire to wire. Marissa thought she was the cause of his losses, thinking that she had timed his break from the pack badly. It was probably her fault he'd come second the last three times out. Second by a nose each time. She would need to let him go earlier than she had been to ensure he had the best shot at winning the Twilight Stakes. The race was so, so important.

On into canter, and Silence let out a flying buck. He definitely wasn't happy. Marissa gritted her teeth and held the neck strap to keep her balance, taking full control again once the stallion settled into a rhythmic canter. She was rethinking galloping him today, because he was sure to put up a hell of a fight when it came to stopping, and they couldn't afford to be tired on race day. And thinking of race day, she thought of the contenders. There were two top turf horses to beat - Frozen Motion and Infinite Warcry.

Frozen Motion had drawn gate one. The grey colt was four years old, and was having a great season. The Witch Creek owned thoroughbred had an overall record of 40-17-13-7, with a record of 13-6-5-2 for this season. He'd been running in the big races, and had been well prepared to take on the Twilight Stakes. Infinite Warcry wasn't coming into the race as strongly, with a record of 10-3-4-3 for the season, but he definitely would not be forgotten about. He was still a strong competitor and the Stride Of Perfection colt was running in the Twilight Stakes because he had every chance of winning it.

Silence himself had a season record of 13-10-3-0. The stallion had really been the best he'd ever been this year, and all of his wins had taken place in the first half of the year. He still had plenty to accomplish and a lot more to give to reach the goals set out for him. Marissa could feel the untapped power in him with each and every stride, and couldn't wait for him to use it. At 16.3hh he was a large horse, and was every bit as muscular as you would expect from a racing stallion of his age. The way he carried himself was with pride.

Silence seemed to have settled down enough to gallop, and so when they reached the six furlong marker, Marissa softened the tension in the reins. Silence burst forward, immediately galloping strongly. He was a front runner by nature and nurture, and so he was very well capable of leading a race wire to wire at 12 furlongs, and probably more. He'd been conditioned to gallop up to sixteen furlongs with no trouble, but he did not race more than twelve. Marissa allowed the stallion to take the pace he wanted, which was a normal-fast pace that he lead most of his races at. The remainder of races were run at a very fast pace - these were when he was being pressured by preceders. Marissa was proud to say Silence had won such races on multiple occasions.

Rounding the turn, the stallion leaned in to the rail expertly. He had been racing for almost a full four seasons now, so he knew how to race to win. Strength was present in every single step he took, as he pounded away on the turf. The corner leveled out into the straight, and the stallion automatically began to really sprint. Versatility was a great trait he had received from his dam, who had been fast enough to sprint and athletic enough to take on twelve furlongs. Silence had almost the same capabilities, with the speed of a sprinter and the stamina of a router.

Stride after stride, the turf quickly blurred beneath, as did the near black legs of the thoroughbred. He flattened his ears, streamlined his body, racing the invisible competition. Marissa stopped urging him on when there was still a furlong left in their gallop, because she never needed to, and because she needed to try and stop him now. The stallion flashed by the finish with the furious speed he and his siblings and dam were famous for, and then fought Marissa to keep going. She slowed him as much as she could, then used the one rein stop trick. Silence's head was pulled around to face the rail, and the stallion slowed immediately to avoid collision. He continued to fight, though, and would continue until he won his battle - the Twilight Stakes.