Hokkaido Horse Racing Story.

Chapter 10 Debut Battle

Kitano's palms were slightly sweaty.

The tie on his suit was so tight that he could hardly breathe.

As a veterinarian, there are very few occasions when you need to dress too formally.

"North Road Falling Snow in the Sixth Division, North Road Falling Snow! Christellena can't catch up anymore!"

"In one breath, he opened up a gap of three horse lengths. Beidao Luoxue made one move!"

"A fair victory!"

The snowflake-shaped horse tickets flying all over the sky, combined with the white sandy ground, are enough to give people the illusion of seasonal changes in a moment.

Kitano swallowed nervously, his shirt sticking to his back under his black suit.

The next game is Meda Hiram's match.

"Don't worry, Mr. Kitano. Pegasus will be fine!"

Despite his words of comfort, Ogawa Masaru, who was present as a representative of the ranch, had a noticeable tremor in his voice.

Kitano nodded silently.

It's time to go.

He walked towards the reviewing ground.

Along the way, we didn't meet many people except the stable boys leading the horses.

Without any strict requirements, not many horse owners would go to the site to watch the race in person.

Two or three local reporters outside the railing cast curious glances.

After taking the form handed to him by the staff and expressing his gratitude, Kitano stood in front of the exit of the preparation room.

Not long after, the riders came out while stretching their bodies.

Ochiai easily found Mudashi Hakuba, who stood out among the herd.

Then, he jumped onto the horse lightly.

"This child was a little naughty when he was first brought here, but he immediately calmed down today, as if he knew he was going to compete."

"It's in very good shape!"

Patting the gray head of the white horse, Kobayashi, the stable attendant who was holding the guide rope, said with a smile.

At the time of handover, we received advice from the production farm that this racehorse was the type that might be a little sensitive to competition.

So, before the game, he put a pair of green earmuffs on Mudaishima.

"understood."

Ochiai on the saddle nodded slightly, and then there were no more unnecessary movements.

Kobayashi led the racehorse and began to inspect it in a circle.

Despite being his first time competing, Medairo was very calm and even tilted his head curiously to look at the camera when passing by the press area.

A reporter took the opportunity to press the shutter and captured several photos in succession.

Even if I can't use it to complete the task, it's nice to keep it.

The reporter examined the photos with a look of satisfaction.

"please!"

The moment it passed by, Kitano bowed solemnly to the figure in the yellow and black victory uniform on the saddle of Mubai.

After a brief pause, Ochiai finally reacted and nodded slightly in greeting.

At this time, Kitano's figure had disappeared behind him.

Taking a deep breath, he tucked the whip under his arm and started walking towards the arena.

Mudaiba, who was shaking his head from time to time while walking, suddenly became serious after entering the gate.

Adjusting his posture, Ochiai slightly tensed the muscles on the inside of his thighs.

The last participating horse also entered the gate.

In the stands, Kitano and Ogawa held their breath almost at the same time.

The moment the gate opened, the White Horse charged forward. Its center of gravity shifted slightly, but it quickly adjusted.

Then, quickly observe the situation on the field.

Just as he had worried before the race, both the inside and outside horses were pushing towards the middle.

The former hopes to avoid the thick sand accumulated on the inside, while the latter is out of consideration to reduce mileage loss.

For the horses starting from the middle gate, this situation means they have to face pressure from two directions at the same time.

Fortunately, Medaipei's first actual combat start was pretty good. Although it was not enough to create a clear advantage in position, it also allowed Ochiai to gain a certain degree of initiative in the initial stage.

Abandoning the conservative strategy of moving slightly to the inside and conserving strength in a relatively forward position, Ochiai slightly increased the force of his push.

He tried to fight for the lead.

Meda Hirano under him also reacted immediately and started accelerating early.

"The third match of Menbie begins!"

At this time, the live broadcast, which was a little slow to react, finally spoke.

"Ninth-rank Furano's Hikarima had a rough start. First-rank Raggo is at the front, and sixth-rank Medaima is a bit behind, also vying for the lead."

Mudaishima's head swayed back and forth violently in time with Ochiai's thrusts, and large streams of heat gushed out of his nostrils.

As the man and the horse chased regardless of their physical strength, the distance between them and Rag began to shrink visibly.

Before the initial betting started, a clear gap had already opened up between the ten horses.

He tilted his head slightly to observe the herd of horses to the side and rear, then quickly straightened his head again.

The situation is actually very clear.

In a short race on sand, accelerating is often more demanding than on grass.

Unless there is a horse that is obviously ahead of the class, a horse that gains an advantage at the start can usually secure a good ranking.

At present, the person who can pose the greatest threat to Mudaiba is Ragnarok who has fallen behind him.

However, Ishikawa, the rider in charge of riding the highest lag, quickly gave up the idea of ​​taking back the lead and moved sideways to a slightly outside position, following behind Medairo.

After noticing the change in Ishikawa's rider's strategy, Ochiai stopped pushing his horse on the road.

Before I pulled the reins, the white horse stopped accelerating on its own.

The numbness and soreness from the base of his thighs became more and more intense, and Ochiai quickly stuck his butt out to adjust his body's center of gravity.

While the riders were playing the game, Kitano was somewhat inappropriately stunned.

From his position, all he could see were piles of monkeys with their butts sticking up high.

It is not a beautiful scene at all.

Even if you open your eyes wide, it is difficult to analyze any useful information except for the blurry outlines moving at high speed.

In just a moment of distraction, the herd of horses had already reached the third or fourth bend.

Ochiai turned his head and saw the riders behind him waving their whips back and forth.

Even amid the rumbling of horses' hooves, one could clearly hear the crisp sound of horses breaking through the air.

Rag Supreme, who had been accumulating strength for a long time, finally started the attack.

He subconsciously clenched his teeth.

The frequency of contact between my buttocks and the horse's back became higher and higher, and it became difficult to maintain a strong pushing action with my hands.

Gripping the whip tightly with his backhand, Ochiai used the reins with one hand to hit Muhei Baima's ear.

After a warning whip, the white horse tilted its neck slightly.

As if he noticed that Rag was the tallest one walking parallel to him, the little ears under the green earmuffs drooped noticeably.

Then, without waiting for the signal, he began to accelerate.

Ochiai, who was about to take over the next beating, sat down on the horse's back.

There is no room for adjustment.

He had no choice but to take advantage of the situation and launch an attack on the final straight line with an awkward riding posture that was almost parallel to the horse's back.

(End of this chapter)