Chapter 57. Curragh and the Super Slow Pace in the Dream World
On Saturday night, after falling asleep, Shuta An found himself once again in the jockeys' waiting room at Curragh Racecourse.
Unlike several of his peers seated not far away, Shuta An had arrived today with absolute confidence in victory.
Because among the seven races being held at Curragh Racecourse today, the horses he was scheduled to ride were first favorites in five of them. The only exception was the Pretty Polly Stakes, where his mount was still the third favorite.
It could be said that every partner assigned to him today was a strong horse.
As for the one race in which he was not participating, that was a special case.
"Including the Pretty Polly Stakes, today's objective is indeed to win every race, isn't it?"
Seated in his chair, Shuta An quietly thought to himself.
At this moment, there were still twenty minutes remaining before the first race of the day. Since he would only be watching this race from the jockeys' waiting room, there was naturally no need for him to make any adjustments to his condition.
The Irish jockeys present were all sizing him up.
Ever since his fierce battle with Thierry Jarnet in the Epsom Derby, Shuta An's reputation among European jockeys had risen dramatically.
However, Shuta An was completely unfamiliar with them.
As a result, neither side showed any intention of initiating a conversation.
The young man simply sat there while being observed.
—
The name of the first race sounded exceptionally impressive—the Lady De Burgh Stakes.
Although it carried the word "Stakes," it was not even an Open-class race, merely an ordinary handicap event.
However, the reason Shuta An was not participating in this race was already written directly into its conditions.
"It really is a Stakes race, but a jockey Stakes race."
While observing the riding styles of the competitors, Shuta An silently made his evaluation.
Because every jockey participating in this race was female.
The young man had no interest whatsoever in prematurely ushering in some grand MTF era, so as a male jockey, he could only remain honestly inside the waiting room.
The second race was a maiden event restricted to local three-year-olds from Curragh, run over 2400 meters.
Shuta An's mount was named Soviet Choice.
The horse had already participated in three races.
Naturally, it had yet to win any of them.
"Everyone's overall level is quite average. At this point, it depends entirely on whether the horse's stamina and the jockey's ability can withstand 2400 meters."
Straddling Soviet Choice's back, Shuta An could clearly feel that the racehorse beneath him was somewhat uncomfortable with the unfamiliar rider.
He tightened the reins slightly and squeezed the horse's sides with his legs.
After leaving the parade ring, Soviet Choice gradually settled down.
"This horse accepts people rather quickly."
Before entering the starting gate, Shuta An grinned and spoke to Soviet Choice's groom.
"Mr. Shuta is simply too amazing."
The groom responded with a helpless smile.
Originally, he had been hoping to watch Soviet Choice play a little trick on Shuta An.
To his surprise, the horse that often threw tantrums had become exceptionally obedient the moment it faced Shuta An.
—
A total of six horses were entered for this maiden race.
Shuta An and Soviet Choice drew Gate One.
Considering the race distance of 2400 meters, the young man had already decided to employ forward-running tactics.
"Let's see who wants to take the lead."
He silently waited for the race to begin.
After the gates opened, Shuta An quickly discovered that none of the other competitors had any intention of seizing the lead.
The young man raised an eyebrow.
Then he simply increased his pushing intensity slightly, allowing Soviet Choice to move naturally to the front of the field.
"If nobody wants to lead, then I'll control the pace myself."
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"Just don't get carried away later."
Thus, Shuta An set the pace at sixty-seven seconds for the opening thousand meters.
By the time they entered Curragh Racecourse's six-hundred-meter final straight, he was actually somewhat dissatisfied.
"With a straight this long, I should've set the pace at seventy seconds per thousand meters—or even slower—to really drag the race tempo down."
When three hundred meters remained before the finish line, Kadassa, who had been running in second place, had already closed the gap to within two lengths of SovietChoice.
Shuta An immediately increased his effort to full intensity.
After only several dozen meters, every challenger behind him abandoned the pursuit.
After all, this was merely a maiden race. Everyone could see there was no possibility of producing a late burst capable of catching up.
Since the result was already decided, there was little point in forcing the issue.
As a result, Shuta An guided Soviet Choice across the finish line with an easy five-length victory.
"Low-level races in Europe really are easy to win."
Combining today's experience with his previous experiences at Royal Ascot, the young man could not help arriving at that conclusion.
Of course, they were merely easy to win.
The prize money remained far below that of equivalent races in Japan.
—
After winning another race using front-running tactics, it was finally time for the main event of today's Curragh Racecourse card.
The Pretty Polly Stakes.
Curragh Racecourse possessed a rather unique layout.
Rather than a complete oval, it was constructed in a horseshoe shape, with the starting points at either end not fully connected.
As a right-handed horseshoe-shaped course, Curragh featured no particularly sharp turns, but the terrain constantly rose and fell.
Because of this, horses generally avoided making aggressive moves too early.
The horse Shuta An would ride in today's Pretty Polly Stakes was Marillette.
She was trained by Gosden and had previously won two G3 stakes races.
Among the field assembled today, she was considered one of the stronger contenders.
"I can't disappoint everyone."
As though conversing directly with her, the young man gently rubbed Marillette's hind neck.
—
Marillette had drawn Gate Eight.
Considering the layout of Curragh Racecourse, this was actually not an advantageous draw.
After already riding two races here today, Shuta An had come to understand that outside gates were far from ideal positions.
Because of this, he had spent considerable time thinking about how he should ride this race.
"Still, I'll aim for a midfield position."
He had no intention of dropping all the way to the rear. After all, he had personally set extremely slow paces in his previous two races. There was no guarantee that another jockey would not attempt the same strategy in this G2 event.
If the leader deliberately slowed the race to a crawl, it would be disastrous for any horse relying on a hold-up tactic.
At the moment, Shuta An was riding Marillette.
Not Oguri Cap.
Not Tokai Teio.
Therefore, he had no desire to gamble on such a scenario.
"I wonder who'll take the lead this time."
As the thought crossed his mind, Shuta An glanced toward the competitors drawn on the inside before guiding Marillette into the starting gate.
When Shuta An led Marillette into the middle of the pack, the race formation had already become clear.
Takarouna was setting the pace in front. Market Booster followed closely on her left rear flank. One length behind them were Special Pageant and Tarakana. Behind that pair came Marillette and Riyoom. Shuta An did not have the leisure to look behind and confirm the positions of the remaining runners, but with only ten horses entered in the race, the young man could easily judge that he was currently situated in the middle of the field.
Watching Marillette's position from the sidelines, Gosden nodded in satisfaction.
"Good positioning. Even though Shuta-kun is riding at Curragh Racecourse for the first time, he adapted quickly to the track and immediately understood how to win here.
Yoshida Katsumi had not accompanied Shuta An to Curragh. Instead, he remained at a hotel near Ascot Racecourse, watching the race through Sky Sports.
"Shuta-kun seems to be in excellent form. If he can maintain this condition until Queen Elizabeth Cup Day, there definitely won't be any problems."
Although Vega's third Triple Crown was still some distance away, Yoshida Katsumi was already looking forward to the moment when one of his horses would become an Undefeated Triple Crown winner.
"I wonder when a Triple Crown-winning colt will finally appear. If I keep asking Shuta-kun to ride, perhaps one might emerge within five years?"
Yoshida Katsumi found himself seriously considering the possibility.
Meanwhile, Shuta An on the track had no idea what everyone else was thinking.
At this point, Marillette had already passed the long opening straight while maintaining her original position and entered the sweeping lower bend of Curragh's horseshoe-shaped course.
Takarouna continued to lead. However, Market Booster, who had been stalking closely behind on the outside, could no longer hold back and gradually moved up to apply pressure.
Although Shuta An was positioned some distance behind them, he could clearly see the increasingly intense struggle unfolding between Takarouna and Market Booster.
"That's right. Fight even harder."
The young man could not help but cheer for Jockey Modi and Kinane in his heart.
As long as Takarouna and Market Booster continued exhausting each other throughout this bend, Shuta An was confident he could launch a decisive attack down the extraordinarily long straight later.
As they approached the exit of the sweeping turn, Takarouna and Market Booster had already become nearly level with one another.
The horses behind them also began inching forward.
Shuta An, however, remained completely unhurried.
In his judgment, this was not the time to accelerate.
"I can push-ride for five hundred meters, but Marillette probably can't sustain a five-hundred-meter sprint."
Although Marillette was already a G3 winner, the young man still harbored certain doubts regarding her overall ability.
Because of that, in every tactical calculation he made for this race, Shuta An deliberately treated Marillette as the weaker party.
Even now, that assessment remained unchanged.
He believed the ideal timing was to unleash a full acceleration with three hundred meters remaining, delivering a sudden shock to Kinane and Modi through a late burst of speed.
Gosden was not anxious in the slightest when Shuta An refrained from accelerating immediately after entering the home straight.
He could understand exactly why the young man had made that choice.
"He's doubting Marillette's ability."
Gosden narrowed his eyes. There was neither displeasure nor satisfaction in his expression.
"It seems he still doesn't understand the habits of European Trainers. At the very least, the fact that I entrusted him with this horse proves that I have tremendous confidence in her. Otherwise, she would never have been handed to him."
Gosden considered himself the type of Trainer who would never deliberately give an outstanding jockey an inferior horse and expect him to somehow carry it to victory.
Unfortunately, that was Gosden's perspective.
Shuta An did not see things that way.
Especially when he felt Marillette conserving her strength beneath him, the young man became even more convinced of his judgment.
"Marillette feels slightly outclassed on a G2 stage like this."
Glancing toward Eurostorm, who was almost running level with him, Shuta An trusted his assessment even more.
"As expected, I'll need to think carefully about how to help Marillette conserve her stamina more efficiently. Or perhaps I should simply push with everything I have and use the whip to draw out a finishing burst beyond her normal limits."
With three hundred meters remaining, Shuta An first delivered a right-handed strike, guiding Marillette onto the left rear quarter of Tarakana ahead.
Then his push-riding performance truly began.
Every time he pressed down on Marillette's neck, he poured all of his strength into the movement.
Whenever he pulled the reins, he deliberately wrapped them once around his hands before lifting Marillette's head.
This riding technique significantly reduced Marillette's stamina consumption during her sprint.
Her speed increased steadily.
Within only a few dozen meters, Shuta An and Marillette had already drawn level with both Takarouna and Market Booster.
Modi and Kinane also noticed the sudden appearance of a third challenger sweeping up on the far outside while they were locked in their own duel.
Stimulated by the threat, the fatigue that had already begun creeping into their bodies seemed to disappear instantly.
The two men immediately joined Shuta An, launching their own all-out push-riding efforts aboard their respective mounts.
However, with only fifty meters remaining before the finish line, Shuta An, who felt increasingly synchronized with Marillette beneath him, suddenly drew his whip with his right hand and delivered a windmill-style strike.
Even though Marillette was already accelerating at maximum speed, that single strike allowed her to find just a little more.
And in a situation like this, even the slightest increase in speed was enough to decide everything.
"MARILLETTE REACHES THE FINISH LINE FIRST!"
Accompanied by the commentator's excited shout, Shuta An loosened the reins that had been pulled taut around his hands.
Rather than turning toward the grandstands to celebrate, he turned his head toward Kinane and Modi.
Then he extended a fist.
The two jockeys froze momentarily.
After understanding the young man's intention, they exchanged helpless smiles before extending their own fists.
The three bumped fists together.
"You are very strong," Modi said. "I won't lose to you in the Irish Oaks next time."
Kinane, on the other hand, did not issue any declaration of rivalry.
He simply reached over and patted Shuta An on the shoulder. Then, without another word, he guided his mount away from the racecourse.