HOME | DD

Description

so the original plan for helios wasn't to retire from racing, he actually rolled that injury almost immediately after his creation and was intended to return to racing but i think most people know what an Absolute Fucking Ordeal that became and can see why i'm doing this instead (raise your hand if you're a graduate of the 2019 racing season who's still racing now. no? no one?)

ironically amon-ra was not created for helios, in fact this story has been written since 2019, this is just the worlds largest coincidence. I originally had the idea for amon-ra's character back in january but my first attempt to create him yielded something completely different (everyone say hi to leon , you'll be formally introduced later) and it was only after i saw a guy in destiny 2 named amon-ra did his concept actually crystalize. I went through 5 other horses before deciding to put helios in this image and the rest is either history or fate

Continuation of cataclysm (following neon god ). sorry yall had to wait so long to see if he was even alive lmao

~

The bitch was back.

After his fall and subsequent loss during the Preakness Stakes Helios had been tranquilized on the track before being transported to a nearby equine hospital for treatment. While the fall itself had been the result of him clipping himself as he attempted to fight Tori for control, the cause of his erratic pace and limp was eventually discovered to be an apical sesamoid fracture in his hind left hock.

From the footage the veterinary staff had concluded that the colt had been clipped hard on that fetlock after colliding with TriggerHappy at the start of the race and as he continued to run the fracture had irritated the ligaments in the leg, provoking the irregular gallop and subsequent series of events.

While traumatic to witness, there was always a mutual understanding that Helios would recover. Even in the uncertain moments as the curtain went up and he was prepared for transport there was a calm behind the panic, he would live and he would recover.

Per the vet's recommendation the bone fragment was removed arthroscopically and Helios was promptly shipped back to Kentucky, it was a hard road and while the stallion had lost condition he hadn't lost his fighting spirit and made his handlers lives hell at every opportunity. His competitive nature required him to be sequestered completely in the facility, any sight or sound of another horse would get him fired up and lashing out at the walls of his stall, frequently popping his stitches in the process. During his stall rest they had taken to sedating him for the safety of both himself and the vet staff which only served to make him more agitated every time it began to wear off.

What to do with the stallion after his recovery was the biggest question on their minds. As a Group 1 winner he would normally retire to stud but with his abysmally low sperm count it simply wasn't a viable option. Helios had covered more than 70 mares in his time at Sweetwater and only produced 3 foals from it all, it wasn't realistic to spend your entire breeding season trying to get a single mare into foal. Even if you could afford to it was genetic and so far half of his two colts were infertile meaning the stallion had no breeding value in his descendants either.

While not at all uncommon for off the track Thoroughbreds to be retrained as English horses they just weren't usually, you know, Kentucky Derby winners. In fact as far as anyone could tell this would be the first time a horse of that level would ever move on to a second life that wasn't some variation of racing. Ultimately it made sense, why fully retire an incredibly young horse who could have a very promising future in another field? He wouldn't be the first race horse who went on to become a successful sport horse sire, at least with A.I. you had the benefit of grouping all the swimmers together for your best chance.

Helios' original home stables of Vechnyy was the obvious choice to take him back, Keke loved problem horses and was eager to get him out of his previous race-typical situation and into a more natural setting. Out of fondness for the horse both Maserati and Sweetwater Farm were unwilling to sell any of their claim of him but it all worked out in the end, Vechnyy's owners weren't exactly interested in owning a horse who had already broken down and effectively couldn't be bred.

Amon-Ra had been hired specifically for the task of rehabilitating the famous stallion- no thanks in part to Keke's basically unlimited budget and love for eccentric figures. He had gained social media fame years ago for his tackless work, another one of those types who claimed to have some sort of psychic bond with the horse and who seemed to be able to control them with his thoughts. Love him or hate him you couldn't deny that he definitely knew something about horses that you didn't, making him the ideal person to nurture what was hands-down the most traumatized horse ever to step onto the stables grounds.

~~~
Amon-Ra, Helios, and art: Jyynxx
Refs used: RQS Australian Stock Horse #32 and Jook Collab Spear-20-K + Scared And Alone 03 (singular hand) by Null-Entity

Description

so the original plan for helios wasn't to retire from racing, he actually rolled that injury almost immediately after his creation and was intended to return to racing but i think most people know what an Absolute Fucking Ordeal that became and can see why i'm doing this instead (raise your hand if you're a graduate of the 2019 racing season who's still racing now. no? no one?)

ironically amon-ra was not created for helios, in fact this story has been written since 2019, this is just the worlds largest coincidence. I originally had the idea for amon-ra's character back in january but my first attempt to create him yielded something completely different (everyone say hi to leon , you'll be formally introduced later) and it was only after i saw a guy in destiny 2 named amon-ra did his concept actually crystalize. I went through 5 other horses before deciding to put helios in this image and the rest is either history or fate

Continuation of cataclysm (following neon god ). sorry yall had to wait so long to see if he was even alive lmao

~

The bitch was back.

After his fall and subsequent loss during the Preakness Stakes Helios had been tranquilized on the track before being transported to a nearby equine hospital for treatment. While the fall itself had been the result of him clipping himself as he attempted to fight Tori for control, the cause of his erratic pace and limp was eventually discovered to be an apical sesamoid fracture in his hind left hock.

From the footage the veterinary staff had concluded that the colt had been clipped hard on that fetlock after colliding with TriggerHappy at the start of the race and as he continued to run the fracture had irritated the ligaments in the leg, provoking the irregular gallop and subsequent series of events.

While traumatic to witness, there was always a mutual understanding that Helios would recover. Even in the uncertain moments as the curtain went up and he was prepared for transport there was a calm behind the panic, he would live and he would recover.

Per the vet's recommendation the bone fragment was removed arthroscopically and Helios was promptly shipped back to Kentucky, it was a hard road and while the stallion had lost condition he hadn't lost his fighting spirit and made his handlers lives hell at every opportunity. His competitive nature required him to be sequestered completely in the facility, any sight or sound of another horse would get him fired up and lashing out at the walls of his stall, frequently popping his stitches in the process. During his stall rest they had taken to sedating him for the safety of both himself and the vet staff which only served to make him more agitated every time it began to wear off.

What to do with the stallion after his recovery was the biggest question on their minds. As a Group 1 winner he would normally retire to stud but with his abysmally low sperm count it simply wasn't a viable option. Helios had covered more than 70 mares in his time at Sweetwater and only produced 3 foals from it all, it wasn't realistic to spend your entire breeding season trying to get a single mare into foal. Even if you could afford to it was genetic and so far half of his two colts were infertile meaning the stallion had no breeding value in his descendants either.

While not at all uncommon for off the track Thoroughbreds to be retrained as English horses they just weren't usually, you know, Kentucky Derby winners. In fact as far as anyone could tell this would be the first time a horse of that level would ever move on to a second life that wasn't some variation of racing. Ultimately it made sense, why fully retire an incredibly young horse who could have a very promising future in another field? He wouldn't be the first race horse who went on to become a successful sport horse sire, at least with A.I. you had the benefit of grouping all the swimmers together for your best chance.

Helios' original home stables of Vechnyy was the obvious choice to take him back, Keke loved problem horses and was eager to get him out of his previous race-typical situation and into a more natural setting. Out of fondness for the horse both Maserati and Sweetwater Farm were unwilling to sell any of their claim of him but it all worked out in the end, Vechnyy's owners weren't exactly interested in owning a horse who had already broken down and effectively couldn't be bred.

Amon-Ra had been hired specifically for the task of rehabilitating the famous stallion- no thanks in part to Keke's basically unlimited budget and love for eccentric figures. He had gained social media fame years ago for his tackless work, another one of those types who claimed to have some sort of psychic bond with the horse and who seemed to be able to control them with his thoughts. Love him or hate him you couldn't deny that he definitely knew something about horses that you didn't, making him the ideal person to nurture what was hands-down the most traumatized horse ever to step onto the stables grounds.

~~~
Amon-Ra, Helios, and art: Jyynxx
Refs used: RQS Australian Stock Horse #32 and Jook Collab Spear-20-K + Scared And Alone 03 (singular hand) by Null-Entity