Hokkaido Horse Racing Story

Not long ago, when I passed by a convenience store, I bought a small bag of mints as usual.

Fortunately, it is still in unopened condition.

Mint candies were placed in front of the stone tablet and worship was performed in a manner that exceeded the standard.

"I hope you are well in heaven."

I couldn't help but feel a little heavy.

He unconsciously pursed his lips and completed the remaining steps in silence.

"Thank you, President Kitano."

When leaving, several horse racing fans dressed as Miyu fans suddenly bowed to Kitano.

Kitano, not knowing what was going on, had no choice but to bow quickly in response.

When we arrived at the reviewing ground, the seats near the railings were already packed with people, and the bustle was no less than that at the Oi Racecourse during the Grand Prix.

There was a mark in the center of the appearance circle, and Kitano walked to the round mat with a blue background and the Arabic numeral "6" written on it.

Including the four mares, there are a total of ten horses running out for today's Ruyueshang.

Atalanta will start the race from the gate position of six groups of six.

The most popular rider in the Ruzuki Award is Bakhta, who has won one of his two races and is the second runner-up in the Kyoto 2-year-old Championship in the 2000m G3 grass race.

Mejiro Atalanta won three out of three local competitions and ran a time of 4F53.2 seconds in the chase at Ritosakamichi, and was pushed to the fourth most popular.

According to Master Mashima's feedback, there is no problem with Atalanta's suitability for grasslands.

If there is any destabilizing factor in this competition, it is the disadvantages caused by the expedition.

Although she did not lose any significant weight, Atalanta refused to eat on the first day of arriving in Ritto.

With the patient soothing of Majima and Okizawa, the stable attendants, he finally ate a little grass mixed with apples.

It wasn't until the day before the competition that the mental tension began to ease slightly.

As a result, the stables became somewhat sluggish.

On the track of the reviewing ground, the running horses have begun to enter one after another.

Looking past Bakhta, who was in the first round, he quickly found Atalanta, who was obviously smaller than the other running horses.

He greeted the trainer and the stable boy, who were busy dealing with Atalanta, but they only nodded briefly in response.

"Good afternoon, President."

Sasagawa came out of the preparation room and first walked to the center of the grass to greet Kitano.

"please."

Kitano bowed slightly, and the strong wind blew his hair into a mess.

"Yes, please leave it to me."

A look of determination flashed across the rider's face. After bowing in response, he trotted towards Atalanta.

Amidst the cheers, although Atalanta was a little timid, she did not go berserk in an instant.

The rider patted the chestnut horse's neck to soothe it, then climbed onto its back with a light movement.

Kitano, who had been looking at Atalanta, breathed a sigh of relief.

"It looks okay—"

As he was thinking this, a man wearing a burgundy bowler hat and looking like Master Yahagi from behind walked past him.

"Thank you for your hard work, Master Subei!"

The strange horse owner warmly embraced the man called Master Xu Bei and took several photos of the two of them with his mobile phone.

So your last name is Subei—

I thought that the person I met was either Master Yahagi or a relative of Master Yahagi.

After the review of the debut circle, the horses finally started heading towards the track.

Looking up at the sky, I saw no clouds at all.

It's a super good place.

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"【Kurozuki-sho Chaikiri】

Bakhta, who was in the second move of Kyoto 2-year-old S, instantly broke away and took the horse!

——"Eastern Sport Horse Racing"

Chapter 181 Yonozaka

The sound of Guanxi Zhongshang's music reached the sky, and the starting tower slowly rose at this time.

There was a small commotion among the fleeing horses gathered behind the gate.

The chestnut horse planted its front hooves firmly on the grass, refusing to move no matter how Majima and Okizawa urged it.

"Be good, Ata-chan."

Sasakawa leaned forward slightly and continued to soothe the obviously uneasy Atalanta with words.

With the combined efforts of the trainer and the stable boy, they finally managed to get the chestnut horse into the gate.

Majima, sweating profusely, breathed a sigh of relief, then cast a worried look at the gate.

As we boarded the bus from the gate back to the measuring room, the trainer kept praying for the safety of both horses and riders.

Inside the gate, the rear baffle was closed by the staff.

Without wavering, the rider's eyes were firmly directed towards the green grass.

Although the goal is ahead, we must not lose this battle.

As if inspired by the rider's determination, Atalanta, who had been a little agitated, gradually regained her composure.

"Let's run towards the Spring Classic. The race begins!"

The gate popped open in a slightly faster live speech.

The applause and cheers came clearly into my ears through the glass.

Kitano subconsciously clenched his fingertips and looked towards the straight line opposite him.

The view ahead suddenly opened up, but Sasakawa pursed his lips with a look of foreboding.

As if to avoid the horse next to the gate, Atalanta shifted slightly to the outside after leaving the gate.

While controlling the reins to adjust the direction, the urging part must not fall.

Contrary to the firm feeling brought by her petite physique, Atalanta is actually a softer type.

“Although it’s small, it actually feels as comfortable as cotton when you ride it.”

Both riders and training assistants have given similar comments.

With her soft feet and deer-like hopping steps, Atalanta often has a considerable advantage in small-circuit tracks.

On the other hand, the lack of leg muscles, especially hind hoof muscles, also leads to a lack of explosive power.

If you want to start the game from a front position, you must push the ball a lot from the start.

However, compared to traditional slow-brake horses that have a bad start and lack power, Atalanta's own desire to move forward is very strong.

The winning suit with a black and red cross pattern slowly moved backwards at the edge of vision.

The joint determination of man and horse allowed Atalanta to reach the front of the herd despite a not-so-good start.

The popular Bakhta was placed in the middle group slightly further back.

No one should be surprised by this development.

If you ask 100 Sai○musume players at a performance who will lead the release of the Kisaragi this year, I'm afraid more than half of them will say Mejiro Atalanta's name.

Almost everyone knows Atalanta's escape strategy.

Unlike the escape horse camp that would make escape declarations before the race in the past, whether it was trainer Majima, rider Sasagawa or owner Kitano, they all appeared very restrained when interviewed.

In addition to reasons such as "not wanting to escape out of control", there are more practical considerations.

In the first 1800 meters of the Kyoto outer circle, there are actually not many opportunities to accelerate.

Starting from the gate located on the extended straight line directly opposite, at first glance the straight line appears to be quite spacious.

However, starting from the second half of the straight line, we have to consider the next part of the slope.

Yodo-no-Zaka is a famous Kyoto landmark with a height difference of 4.3 meters.

If you waste too much energy on the uphill section, it is easy to fall into a disadvantageous position in the next race.

“Go uphill slowly, then go downhill at a slightly faster pace.”

This is the common knowledge about the Kyoto Racecourse in recent years.

On a track like this, it is not easy to win the race by escaping.

After ensuring he had clear view ahead, Sasakawa tried to pull the reins inward by about a horse's width.

Although it was a rare sunny day in February, as it was the last race of the day, the innermost track already showed some signs of use.

During the pre-race inspection of the racecourse, the conclusion was reached that "maybe it's okay to run."

Atalanta had performed well in heavy games before, and the degree of trampling was not too serious, so Sasakawa decided to try from the inside at the beginning of the game.

In fact, the running effect is quite good and no obvious changes are felt.

"Just turn a little further inside."

With this in mind, the rider turned his attention back to his partner.

After successfully taking the lead, Atalanta still felt a little anxious while running.

Sasakawa gently fiddled with the reins to soothe it, and before climbing the slope, the chestnut horse miraculously stopped its aggressive momentum.

"Success."

I tried my best to suppress the joy that was about to cry.

Although it is still a bit fast, this level of cooperation is valuable.

Relax the tense muscles all over your body slightly and take advantage of the gap before turning the bend to look back.

There doesn't seem to be a widening gap.

However, the real victory or defeat lies in the part after the slope.

Biting the bit with ease, Atalanta attacked the Yodo Slope with brisk steps.

"Entering the third bend, the first one is Atalanta, the sixth-ranked one. Bakhta, the first-ranked one, is about five or six horses behind him in the fifth-rank position."

After glancing at the prompt at hand, the live broadcaster Kozuka raised the telescope again.

"The kilometer time was 58.7 seconds. It wasn't as fast as I had expected."

The chestnut racehorse, mostly hidden by the inner fence, bounded up the Yodo-no-Slope Road, with the herd of horses behind it slightly separated by about one or two horse lengths.

It wasn't that Atalanta, who was in the lead, suddenly lost control, nor was it that Sasakawa, who was on the saddle, suddenly changed his mind.

Amidst many surprised gazes, a smooth moving curve rushed past the slope.

At Nishiken and Mejiro-Mitsuishi Ranches, located at the foot of Mt. Hidaka, there is almost no continuous flat land.

but--

The foals born and trained here learn to run in the mountains from the age of one.

Regardless of the steepness of the slope, he bravely climbed it, and also drove down it without fear.

On such a rugged slope, the waist and legs get sufficient exercise.

In this way, the unique characteristics of Ridaka horses were formed.

The Kyoto Racecourse, with its large height difference, is the track that Hidaka horses are proud of, and even heavy racecourses are no problem.

Such talent cannot be achieved by bloodline alone.