Hokkaido Horse Racing Story

There have been fears and there have been fears.

The wishes of man and horse resonated in the gradually overlapping heartbeats.

Want to win this game.

Even Master Majima, who was holding the leash, breathed a sigh of relief and muttered, "It seems to feel even easier than usual."

The support of 50,000 horse racing fans turned into a torrent, and 18 young mares of different coat colors and bloodlines stepped onto the racetrack of the racecourse one after another.

Among them are strong players who have already been baptized by classic competitions and are carrying expectations and pressures;

There are also rising stars who have just emerged from the qualifying competition, looking up at the glory but taking firm steps.

The scene seemed no different from that day.

That was eleven years ago.

The first time he watched a derby match, he witnessed Harvest Festival holding off the attack of Satomi Hikarizumi from behind to win the derby amidst the cheers of thousands of people. The young Sasakawa made this resolution:

We must win a game like that in Tokyo!

However, fate always likes to mock pious wishes.

The young rider who never gave up his dream received another cold notice of "failure".

It seemed like the beautiful dream about Tokyo was coming to an end.

For local riders, even winning a race in Tokyo is a luxury.

"Maybe I'll never have that opportunity again in my lifetime."

Sasakawa had thought of this more than once.

And on that day ten years later——

"I have a very cute child here. How about you, Ayi, be the main rider?"

The gears of fate, which had been stagnant for a long time, slowly turned at this moment.

After the myths of "the unbeaten cherry blossom viewing" and "the return of Heseck" were shattered, visitors from Oi still stepped onto the highest stage of the palace without fear.

The early summer afternoon sun had not yet infused too much heat, and the band conductor in his white military uniform calmly raised his wrist.

The glorious trumpets of the Kanto First Class race sounded, and the applause and cheers of 50,000 people were deafening.

"Tokyo Horse Racing, race 11."

"Excellent mare, international Grade 1 race, the 88th Oaks Stakes, 2,400 meters on the grass course, three-year-old filly, eighteen runners."

"The highest stage for three-year-old fillies, the best mare—"

Inside and outside the gates, the riders of the eighteen runaway mares tried to calm their restless partners.

Mares are more sensitive and delicate physically and mentally than stallions, and it is not uncommon for them to be unable to perform to their full potential and fall into a slump due to various reasons.

Even a trivial factor like "being disturbed by noise before the game" may become the fuse of a defeat.

"All eighteen have entered the gate—"

Instead of the straight line more common in Grade 1 races, the young mares starting from the front of the stands started out in a somewhat chaotic manner.

"Game start!"

The accident of the day happened at the beginning of the game.

Bakhta, who was considered the only favorite to win the championship besides Mejiro Atalanta, and had a good chance of shining on the Kashiwa stage based on his pedigree and past performance, was slow to start despite not having an advantageous gate position.

Part of the cheers turned into wails at this moment, and the snow-white horse tickets floated early into the sky above the mansion.

But Sasakawa, who started from the fourth gate on the inner lane and exited smoothly, had no time to pay attention to the commotion from behind.

At the urging of the rider, who still had some strength left, Atalanta leaped and rushed to the front.

This was not a deliberately arranged lead, but a running posture that came naturally to her.

Although Atalanta showed signs of speeding up at first due to the cheers, the rider quickly managed to calm her down by using the reins.

"Ah—Bakhta is late!"

"Mejiro Atalanta is leading the way, just as expected. Even before we reach the first bend, the team is already quite scattered!"

Whether they were horse racing fans on site or away, not many people noticed that the commentary by the live broadcast host was more than a beat late.

At this moment, there are only two questions left in their minds -

Can Atalanta escape successfully?

Or, can Bakhta still catch up?

"It seems easier than I thought."

At the beginning of the race, in order to seize the position, Sasakawa pulled the reins sideways and took the route slightly to the outside.

But after taking the lead almost effortlessly, he tried to bring Atalanta closer to the inner fence than the expected route, about two or three layers away.

Even in the second and third stack positions, which still looked like a huge mess, Atalanta's movements did not seem to be significantly disturbed.

"Then let's run around here and see."

Then, the rider puts all his energy into controlling the rhythm.

For a runaway horse and its rider, the biggest enemy is themselves.

Even if there is no opponent as a reference and the situation behind is unknown, you must maintain your own rhythm, otherwise you will not be able to cope with the offensive from the latecomer in the second half of the game.

"one two three four"

The rider calculated his pace like a kindergarten student, but his face was frighteningly serious and tense.

His decision at the moment was to maintain the most average pace possible under the actual heavy track conditions.

There is no need to play any tricks with pace anymore, but to win or lose fairly.

The tips of her hooves skimmed across the wet grass, and as if humming a song, Atalanta ran towards the straight road opposite with a light step.

"The kilometer mark was completed in exactly one minute, and the leader is the popular Atalanta!"

I'm a bit busy today, only one chapter

Chapter 211 We Will Not Become Stronger Alone

"Even with a relatively conservative strategy and conserving energy in the middle of the race, Atalanta was unable to execute a sufficient final kick in the final straight line."

Sasakawa came to this conclusion after observing many games since his debut.

on the contrary--

Even at a slightly faster pace, Atalanta never felt exhausted.

“She’s the horse that needs to escape to win the race.”

On this day, Atalanta continued the unconventional uniform speed of blooming from the previous cherry blossom viewing.

Ignoring the two or three opponents who were biting desperately from behind, the familiar force conveyed the signal of "just keep running" to his partner through the reins.

It wasn't until approaching the third turn that there was a commotion in the audience.

"This is not good—"

Leaning against the railing, Kitano clearly witnessed the progress of the game from a bystander's perspective.

Whether opponents are from the inner or outer sects, they are all ready to launch an offensive.

"Disrupt the rhythm of the popular escape horse of the upper position."

As the most popular horse in the Oaks, it is difficult for Atalanta to easily get a comfortable lead like many of her predecessors who have broken the doubts of the upset.

If it is an underdog with low popularity and insufficient strength, there is no need to waste any effort.

however--

Atalanta, who is leading the team at the moment, is actually quite popular before the game.

But soon, the riders in the herd behind were caught in a dilemma again.

If the opponent is running at a normal pace, you can take advantage of the opportunity when the opponent slows down to move forward and suppress him.

But Atalanta's pace was slightly faster, with a subtle emphasis on the field.

For most of the horses running in the Oaks, it is definitely not a wise choice to follow up rashly at such a pace.

"If you think you're strong enough, then go ahead and catch up."

Faced with the challenge from local horse racing, some riders choose to bet their victory on the last long straight line in the palace.

"She's definitely not going to make it."

Many people, including most horse racing fans, think so.

Another group of riders knew that they must not let Atalanta escape easily, but they made a decisive decision to catch up in the middle of the opposite straight.

"Can Atalanta, a coward who longs to get as far away from the horses as possible, maintain her rhythm in the face of an attack of this magnitude?"

Such questions flashed through the minds of many witnesses, including Kitano.

“Oh no—”

Miura, who gradually caught up with the leading group from the middle group, looked as pale as death.

He noticed that Atalanta, whose rhythm should have been unbalanced under the pressure of the advance group, still maintained perfect coordination with the riders.

Many times, a runaway horse stalls early because the rider wants to slow down the pace, but he conflicts with the horse that still wants to keep running fast, resulting in unnecessary consumption.

however--

Perhaps he was moved by the rider's calmness through the bit, or perhaps he had already overcome his inner fear.

On this day, the golden mane, shining in the sunlight of the palace, cut through the gust of wind.

At the front of the herd, a petite chestnut-haired figure was the first to emerge from the cover of the large beech tree.

"She's actually going to escape completely?"

It should not be called timidity, such a premonition is the rider's intuition based on experience.

So, after the advance group began to run out of energy, the middle group and even the horses further back finally began to try to shorten the distance.

Even Bakhta, who fell to the back of the pack due to a mistake in starting, started to catch up under the urging of rider Kawada.

"1,800 meters in 1 minute 48.2 seconds, that's a pretty fast pace!"

The moment the commentary ended, the stands erupted in applause mixed with surprise and joy.

"Did you succeed in escaping?"

The leading group, which had been pressing hard before, gradually lost speed, and the horses behind had not yet caught up. Atalanta seemed to have already won the battle.

Beyond the flying mane, Sasakawa's face was filled with suffocating solemnity.

My heart was beating so hard it hurt.

The sound of hooves approaching from behind pressed against his back like the force of ghosts and gods.

however--

A slightly clumsy yet extremely firm force was clearly transmitted to the rider's palm through the reins.

At this moment, there was nothing else reflected in his eyes except the road stretching ahead.

In other words, there is nothing else to think about except striving forward.

After passing the iconic third turn, the pace that seemed to have slowed down slightly returned to normal in an instant.

"We will never give the guys behind us a chance to catch their breath."

There had been doubts, but when the moment of victory or defeat came, Sasakawa chose to believe in his partner's ability.

When Atalanta stepped onto the home straight, the commotion in the audience instantly turned into deafening screams.

Even though the race was drawing to a close, his leading running posture did not waver in the slightest.

The chestnut-haired horse seemed to be about to run out of strength, but without Sasakawa whipping it, it was able to widen the distance again with its brisk steps that were almost undiminished.

After crossing the last iconic slope in Fuchu, the glorious end point is right in front of you.

At the same time, the sound of hooves behind gradually faded away.