Horse Credit: Alterite
BasicsName: Brown Apple
YOB: Y17
Gender: Filly
Color: Bay
Height: 17.1hh
Pedigree: Supreme Commander(CR) x Heat Valley(CR)
Personality: Brown Apple is named after how sweet she is in her weanling period. She is like this cute little sister who follows her bigger siblings and friends and plays around with them. No one expect how fast she outgrows them in a year and so nor do they expect her to be so competitive on the race field. Even to this day, she is still the sweet little girl off the field, happy to work with human - she likes rubbing her face against people; you certainly know if she likes you - and genuinely enjoy the company of others, be it human or horses. That all changes when it comes to the race field. When she is on, she is on. She likes to stay on top -- on the case of racing, up front. She enjoys nothing more than surpassing everyone on the track and just stays ahead of others, to lead them and not be led by others. That is quite surprising compared to herself off-the-race, as she wants nothing to do with leading, and enjoys letting other take that position. She favors being in a pack too, just chilling and being around others, but all of those seem to go away when she is in the racing mood.
While a horse behaving like this is nothing special, it does make training her a little bit harder than usual. She just doesn't race well alongside other horses, and tends to try to surpass them regardless of the jockey's instruction. It takes a lot of work just to make her be comfortable besides other horse and acknowledging the commands. And the worst part is, she doesn't really know about her disobedience side or that she is so hard to work with on the track. As she goes out of the track, she just goes back to being her normal self and thinks she is this little girl who can do no wrong. It's hard to argue with her when she stares at you with her innocent amber eyes.
Racing Statistics
Racing Style: Frontrunner
An one trick pony(pun intended) who is wired to be in front and ahead, Brown Apple is trained to race in the only way she can. She storms straight out of the gate and just wrestles her way to first with no exception. This is ultimately a two-edged sword. She is extremely susceptible to tiring herself out against other frontrunners but it also shows that she has the heart to grind it out against any other horses who dares to take her at that final stretch. Brown Apple runs best when she is alone in front to do her thing and that is when she can pressure the others with her pace. She does not just settle after she is in front, even when everyone else are happy to be behind, she likes fast pace race and forces everyone else to play her game. Her sustained frontrunning style works best in long distance race, where the others have to go faster to keep up with her or risk being too far away on the final stretch. Brown Apple's style is all heart(especially on the finishing distance) and passion; how many races can she perform without burning herself out could be the question of her career.
Distance: 9-12F
Surface: Turf [Great], Dirt [Bad]
Horse Credit: Cape of Good Hope
BasicsName: Ultima Blessed
YOB: Y17
Gender: Colt
Color: Chestnut
Height: 16.0hh
Pedigree: Northern Aroma(CR) x Victorian(CR)
Personality: Ultima is a very chill horse, so chilled that one might mistaken him to be a lazy couch potato kind of horse -- but these people would be mistaken to think of him as such. This young fellow just prefers to be happy and take life as they come to him. A fan of human, Ultima likes interacting with human of any kind, even being very friendly to complete stranger. Despite his chilling nature, Ultimate becomes a teaser when he is ridden. While he will certainly obeys those who command him with expertise, amateur riders - some of the chairman's friends learnt this the hard way - do not get that type of treatment from him. Once he reads that you are not very capable, he will prank you by rushing out of nowhere, jumping around and gallop hard while ignoring your request to stop. He doesn't mean any harm with them but he certainly thinks it is fun to toy around -- whethr the victims think that way or not is not his concern.
Contraty to his relaxing nature, Ultima takes training very seriously and enjoys doing his day-to-day training. While his lack of concern of the result might be a little concerning, as it is a sign that his competitive spirit is lacking, he simply does not let those things dishearten him. You rest and fight another day, that's how he rolls.
Racing Statistics
Racing Style: Preceder
Due to his chilling attitude, he runs the risk of getting a slow start. A jockey who can starts well is important to the success of this horse. Once out of the gate, he adjusts his position to the front and sits just ahead of the pack. He enjoys running alone and will let other stalkers and preceders to be ahead of him if they want to -- he is just that chill and he likes having a great view of the track around him; he likes the scenary as much as any fan in the audience. He very much enjoys a battle of few frontrunners as he chillingly follows behind them along an open space. One thing he does not do is pressure the frontrunner, he simply runs at a pace he is set to run, and will not do anything to break that pattern, which can be a problem if the pace is unfavoring him, but that's just who he is. Ultima is very easy to control throughout the race and will kick it up with ease on a simple cue. His horizontal control is not very good though so the jockey has to pull him to a clear straight lane before speeding up to utilize him to the fullest or risk him slowing down to adjust his position later on.
Distance: 7-10F
Surface: Turf [Great], Dirt [Okay]
Horse Credit: Manhattan Cafe
BasicsName: Black Rider
YOB: Y17
Gender: Colt
Color: Black
Height: 16.2hh
Pedigree: Lost Sky(CR) x Accomplice(CR)
Personality: Black Rider is a very demanding horse, who wants nothing less than perfection in everything on the race track. He does not care too much for other horses, happy to just be alone and on the side of the pasture. Socializing with other horses just aren't his thing at all, he prefers to be with himself, alone to do things he like. His demanding came from the first time he is ridden -- oh man, this horse hated that, he tried his best to shake the baggage away from him and it took him a lot of training to be comfortable with the idea of having someone on top of him. While he has seen approved a rider, he is extremely picky of his jockey. It's never the jockey who choose Black Rider, but Black Rider chooses the jockey. He wants a warrior, a fearless partner who are as good as him and he absolutely despises any sign of invulnerability and weakness. His selection process is similar to how a rigid commander in the pick his second-in-command in the ancient time. First, he stares at you with his hazel eyes, sometime going circle around you, and then he sniffs all around you to make sure you don't smell like a loser. If he picks up any sign of weakness, fear or you just flinch while he is around you, you are not riding him. This test is so strange that even a few professional jockeys did not pass. For those who he accepts as comrade though, he will follow every instruction like a disciplined soldier.
Racing Statistics
Racing Style: Closer/Mid-Pack
Black Rider likes riding on the behind like a villain, waiting to strike on the right time. His complete obedience to his trusty partner makes this easy, as he will stay still on the gate and not break early and wildly on his own. He will patiently wait for his cue to head out. After that, it's just a simple process of backing into the shadow and wait for the time to strike. While Black Rider is a natural closer, he isn't the kind of horse that possess world class, groundbreaking closing ability so he has to keep up with the pack if the horse length between the front and the back end are huge. In a race where he can be on his natural closer position though, he will moves to the outside and pounces on the final stretch. He is also a good corner runner and the jockey can moves him up on the final corner if necessary for an earlier final rush.
Distance: 9-12F
Surface: Turf [Good], Dirt [Great]
Horse Credit: Yukichan
BasicsName: Shirahime
YOB: Y17
Gender: Filly
Color: White
Height: 15.1hh
Pedigree: Regal Ruin(CR) x Blow Your Mind(CR)
Personality: Shirahime, like her name, is a sweet, gentle Japanese lady in horse form. Her beautiful and delicate strides make her a great candidate for equestrian sports and the stable did considered selling her for that, especially because the offer was very good. What kept her was the granddaughter of the stable founder, who loved Shirahime and wanted to see her race, and no grandfather would take that dream away from his sweet little girl.
Shirahime is always polite in her movement and prefers to be slow and careful than to cause any sort of problem. Though a bit shy at first, she warms up very fast to anyone who are friendly to her. She is a bit gullible. Luckily for her, there aren't a lot of bad things to happen to a horse with such naivety. In fact, it makes her very easy to command in a race, as she does not show any sign of resisting command. A neat freak, she cannot stand being around a dirty environment and she simply refuses to go back into her stall if it is not completely cleaned. This philosophy stays true for her body as well. The daily grooming session was her favorite time of the day. The stable also bathe her every two weeks.
Racing Statistics
Racing Style: Preceder/Stalker
Shirahime much prefers the side gate than the middle, as being in the middle of many horses just aren't her thing. She just isn't the kind of girl who enjoying being on the limelight and a crowded spaces can make her nervous. It is important for the jockey to keep her calm and composed until the gate opens. Once she gets into the race, she has no problem handling herself out there, it is more of a case of pre-race anxiety that she is constantly battling with. She likes staying ahead of the pack but not in the lead. Much like being on the side gate, she enjoys not getting bodied on both sides by other competitors. This makes her tougher to control in a race with multiple preceders, as the jockey has to work extra her to position her on the side of the pack to keep her in her comfort zone. While not a natural stalker, or even aggressive by default, she is willing to stalk up and forces the pace if the jockey believes that's the better strategy. But one should only use that strategy sparingly as she is a horse that is more comfortable with a more leisure first half of the race than an early battle. The first half of the race is really just her warm up period and she needs an undisturbed period of time to be both physically and mentally ready for the stretch. Once she is warmed up though, pushing ahead early doesn't phase her as much. Thus, she can go from an easygoing preceder to a pace-forcing stalker at the second half, pressuring the frontrunner into an early break or risk getting surpassed early. Once she is in front, she tries her best to keep that position. Her staying power and sustained speed are certainly there if she has a solid "warm up", preferably undistrupted.
Distance: 6-9F
Surface: Turf [Bad], Dirt [Great]
