Chapter 80. Fuji Kiseki's Debut Race
From his conversation with Nakadate Eiji and Umana Masayoshi, Shuta An could guess that these two jockeys, riding the second and third most popular Racehorses in Fuji Kiseki's debut race, were definitely thinking of causing some trouble for the young man and Fuji Kiseki.
"In a 1200-meter turf race, the easiest way to cause trouble is to grab the leading position."
Shuta An, on Fuji Kiseki's saddle, fell into deep thought.
"In that case, I can't let Fuji Kiseki contend with them for the leading position."
Although letting Fuji Kiseki contend for the lead with Shell Queen, ridden by Nakadate Eiji, and T.M. Vigour, ridden by Umana Masayoshi, wouldn't significantly affect the race outcome—Shuta An was confident that Fuji Kiseki could easily win.
But a sense of responsibility that emerged in Shuta An prevented him from this plan.
There is a specific term called "Maiden Race education."
It refers to the jockey on the saddle educating the Racehorse during its early debut races, teaching the inexperienced Racehorses to contend for suitable positions.
If one directly and roughly makes a Racehorse contend for the leading position with other Racehorses from the start, it can easily lead to this Racehorse rushing forward headlong in future races, completely ignoring the race pace, and even gradually becoming intolerant and irritable.
If a Racehorse is consistently left behind, some Racehorses will gradually become passive and unwilling to move forward after the race starts, forcing the jockey on the saddle to use passive tactics.
Some Racehorses like to stay away from the pack once they start running; if they are not made to overcome this fear in early debut races, their fighting spirit will be extinguished once they enter the pack in the future.
All of the above are examples of failed Maiden Race education.
While Shuta An hadn't been overly concerned with this aspect before, since Fuji Kiseki was expected to be his main ride, the young man intended to do his best in his Maiden Race education.
"Then there is only one answer."
After stepping onto the turf track of Niigata Racecourse with Fuji Kiseki, Shuta An made up his mind.
"Let Fuji Kiseki take the third position and adopt a front-running tactic."
—
"Click!"
When the starting gate opened, as the young man expected, Nakadate Eiji and Umana Masayoshi both urged their partners to accelerate fiercely to the front of the pack, clearly not wanting Shuta An and Fuji Kiseki to take the leading position.
Shuta An, starting from gate 2, had prepared himself mentally before the race, so there was no panic.
As Umana Masayoshi and Nakadate Eiji cooperatively started leading one after the other, he leisurely guided Fuji Kiseki to the third position.
Because both Nakadate Eiji and Umana Masayoshi wanted to set a fast pace, Shuta An also pushed a few times, allowing Fuji Kiseki to keep up.
And Ono Jiro, on Judi Partner, the fourth-place Racehorse, realizing that Judi Partner struggled to keep up with such a pace, simply pulled back his partner.
Thus, the pack split into two groups: the leading group consisting of Shuta An and the other two, and the already semi-abandoned chasing group.
"Shuta-kun is following so closely."
Nakadate Eiji looked back after entering the turn.
Umana Masayoshi knew from the sound of hooves that Fuji Kiseki was hot on their heels.
His nerves tightened even further.
Everyone knew Fuji Kiseki was strong; he had shown a level surpassing other Racehorses in pre-race training, and his odds for this race had reached 1.3 times.
But it was only on the track that Umana Masayoshi most clearly realized how terrifying the Racehorse chasing him and T.M. Vigour was.
"Just following behind without even accelerating yet, he already seems very intimidating. When we enter the final straight and he starts to accelerate, I feel like T.M. Vigour and I won't stand a chance."
Umana Masayoshi, entering the turn, clutched the reins tightly, eagerly trying to find a way to contend with Shuta An and Fuji Kiseki.
But in this world, many things you want to do cannot be done.
For example, contending with Shuta An and Fuji Kiseki at Niigata Racecourse today.
—
As the leading Shell Queen set a pace of 34.0 for the first 600 meters, and Fuji Kiseki entered the final bend two horse lengths behind him, Umana Masayoshi desperately found himself with no options.
Shuta An, whose path ahead was completely clear, raised his right hand like a judge preparing to declare a verdict, and delivered a decisive whip.
After receiving this whip, Fuji Kiseki immediately changed his stride, and his speed suddenly increased by a level.
Umana Masayoshi and T.M. Vigour were left behind by Fuji Kiseki in just over ten meters.
"It's still not enough, as expected."
Although Nakadate Eiji and Shell Queen were still struggling, Umana Masayoshi made a judgment in his heart at this moment.
After overtaking T.M. Vigour, Shuta An ignored everything else, delivered another left-handed whip, adjusted Fuji Kiseki's position, then flicked the whip into a flourish that only he could see, and gripped it with a reverse hold.
Shuta An had performed the next action many times; he did it in almost every race, and the young man believed that as long as he remained a jockey in his Dream World, he would continue to do so forever.
With both hands, he held the reins while pressing on Fuji Kiseki's hind neck, rising and falling with his running rhythm.
Shuta An didn't need to pay special attention at this moment; his pushing rhythm was already close to Fuji Kiseki's breathing rhythm.
Each time he rose and fell in Fuji Kiseki's saddle, both of them pulled a small distance ahead of Shell Queen.
Heart and mind united, mind and spirit united, spirit and strength united. The young man vaguely felt an incredibly beautiful imagery, as if he and Fuji Kiseki had merged into one, pursuing the goddess of victory towards her divine kingdom.
Shuta An and his partner were much luckier; with each step they took, the outcome of their destiny drew a little closer.
—
It wasn't until 33.9 seconds later, until Fuji Kiseki's nose touched the virtual finish line, that Shuta An saw the goddess of victory with a faint smile on her face.
"FUJI KISEKI! A HUGE LEAD AT THE FINISH! TRULY THE STRONGEST FIRST-CROP OFFSPRING OF SUNDAY SILENCE! HE'S INCREDIBLY STRONG! HE CAN LEAVE THE SECOND-PLACE SHELL QUEEN BY A HUGE MARGIN IN 1200 METERS! IT'S HARD TO IMAGINE WHAT LEVEL FUJI KISEKI WILL REACH AFTER FURTHER GROWTH! COULD IT BE THAT SUNDAY SILENCE WILL PRODUCE A JAPANESE UNDEFEATED TRIPLE CROWN IN HIS FIRST YEAR?!"
Listening to the shouts of the live commentator, Shuta An curled his lips and raised his right index finger towards the stands.
Consequently, the deafening cheers from the stands drowned out all other noise.