Hokkaido Horse Racing Story

Wearing a very conspicuous number "1" on the back.

"Keep trying, Genta!"

As he climbed onto the horse, Kobayashi, the stable attendant wearing a black suit from the Japanese retailer, encouraged him.

Holding the reins, Ochiai nodded silently.

On the other side, Hattori also found Mejiro Sakuya.

He patted the deer-haired horse's head, then climbed onto its back with the help of the stable attendant.

His eyes paused briefly on the delicate braids of hair.

This is a masterpiece created by Masaru Ogawa a few days ago.

In addition, amulets obtained from Monbetsu Shrine were hung in front of the two stables.

Although Ogawa Kana laughed at him for being useless, he still did it.

Arriving at the competition site, the boy watched the two horses from afar through the railings.

"You must be safe and sound."

Ogawa Masaru prayed silently.

After the riders mounted their horses, the parade began.

Two racehorses in the same colors approached one after the other.

"Please, both of you."

Kitano bowed deeply and saluted the two riders.

Ochiai responded skillfully, and Hattori nodded with a smile.

The two figures gradually walked away.

Kitano didn't look away until both horses had left the reviewing field.

He slowly let out a long breath.

Then, walk towards the stands.

On the way, I met Ogawa Masaru, who was also wearing a suit in the hot weather.

"It seems that Masaru has a lot of confidence in Pegasus and Sakuya."

he said with a smile.

"Of course! After all, I watched them grow up—"

Ogawa Katsu responded in a relaxed tone, but his hands and feet were walking in the wrong direction without him noticing.

"Don't be too nervous."

Kitano patted the boy's slightly trembling shoulder.

"I-I'm not nervous!"

Ogawa Katsu immediately retorted, a faint blush tinging his ears.

"By the way, Kitano-san, the one performing today is Industrial High School!"

The boy changed the subject somewhat awkwardly, then lowered his voice furtively, "I heard that the girls in this school's wind band are all very cute!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Kana Ogawa, who came from behind, twisted his ear.

"While it's no surprise that your head is filled with pornographic garbage, please at least restrain yourself a little in this situation."

The girl in the black dress gave a somewhat scary smile.

"It hurts..."

Ogawa Sheng looked at Ogawa Jang on the other side with an aggrieved expression: "Dad, please take care of this violent girl!"

"Ha, the track conditions look good today, Mr. Kitano."

Ogawa Jō put his arm around Kitano's shoulders and pointed to the white sandy ground nearby.

"yes--"

Kitano nodded in agreement, the muscles on his face trembling slightly.

In the rear, Xuhe siblings soon started a new round of open and covert fighting.

On the starting tower, the starting committee member in a white suit raised the small flag in his hand.

The sound of trombone, sousaphone, bass drum, and other indistinguishable instruments followed.

"Sorry, please give way."

It took a while to squeeze through the crowd of people holding their phones high in front of the railing.

When I arrived at the stands, I heard applause.

It is said that the very cute girl in the wind band has already left the stage.

Although I didn't care too much about it, I still couldn't help feeling a little sorry.

"President Kitano!"

In the front stands, several members of the cheering group recognized Kitano under the "MEJIRO" banner.

"Go well in today's game!"

"Pegasus will definitely win—"

"Make sure to finish the race without any problems!"

Kitano raised his hand and waved, acknowledging their support.

When I finally sat down in the stands, my back was soaked with sweat.

However, I'm starting to get used to this experience.

"The twelfth race at the Menbetsu Racecourse, today's highlight, the third Future Star Menbetsu, a Grade 1 race in Hokkaido, 1,200 meters, with twelve runners."

The live broadcast sounded much more serious than usual.

"The weather at the parade ground is sunny, and the ground is in good condition."

"At both ends of the Mejiro Crown, the riders are wearing white and green victory uniforms."

Looking towards the direction of the track, both Mejiro Hirama and Mejiro Sakuya entered the gate very smoothly.

"Okay, the Third Kirei Ascension has also entered smoothly."

"Everyone has entered the gate, and the staff have dispersed--"

Chapter 51: Night Battle

"Game start!"

The gate popped open, and Ochiai quickly balanced his body.

Then, he turned his head and looked to the left.

It was quite competitive from the beginning.

The second-place Tu Le Chi Feng and the third-place Wu Ying Fei Sheng, who were near the gate, also joined the fight for pace dominance.

However, whether in terms of starting or ranking, Mudai Baima has the advantage.

Pulling the reins sideways, Ochiai leads the horse out to a position one to two horse widths away from the inside rail.

Not only to avoid the thick sand accumulated on the innermost side, but also to block the forward routes of Tule Chifeng and Wuying Feisheng.

Then, tap the horse's belly lightly with your heel.

Mudaishima immediately understood his intention and tensed his neck muscles.

Ochiai cooperated by loosening the reins.

Generally speaking, such actions are very risky.

Except for situations such as a big escape, riders often adjust their position by pulling the reins briefly after leaving the gate, while ensuring that the horse does not consume its energy too early due to excessive excitement.

In the last competition, a popular rider named Eternal Wind rushed to a very high position in the early part of the race because Miyazaki let go of the reins early.

Then, with the time for the last three waves nearly five seconds behind the eventual champion Tianlaiyin, he won the second move of Xingzhilaiwei.

After this race, Miyazaki Rider was ridiculed for several months.

Until recently, some people would joke about nicknames like "Unbridled Miyazaki."

However, Medaima is different.

At least that's what Ochiai thought.

It has its own criteria for judging the competition.

Letting Mubai run at a pace that suits him was the strategy set from the beginning.

The horses galloped, and the gray-white figure was steadily widening the distance between itself and the herd behind.

Mudaiba was breathing evenly.

"That's it!"

Ochiai silently estimated his pace.

It's not a situation where it's so fast that it's out of control.

On the other side, the Hattori rider who started from the outer path ninth class landed steadily at the back of the team.

Given that the gate position and gate response are not advantageous, it is not surprising to get such a result.

Without rushing to take position, Hattori steadily controlled Mejiro Sakuya to move forward along a route that was almost the same number of layers as Mejiro Baima.

Gathering strength is the only thing to worry about at this stage.

"After the start, the first place winner, Mu Baima, was in the lead. Second place winner, Tu Le Chi Feng, and third place winner, Wu Ying Fei Sheng, were running parallel to each other, a little over half a length behind. Eleventh place winner, Baro Sheng Ling, was also catching up at the far end. It was a very intense opening race!"

Until entering the third bend, the competition between the leading group was still not completely decided.

After overtaking Tule Chifeng and Wuying Feisheng from the outside, Barro's Holy Spirit Horse launched an attack on Mu Baima in the front without stopping.

Ignoring the figure approaching from the side, Ochiai firmly grasped the reins and guided Mudaibama along the inside route into the curve.

Barlow Holy Spirit behind did not slow down and caught up along a more outer route.

It seems that the rider Abe on the saddle has already determined that Barro Holy Spirit, who has won three games in a row and has twice the popularity, is enough to defeat Medaipei with the advantage of the number of classes.

"Then give it a try."

There wasn't much change on Ochiai's face.

At a relatively fast pace and with few horses around, one cannot expect the horses coming from behind to cover Barlow Holy Spirit.

Besides, apart from Barlow Holy Spirit, few horses would start to accelerate at this position.

If you want to effectively interfere with Barlow Holy Spirit, you must first pull Bai Tianma to the same outer route.

As for starting to accelerate, although this option was considered, it was quickly rejected.

He chose to wait.

At the beginning of the game, Baima had already consumed a certain amount of physical strength in order to seize the leading position.

If you can't catch your breath a little at the bend, it will be difficult to form a powerful last kick after entering the straight line.

The option of running the entire course at a high pace did not exist from the beginning.

Although he has a record of winning in the 1500 meters, which is 300 meters longer, Ochiai, as a rider, is well aware that Medaipei is not the type to excel in physical strength.

Accelerate in the front, decelerate in the middle, and then continue to accelerate at the end——

This is the game rhythm that he found to be more suitable for Mudai Baima after running in through several games.

However, there was one thing that made him vaguely worried at the moment.

The stimulation from the Holy Spirit of Barlow may disrupt Baima's rhythm.

For a racehorse with such a strong competitive spirit, it will never allow its opponent to overtake it until it is completely exhausted.

Under the current circumstances, this is likely to become a constraint for Mu Baima.