Hokkaido Horse Racing Story.

Chapter 378 The White-Clad Famous Actress

The second Saturday of September.

Because it was Pegasus's first time competing as a Central Racehorse, they traveled to Honshu Island that day to support him.

Since the Atalanta Sankei Prize is coming up soon, and there are also preparations for Baozuo's trip abroad, the itinerary from September onwards will probably be arranged as "Kansai-Hokkaido-Kanto-Hokkaido".

This year's All-Star Riders Tournament Japan leg was sponsored by Mejiro Trading as usual, but the guest of honor was given to President Fujita, who always seems to have free time.

—It's so good that I don't have to take time out of my schedule to attend an auction at a time like this.

After the flight landed, the familiar feeling of fatigue filled my body again.

Even so, the desire to cheer them on remains strong.

For the first time, he will compete in the Hanshin Turf 2000m Challenge Cup as a Central Horse.

The task of saddle up had been entrusted to Mr. Yokoyama before this.

Although it's said to be their first time partnering in a competition, Mipu Tresen and his horse had actually worked together during training.

"That horse is really clever. If we're going to race it, how about I ride it?"

"Then I'll have to leave it to you."

After hearing this half-joking suggestion from Mr. Yokoyama, he agreed without hesitation.

Although the team initially considered the Keisei Cup at the beginning of the month as an alternative, they ultimately chose the Hanshin Circuit Challenge Cup due to the steep slope of the Nakayama Slope.

And so, this match took place.

As I got off at Dian Station, I moved along with the crowds pouring out of the ticket gates, and was surprised by the exaggerated number of people entering the venue today.

Just when we were about to squeeze into the venue, the passageway was still completely blocked.

Judging from the conversation among horse racing fans, it seems that a white horse ran away during the fifth race of the two-year-old new horse race.

The information—from nationwide fan clubs, Kanto and Kansai branches, to even specific white horse fan clubs dedicated to individual horses—came from a seemingly ordinary office worker.

I unexpectedly learned a lot of obscure facts that seemed unnecessary.

However, the white horse is indeed very powerful.

While pondering these thoughts on my way to the reviewing stand, I saw several familiar-looking figures from behind.

Young men and women dressed in cosplay moved towards the parade ground, dragging heavy suitcases.

"It must have been quite an ordeal to come all the way from Hokkaido—"

"After all, the big exam is just around the corner. The cultural festival is also coming soon. After the event is over, I'll probably have to focus on preparing for the exam."

"Don't say such discouraging things!"

The woman, who had been arguing and contradicting her companion, suddenly looked in their direction.

For a fleeting moment, their eyes met, and the woman in the brightly colored cosplay outfit immediately showed a surprised expression.

"Um... President Kitano?"

she asked cautiously.

She was the girl who cheered for Pegasus when he debuted.

My memory of him had become somewhat hazy, but I could still barely recognize him by his distinctive tone of voice.

"haven't seen you for a long time."

"Hey! You still remember us?"

Her companions, who were following closely behind the female horse fan, also became somewhat excited.

"This time, we've come especially to cheer on Pegasus!"

As she spoke, the female horse racing enthusiast smiled and waved the commemorative horse racing ticket in her hand.

While saying, "Compared to that guy, I definitely prefer the popular player," a teammate behind him also showed off a 100-yen Pegasus support ticket.

At the request of several horse racing fans to sign autographs, he said "Oh" with some emotion and carefully signed his name on each horse racing ticket.

Next, the Pegasus horse puppet, which was originally intended for members of the faction and was made by the ranch, was given away.

As a result, more and more fans gathered around me, and I couldn't keep up with their requests, such as "Please sign my autograph" and "Can I take a photo with you?"

Just before being overwhelmed by the excessive enthusiasm, they awkwardly pushed through the crowd and fled back to the reviewing stand.

After meeting up with Instructor Uchida on the central green area of ​​the parade ground, the trainer couldn't help but ask, looking at his disheveled appearance, "Did you just go through a tough battle?"

"That's not wrong, the fans are just too enthusiastic."

As I answered, I could feel a wry smile creeping across my face.

As expected, I'm still not quite able to handle situations like the one just now.

Just then, with a command from the committee member in charge of the crackdown, Mr. Yokoyama crossed the exit line and walked over.

Hearing the conversation, the veteran rider also chimed in with a few jokes.

On the other side of the parade ground, Pegasus was strolling leisurely, guided by a new stable boy.

—It's hard to tell who's in control between the man and the horse.

He leisurely responded to the cheers of the fans outside the railing, and then, as usual, looked around, searching for media cameras.

After finding it, the horse even twitched its ears and struck a pose, as if to say, "Remember to take a good picture of me!"

It's still the same as always.

I couldn't help but complain to myself.

Beside him, the trainer and rider had already started their brief pre-race conversation, hands on their hips.

The two quickly reached an agreement and decided to try starting the game from a slightly forward position.

"The routes used in the previous races were also usable. How about trying to run there?"

"Let Mr. Yokoyama decide on this matter."

As he said this, Uchida jokingly patted the rider on the shoulder, and the latter laughed along.

"Then I won't stand on ceremony."

After the usual bow, he spent a lot of time interacting with the fans before taking his seat in the stands. The trial run on the track had already ended.

The starting gate for the Challenge Cup is located in a straight line directly opposite the grandstand, and cheers from horse racing fans have been heard since the warm-up session before the horses enter the gate.

However, contrary to fears, Pegasus did not descend into a frenzy. He simply maintained the same composure as during the parade, occasionally nodding in response to the cheering fans.

As if saying "The race is about to begin," the reins were slightly twitched to give a reminder. With the joint efforts of Mr. Yokoyama and the stable staff, the Reed Horse smoothly entered the fourth gate, which was slightly away from the stands.

Even at this point, I still haven't completely let go of my worries.

Only after the gate clicked open and Pegasus had successfully exited did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Instead of forcibly pushing forward to seize a position, under Mr. Yokoyama's skillful manipulation, Pegasus smoothly followed behind the lead horse as soon as it started moving.

However, the turf track at Hanshin Racecourse is very fast, and with two or three runners also choosing to stay close to the front, the overall pace of the race was accelerated from the very beginning.

Under favorable conditions, he can run the first 58 meters at a fast pace of 1 seconds.

Hearing the time coming from the broadcast, he couldn't help but frown.

But if we move to the next position here, Pegasus probably won't be happy about it.

Seemingly sharing the same concerns, Mr. Yokoyama did not attempt to change positions rashly, except for slightly closing in during the gap when turning from a straight line into a curve.

As Pegasus turned into the straight, he briefly took the lead.

Urged on by Mr. Yokoyama, they kept a close grip on the bit, and just when everyone thought the pair would maintain their advantage until the very end—

One after another, the horses behind overtook them.

In the end, the result was a disappointing sixth move.

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"This horse is quite maneuverable and has a certain degree of sprinting and acceleration ability. Its ability to handle the slopes has also improved since I first took it over. However, with the fast pace of the grass today, its stamina was depleted very early on."

For the next race, perhaps we could try shortening the journey a bit.

—Post-Challenge Cup Interview Segment—Rider Norihiro Yokoyama
"【Mariko_asano1046:

Today! I came to Kyoto with my club friends!!!
The white horse's sister is indeed very cute, but I still prefer Pegasus (laughs).
It's a bit of a shame we couldn't win the game, but it's great that he left safely!

另外
I ran into President Kitano and even got an extremely rare Pegasus doll from him!!!

(End of this chapter)