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Description
Ugh. This piece took FOREVER. I don't even know why.

Background idea stolen, of course, from *Greatalmightyqueen , because she's awesome and forever will be. (No tack, of course. The TJ does not like tack. )

It's a long, loooooong story my friends, but I feel that it's worth it if you really follow my beasties' lives. I have grand plans for these 3.

Theme song

ROLLOVER HAPPENS IMMEDIATELY AFTER THIS WOOOOOH!

It would later be said that the Trio's tale was one of the greatest feel-good stories in the history of racing. It was a story of hope, triumph, heartache, and at the end of it all: loyalty.

***

When the New Year rolled around and we kicked off two-year-old training, we had three completely different horses on our hands.

There was Apparition, known as Ape or Puck around the barn. He had yet to grow into his legs and probably never would, but his lean body made him a beautiful sight to behold. If you could get him past the daily temptation to torture and tease everything in sight, there was an unending font of power and drive in his young soul. He showed great promise early on.

Then you had King. Unlike his half-brother Silence, King developed later in his freshman year. Whereas Ape took to running like a duck to water, King struggled behind him. He had the ability, but not the knowledge.

And finally, there was Imitation. She had grown from a fine young filly foal into an elegant example of the equine. Her slightly bowed nose and thick bones gave her the appearance of a powerful charger while her swan neck completed her queen-like appearance. Out of the three of them, she had the most drive and the will to run.

We did not realize it until much later in the year, but Imitation was the driving force of the Trio--that unique glue that held them all together and gave them their will to run.

***

Ape, having developed early, was entered in the GIII KY Juvenile Stakes in March as his debut into the racing world. Naturally he received more than his fair share of attention, though he seemed to want nothing to do with the cameras unless he could throw them at people. (We paid for many a camera--and emergency trips to the hospital--before realizing cameras were supposed to be on the "do not give to Ape" list.) With blazingly fast morning works and the pedigree of a champion, he went off as the morning-line favorite.

Ape did not recognize any of the horses milling about him as they sprinted down the stretch, as he had only ever trained with King and Im. Anyone who watched the race could tell immediately that he was uncomfortable. His head thrashed side to side, making him weave dangerously close to the rail, and his ears were pinned to his skull in agitation. He won the race, but only by a nose over his competition.

Thus, we sent him to Belmont for more training. The other two members of the trio were there as well, which calmed him down considerably. All three were sent off in seperate races in early June--Ape in an allowance race, the others in their repective maiden debuts.

As we had begun to suspect, Ape ran poorly without his training buddies beside him. Sweat dripped onto the dirt by the time he crossed the finish line, but again he was in front by a nose. King faired much better physically in his race, but had yet to grown out of the greenhorn freshman stage and placed a dismall fifth. Imitation ran the best out of them all but was overtaken in the end and lost by a neck.

Ape was given time to recuperate after that while King and Im moved forward. King was given longer distances to cover in morning workouts, and we soon discovered the remedy to his failure: King was a distance horse through and through and simply couldn't reach the right gears in the short time for sprints. Thus, his next start was at 7.5 furlongs. He shot to the lead blew the entire field away before sailing home to a four length lead.

Imitation's next start was much the same, though in the filly division rather than with the colts.

As the next few months passed, we worked out the kinks and figured out the tricks needed for our two-year-olds to excel.

***

By the time September rolled around, all our older racehorses had trickled off the radar. One by one they fell until none were left standing in our famous black and blue colors. The Trio were our last hope for that year.

Ape's next start was in the GIII Arlington-Washington Futurity. Most questioned if he could pull off another photo win as seen in his previous two races, but we had a trick up our sleeves: King.

The dark bronze bay was a soothing balm to Ape's insanity on the track, and when the two shot from the gate side by side the crowd went wild. King moved into the stalker's position of third while Ape hung in last place so that he could watch his stablemate. Everyone who watched the race that day--and later the tape of the race--saw the dark bay bob his head viciously as he rounded the far turn. At the exact same moment, Ape's ears pricked forward and he began to move.

And that's when it hit the rest of the world. Ape had the ability to run and the knowledge to do so without hurting himself or others, but he had no gift with strategy. He relied instead on his soul-brother's advice.

Under King's guidance, Ape shot to the front of the pack where his stablemate had already taken command. The two pounded down the stretch together and crossed under the wire at the same time, thirteen lengths in front of the field. The photo showed Ape winning by a whisker.

The Champagne in October was much the same story, but their winning margin increased to fifteen lengths.

Meanwhile, Imitation had taken the female division by storm with a healthy win in the GI Spinaway and Frizette.

***

Naturally, with such talent, our next stop was the Breeder's Cup. Imitation, in all her painted glory, won the Juvenile Fillies by ten lengths and equaled the stakes record held by Tempera since 2001. The following day, Ape and King did their thing the exact same way as the last two times--only the photo finish was different; in a twist of luck, Ape tucked his head in on the wrong step and King's nose moved in front as the picture flashed. They of course had no idea--they were simply running together as soul-brothers were wont to do.

The boys were then given the rest of the year off to recuperate, but our little female engine that could still had juice left in her, so we entered her in the Remsen Stakes against the boys. She lost by a head, but had such a powerful stretch drive near the end there that we were convinced she could take the racing world--both colts and fillies--by storm when January came.

Ape's Foal Pic and Bio

Racing Season: 2 Year Old
5 starts--4/1/0
$825,200
Important Wins: GIII Kentucky Juvenile S, GIII Arlington-Washington Futurity, GII Champagne S

Racing Stats

Total Wins: 5 starts--4/1/0
Graded Stakes Wins: 1 GII, 2 GIII
Career Earnings (in US currency): $825,200
Racing Style: Closer, all distances (5-12f)
Titles: Champion 2yo Colt

King's Foal Pic and Bio

Racing Season: 2 Year Old
6 starts--2/3/0
$1,352,162
Important Wins: GI BC Juvenile

Racing Stats

Total Wins: 6 starts--2/3/0
Graded Stakes Wins: 1 GI
Career Earnings (in US currency): $1,352,162
Racing Style: Stalker, Distance (8-13f)
Titles: None

Imitation's Foal Pic and Bio

Racing Season: 2 Year Old
7 starts--5/2/0
$1,735,041
Important Wins: GI Spinaway S, GI Frizette S, GI BC Juvenile Fillies

Racing Stats

Total Wins: 7 starts--5/2/0
Graded Stakes Wins: 3GI
Career Earnings (in US currency): $1,735,041
Racing Style: Stalker, Distance (7-12f)
Titles: Champion 2yo Filly

Art and Character (C) Me

Description
Ugh. This piece took FOREVER. I don't even know why.

Background idea stolen, of course, from *Greatalmightyqueen , because she's awesome and forever will be. (No tack, of course. The TJ does not like tack. )

It's a long, loooooong story my friends, but I feel that it's worth it if you really follow my beasties' lives. I have grand plans for these 3.

Theme song

ROLLOVER HAPPENS IMMEDIATELY AFTER THIS WOOOOOH!

It would later be said that the Trio's tale was one of the greatest feel-good stories in the history of racing. It was a story of hope, triumph, heartache, and at the end of it all: loyalty.

***

When the New Year rolled around and we kicked off two-year-old training, we had three completely different horses on our hands.

There was Apparition, known as Ape or Puck around the barn. He had yet to grow into his legs and probably never would, but his lean body made him a beautiful sight to behold. If you could get him past the daily temptation to torture and tease everything in sight, there was an unending font of power and drive in his young soul. He showed great promise early on.

Then you had King. Unlike his half-brother Silence, King developed later in his freshman year. Whereas Ape took to running like a duck to water, King struggled behind him. He had the ability, but not the knowledge.

And finally, there was Imitation. She had grown from a fine young filly foal into an elegant example of the equine. Her slightly bowed nose and thick bones gave her the appearance of a powerful charger while her swan neck completed her queen-like appearance. Out of the three of them, she had the most drive and the will to run.

We did not realize it until much later in the year, but Imitation was the driving force of the Trio--that unique glue that held them all together and gave them their will to run.

***

Ape, having developed early, was entered in the GIII KY Juvenile Stakes in March as his debut into the racing world. Naturally he received more than his fair share of attention, though he seemed to want nothing to do with the cameras unless he could throw them at people. (We paid for many a camera--and emergency trips to the hospital--before realizing cameras were supposed to be on the "do not give to Ape" list.) With blazingly fast morning works and the pedigree of a champion, he went off as the morning-line favorite.

Ape did not recognize any of the horses milling about him as they sprinted down the stretch, as he had only ever trained with King and Im. Anyone who watched the race could tell immediately that he was uncomfortable. His head thrashed side to side, making him weave dangerously close to the rail, and his ears were pinned to his skull in agitation. He won the race, but only by a nose over his competition.

Thus, we sent him to Belmont for more training. The other two members of the trio were there as well, which calmed him down considerably. All three were sent off in seperate races in early June--Ape in an allowance race, the others in their repective maiden debuts.

As we had begun to suspect, Ape ran poorly without his training buddies beside him. Sweat dripped onto the dirt by the time he crossed the finish line, but again he was in front by a nose. King faired much better physically in his race, but had yet to grown out of the greenhorn freshman stage and placed a dismall fifth. Imitation ran the best out of them all but was overtaken in the end and lost by a neck.

Ape was given time to recuperate after that while King and Im moved forward. King was given longer distances to cover in morning workouts, and we soon discovered the remedy to his failure: King was a distance horse through and through and simply couldn't reach the right gears in the short time for sprints. Thus, his next start was at 7.5 furlongs. He shot to the lead blew the entire field away before sailing home to a four length lead.

Imitation's next start was much the same, though in the filly division rather than with the colts.

As the next few months passed, we worked out the kinks and figured out the tricks needed for our two-year-olds to excel.

***

By the time September rolled around, all our older racehorses had trickled off the radar. One by one they fell until none were left standing in our famous black and blue colors. The Trio were our last hope for that year.

Ape's next start was in the GIII Arlington-Washington Futurity. Most questioned if he could pull off another photo win as seen in his previous two races, but we had a trick up our sleeves: King.

The dark bronze bay was a soothing balm to Ape's insanity on the track, and when the two shot from the gate side by side the crowd went wild. King moved into the stalker's position of third while Ape hung in last place so that he could watch his stablemate. Everyone who watched the race that day--and later the tape of the race--saw the dark bay bob his head viciously as he rounded the far turn. At the exact same moment, Ape's ears pricked forward and he began to move.

And that's when it hit the rest of the world. Ape had the ability to run and the knowledge to do so without hurting himself or others, but he had no gift with strategy. He relied instead on his soul-brother's advice.

Under King's guidance, Ape shot to the front of the pack where his stablemate had already taken command. The two pounded down the stretch together and crossed under the wire at the same time, thirteen lengths in front of the field. The photo showed Ape winning by a whisker.

The Champagne in October was much the same story, but their winning margin increased to fifteen lengths.

Meanwhile, Imitation had taken the female division by storm with a healthy win in the GI Spinaway and Frizette.

***

Naturally, with such talent, our next stop was the Breeder's Cup. Imitation, in all her painted glory, won the Juvenile Fillies by ten lengths and equaled the stakes record held by Tempera since 2001. The following day, Ape and King did their thing the exact same way as the last two times--only the photo finish was different; in a twist of luck, Ape tucked his head in on the wrong step and King's nose moved in front as the picture flashed. They of course had no idea--they were simply running together as soul-brothers were wont to do.

The boys were then given the rest of the year off to recuperate, but our little female engine that could still had juice left in her, so we entered her in the Remsen Stakes against the boys. She lost by a head, but had such a powerful stretch drive near the end there that we were convinced she could take the racing world--both colts and fillies--by storm when January came.

Ape's Foal Pic and Bio

Racing Season: 2 Year Old
5 starts--4/1/0
$825,200
Important Wins: GIII Kentucky Juvenile S, GIII Arlington-Washington Futurity, GII Champagne S

Racing Stats

Total Wins: 5 starts--4/1/0
Graded Stakes Wins: 1 GII, 2 GIII
Career Earnings (in US currency): $825,200
Racing Style: Closer, all distances (5-12f)
Titles: Champion 2yo Colt

King's Foal Pic and Bio

Racing Season: 2 Year Old
6 starts--2/3/0
$1,352,162
Important Wins: GI BC Juvenile

Racing Stats

Total Wins: 6 starts--2/3/0
Graded Stakes Wins: 1 GI
Career Earnings (in US currency): $1,352,162
Racing Style: Stalker, Distance (8-13f)
Titles: None

Imitation's Foal Pic and Bio

Racing Season: 2 Year Old
7 starts--5/2/0
$1,735,041
Important Wins: GI Spinaway S, GI Frizette S, GI BC Juvenile Fillies

Racing Stats

Total Wins: 7 starts--5/2/0
Graded Stakes Wins: 3GI
Career Earnings (in US currency): $1,735,041
Racing Style: Stalker, Distance (7-12f)
Titles: Champion 2yo Filly

Art and Character (C) Me