Hokkaido Horse Racing Story

In this struggle that has continued from the first round to this day, they both became the losing side.

Hearing the sound of horses approaching from behind, Lao Hengshan put down the whip in his hand.

It has ended.

A herd of horses swept in.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of a color that was similar to the colorful clothes on his body, but more familiar.

Memories flowed upstream in my mind.

Then--

An unstoppable force dragged him back to reality.

In a flash, a strange sight of three horses running side by side formed at the front of the track.

The next moment, the figures crossed each other.

The deer-haired body strode past before my eyes.

In the heavy rain, the fluttering bows were dyed a color deeper than red.

The sight was completely drowned out by the heavy surroundings.

Like David in the story of David and Goliath, Sakai did not give up easily.

The young rider raised his whip high, but could only watch as the abyss of the herd swallowed him up bit by bit.

The sound of hooves from behind had long since disappeared, and the figure in front was gradually moving away.

The deer-hair horse that was charging forward became out of reach in the heavy rain.

Amidst the clamor, the rider felt a suffocating calmness in his chest.

There is no longer any obstruction in front of my sight.

On the face wet by rain and mud, the burning eyes were directed towards the finish line.

Hetian pulled the reins selflessly, as if trying to break free from the shackles of fate between man and horse.

Those are the footsteps that cut through flesh and blood, are engraved in the bones, and carry countless dreams.

There will be no more surprises.

The fight among the horses has ended, and I wish you well, but it will be difficult to start a race forward.

Maybe it was the two kilograms of weight that seemed insignificant before the game -

Perhaps it was due to the excessive consumption of energy in the melee—

The distance of less than half a horse's length seemed like an insurmountable chasm at this moment.

With his mane flying, there is the figure of Lumao galloping away in the dust.

"Unbelievable! Mejiro Sakuya!"

"The first Rose Queen of the 21st century, Sakuya Mejiro from Japan!"

The hoarse voice of the live broadcast penetrated the rain.

In the pouring rain at Churchill Gardens—

Under the clear blue sky of Monbetsu——

Horse fans on both sides of the ocean witnessed the birth of the new Kentucky Derby champion.

Time slowed down at a certain moment.

Wada kissed the gauze in his hand, Arashiyama and Kimura hugged each other tightly, Kitano looked calm, but his eyes were filled with tears.

On this day, many people were changed forever.

Bafuda's face turned pale, Aimon Xin was almost fainting, Yahagi took off his bowler hat and staggered towards the exit.

The next moment, thunderous cheers from 160,000 spectators resounded through the sky.

[Win an international Grade 1 race with a horse you own: 1/1 (Completed)]

[Reward: Gold Amulet × 3]

[A horse you own wins an overseas Grade 1 race: 1/1 (completed)]

[Reward: Colorful Amulet × 1]

[Horse wins the Kentucky Derby: 1/1 (Completed)]

[Reward: Colorful Amulet × 1]

After closing the prompt window, Kitano wiped away the tears that he could no longer hold back.

The joy of victory?

maybe.

In addition, there was a light and airy feeling of fullness filling his heart at this moment.

Horse racing isn't usually a pay-what-you-get world.

But they did it.

They achieved what Mejiro Musashi could not, and accomplished something that eternal youth could not achieve.

now--

They are the Kentucky Derby champions.

The induction horse rider in a red formal dress slowly approached, holding the leash.

The originally slow heartbeat began to accelerate, becoming so violent that it seemed to be trying to break out of my chest.

Without any exaggerated celebration, Hotan just took off his goggles silently.

Lao Hengshan turned his horse around, rushed over from behind and patted him on the shoulder.

“It’s really incredible—”

The old rider laughed heartily, as if he were even happier than if he had won the race himself.

Kitano bowed and shook hands with the people around him who came to congratulate him over and over again, and expressed his gratitude over and over again in Japanese and English.

"It's really great to see this scene. We need to let the Americans know that Japan also has good mud horses!"

Although he lost the race, there was not much frustration on the face of Hiroji Inokuma, the owner of the horse Bijibaru.

He patted Kitano on the back and said loudly, "Mr. Kitano, please let me know when the ranch reopens!"

Then, Zhu Kuma took out his business card and stuffed it into Kitano's pocket.

It's probably too early to talk about reopening now.

Kitano handed over his business card and shook his head helplessly.

Although he did have similar thoughts.

Of course, not yet.

Fujita took off his sunglasses, walked over and extended his hand to Kitano.

"Congratulations, Mr. Kitano."

After a brief pause, he smiled and bowed again.

"It would be nice to see more active Mejiro in Sai○Musume."

The big industrialist said half-jokingly.

"I think so too."

Kitano nodded in agreement.

"Really—that's wonderful!"

The slight depression on Fujita's face quickly disappeared, and he gave Kitano a look of confirmation with some surprise.

Kitano once again gave an affirmative answer.

And in fact, he does not hold any so-called "copyright" for Mejiro's title horse racing.

There are also cases to follow.

Compared with some conservative horse owners, he witnessed the impact that Fujita and his game had on the horse racing industry when he first entered the industry.

For Kitano, the good aspects of this influence far outweigh the bad.

Especially considering the step he might take in the near future.

After a brief chat with Fujita, Kitano walked down from the stands.

When the famous rose saddle cloth was draped over Mejiro Sakuya, the usually calm and taciturn Wada finally couldn't hold back his tears.

Like countless Kentucky Derby winners have done—

There was applause everywhere, and he held the rose in his hand and threw it into the air.

In the past few minutes, the number of searches for Mejiro Sakuya's name, Wada's name, Arashiyama's name, and Kitano's name on various social platforms has skyrocketed at an alarming rate.

n○tkeiba's website even crashed due to the sudden influx of excessive traffic.

In Monbetsu, Hokkaido, and at the NAR headquarters in Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, people celebrated the Kentucky Derby victory with even greater enthusiasm than on the ground.

The critics of the Eastern Sports Daily sent out several tweets to show off their foresight, and reporters from all over the world marveled at it while typing on their keyboards.

【Cinderella's Rose Miracle】

The tournament staff walked up the ladder and inserted the card with "MEJIRO SAKUYA" printed on it into the card slot at the top of the stand that was pre-printed with "2026".

The Governor of Kentucky and the President of Churchill Park respectively paid tribute to the champion.

Of course, the expressions of the two of them could not be said to be very good-looking.

However, no one cared about their reaction.

Next, it’s the moment for the winner.

After receiving the trophy from the governor, Kitano looked at the other five people in the camp.

"Come on, what are you waiting for?"

He did not intend to enjoy the glory of this moment alone.

It turns out that small camps also have their own advantages.

At least when celebrating, the already small trophy won't appear even smaller in the photo.

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"Legend has it that only thirty-eight years have passed."

- National Association of Racing (NAR) Formula

"The Japan Racing Association (NAR) mare Mejiro Sakuya secured Japan's first Kentucky Derby victory, becoming the first filly to win the race since the winning colors in 1988."

——《Id○l Horse》Review of the top five global news stories last week (260504)

"A prominent family in the mud!"

—East Sport horse racing commentator ■■■■

"The sad wish is the best, the weak wish is the strong one! (What surpasses the sad wish is the strength tempered by imperfection!)"

New ★★★ Horse Girl Training

【Perfect☆Cool】Mejiro Sakuya appears!

——"Sai○Niang"

Thanks to Yabaidesne for the 500 starting coins, and thanks to Yiyifei for the 1000 starting coins.

Thank you for your support

Ciallo～(∠ω<)⌒★

Chapter 127 Good Night, Kentucky

On the way back to the stable with Mejiro Sakuya, Ogawa Masaru took out a mint candy from his pocket.