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The Prince's Blood

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Leif and Silmarillion went to the Fair Grounds for the winter, the ultimate goal being to figure out what it was, exactly, that the Prince of Mirkwood foals needed to tap their potential. In particular, Elf had shown that she possessed brutal speed in the mornings, but Leif, though more confident than he'd been, continued to struggle.

It shouldn't have taken as long as it did to figure it out.

One fine, fog-hazed morning Silmarillion's groom came out to watch his charge gallop on the main track and noted that she moved like a certain member of her family by the name of Dorado. A closer look revealed just how right he was, and when Leif followed minutes later, our eyes had been opened. The pair of them, though Elf was tall and slim compared to her compact brother, each displayed the high action and rolling gait that would much better serve a horse over grass.

In early January, with the intention of tightening Leif up and seeing where Elf was, physically, in comparison with her brother, we worked the two in tandem on the Fair Grounds turf. Elf, who as a daughter of the Mother of Speed was quicker into stride than Leif, broke off in front with the greying son of Dizzy Up about four lengths behind her. He inched closer around the turn, and at the top of the stretch, Elf took to loafing and Leif took advantage. When they hooked up, the painted filly accelerated again and the pair completed six furlongs in 1:11 3/5 - fine time.

Later that month, Leif was entered to run his second race while Elf was kept away from the races, having suffered a mild fever and missed an important work. The little grey loaded into the gate at odds of 28-1, and might have been longer if not for that single lovely grass breeze.

When the gates opened, Leif was just a step slow to begin and settled in midpack down the backstretch. The field swung around the far turn and Prince of Mirkwood's small, compact son slipped through a hole between tiring pace-pressers, his short stride lengthening as he brought his hooves up, down, circling and gliding. He closed like a rocket, but it was too late. Leif finished second by a length in his turf debut.

Still, it was better than ninth of ten on dirt by a long shot, and in February we tried again. This time, we decided to try him at nine furlongs to see if all he needed to catch the leaders was a little extra ground.

The pace in front of him was slower than last out, and Leif was a little closer to the pace, running in the second tier of colts. Down the stretch, he closed admirably, but flattened out at the sixteenth pole and faded to fourth, beaten seven and a half lengths. The consensus was that added distance was not what he wanted; we were going to shorten him up a bit, then.

In March, we brought both Leif and Elf to Tampa Bay, and entered them in maiden special weights on the same card. Elf's race was first, and she found herself favoured in the mile test at 5-2 off of a series of incandescent workouts on the grass at Fair Grounds. However, she didn't immediately display her brutal morning speed and was boxed in midpack, rank and without anywhere to go. Heading into the stretch she found a seam and bulled her way through a mass of tiring fillies, but her closing kick was employed too late and she finished third, beaten two and a half. It was nevertheless an admirable debut.

Leif was next up, dismissed in comparison to his flashier sibling at odds of 17-1 in his race, which was to be run at seven and a half furlongs. This time there was speed in front of him and he hung toward the back end of midpack, hugging the rail and waiting for a hole to open. When tired frontrunners began to drift out, he found one, and darted through. A stalker, making a powerful bid for the lead to the outside, suddenly found himself confronted by the small grey, and the pair hooked up. Memories of sprint duels baby Elf had begun were called up among the members of Leif's team as the young colt's fighting spirit was fanned and fueled: his little legs blurred in effort and at the line he held a measured neck advantage.

The box containing his team shook with glee.

We took both youngsters to Gulfstream next, with the intention of starting each in April, but Leif stepped on a tack on the morning of a work and had to be scratched. Silmarillion, on the other hand, was very ready: full of life, bouncing with energy, a flit of flame hovering by the dynamite. The bettors sent her careening from the starting gate at second-choice odds of 3-1 in the ten-horse, nine-furlong MSW. With a maturity far beyond her single start she waited patiently in third behind dueling frontrunners. Then, when she was given the signal to circle them halfway around the turn, Elf casually bounded alongside and away, holding her advantage under a hand ride for a one-length victory.

The globetrotting pair went to Aqueduct next, for a pair of May starter allowances, again on the same card. The turf came up soft, and Elf struggled with the ground in her race. She was one-paced until the eighth-pole, and though a sudden burst of speed seemed like it might carry her to the lead, it was not enough, and she finished third, beaten three lengths.

Leif's smaller frame provided him with a bit more of an advantage on yielding ground, and he made the lead at the eighth-pole in the 8.5f allowance, but faltered in midstretch and was caught at the wire, losing by a half-length.

A little disappointed but never discouraged, we brought the two over to Belmont, where Leif scored an impressive 2-length win at a mile in allowance company. In July at Arlington, Elf was entered in the first stakes of either Prince foal's career, the GIII Modesty at nine and a half furlongs.

She was near the lead at the start of the race and near the lead heading into the turn, but something shifted as the closers began their rallies and Silmarillion made a sharp early move around the quarter pole. Darting clear by open lengths, Elf easily held her margin and dominated the field by two and a half.

August saw Elf return at Arlington in the 9.5f GI Beverley D. while Leif nursed a minor quarter crack. Strides after the gate opened and the field went on their way, Elf was unsettled, tossing her head and pulling at her rider. From post 7 in a field of nine, the painted filly was caught four-wide on the first turn and showed no signs of calming down. So her jockey let her go, and she kept with the leaders, dismissing them as they turned toward the homestretch. From either side, a blanket of fillies was drawing up to her, and elf fought valiantly, but managed only third in a four-horse photo for all the money.

In the following months, we tried separating the Prince of Mirkwood foals for the first time. Leif went with the Woodbine string, while Elf crossed the country and landed at Santa Anita Park, where the turf was always rock-hard and to her liking. In September, Leif skipped across a soft Woodbine turf course and held off a late charge to win a second-level allowance by a half-length in good time. October came, and Elf was entered in the GI Yellow Ribbon stakes at a mile and a quarter. In the field of eight, our girl was 7-1 to land her first GI.

The only legitimate speed, Elf sat comfortably just off the flank of a long shot as the other mare set quick fractions. The final turn came, and the leader folded, leaving the painted youngster with an inherited lead. Loving the extra distance, Silmarillion happily kicked away, gliding to a huge lead at the eighth pole and holding it by three and a half at the wire. She'd run the ten furlongs in 1:59 2/5, and was now a GI winner.

That same month, Leif tried the GIII Cliff Hanger Stakes at the Meadowlands. The field was short and not very deep, and the little grey was sent off at odds of 4-1 on the boggy grass course. He was close to the pace early, seeing as there was practically no pace at all, and easily pulled clear at the eighth pole. In the end, Leif held the lead by a length under a hold.

That November, we took a shot with Silmarillion and entered her in the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf. With some powerful mares entered as well, she was a 12-1 shot, but horses don't know their chances. Running near the lead, Elf dueled bravely down the stretch, but missed the win by a long neck.

She was finished for the year, but her brother had one more in him in the 7.5f GIII Genter Stakes at Calder in December. On a three-race win streak, Leif actually scared off most of the competition, leaving only a four-horse field on the fast turf course. The gate opened and the grey colt sprang out at odds of 3-5, last early, but running with glistening ease. Nearing the end of the backstretch, Leif began to close without urging. He passed each of his opponents as if they were running backwards, and drew off under a vigorous hand-ride to finish four lengths in front.


Name: Leif
Barn name: Leif
Gender: Colt
Breed: Thoroughbred
Age: 3
Height: Projected 15.3hh
Color: Chestnut (will grey out)
Genotype: ee Aa Gg
Markings: LF pastern, RF sock, LH stocking; blaze
Temperament: Although he's clearly his mother's son in that every tiny detail requires inspection before it can be trusted, Leif is more confident than Dizzy. He's curious and attentive without being altogether too skittish; he just needs convincing that something is safe before he normalizes it.
Discipline: Racing
Bloodlines: Prince of Mirkwood x Dizzy Up
Offspring: N/A
For stud/lease: Unavailable - too young

3yo record: 8-5-2-0
Major wins: GIII Cliff Hanger Stakes, GIII Genter Stakes

Name: Silmarillion
Barn name: Elf
Gender: Filly
Breed: Thoroughbred
Age: 3
Height: Projected 16.1hh
Color: Bay sabino
Genotype: Ee Aa nSb
Markings: Four high stockings; belly spots; blaze
Temperament: Brash, bold and overconfident, Elf believes herself capable of just about anything and become confused and upset when and if she fails at something. She's a hard tryer, and a hard fighter.
Discipline: Racing
Preferred distance: Unknown
Running style: Unknown
Bloodlines:Prince of Mirkwood x Veridical
Offspring: N/A
For stud/lease: Unavailable - too young

3yo record: 7-3-0-4
Major wins: GIII Modesty Stakes, GI Yellow Ribbon

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Comments9
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Mizae's avatar
I love the pose of the chestnut horse XD