Hokkaido Horse Racing Story.

Chapter 350 The Victory of the Top Student
"Mr. Sugiyama, keep up the good work, it's going to rain!"

Just before the torrential rain began to fall, the two runaway horse owners narrowly escaped into the owner's preparation room.

"It looks like it won't stop; at least it's too late for the next match."

Mr. Sugiyama, leaning on his cane, turned and stared at the sky.

"It's such a headache—"

The low-hanging clouds were dark gray, and just as Mr. Sugiyama said, the rain probably wouldn't stop anytime soon.

During the conversation, JRA staff brought over a full set of rain gear.

However, although it wasn't quite to the point of a violent storm, the rain outside was still quite heavy.

At the very least, the shoes will definitely get wet.

For this reason, most horse owners stayed in the indoor viewing area on the upper floor, and even the number of horse racing fans gathered in the parade ground decreased.

Before long, every corner of the reviewing stand was stained dark brown.

The thing I feared still happened.

Kwai Chun Biao's first runner emerged from the tunnel, and when he poked his head out, he seemed startled by the raindrops falling from the sky.

However, with the reassurance of the stablemen on both sides, the chestnut horse cautiously took its first steps.

The second and third officers arrived at the reviewing stand without incident.

Next is Noah, the fourth.

Watching the figure emerge from the tunnel diagonally ahead, I felt a little nervous at that moment.

After waiting for several seconds, no more figures emerged from the tunnel.

Then, a commotion suddenly broke out in the vicinity.

"Oh, is that child alright?"

"This is absolutely unacceptable!"

"Oops--"

You can hear that sound.

All eyes of the horse enthusiasts in front of the railing were focused on the deer-mane horse with its head bowed, and then on the trainer bowing to the back.

At the other end of the rope in Hattori's hand, Noah, who usually performed steadily in both training and competition, was almost drooping his head to the ground.

They've practically turned into ostriches!

"Is Noah really okay?"

When I went forward to join the rest of the group, I asked this question with some concern.

Although the child was still obediently following the stable boy's instructions and circling around for inspection, there was a sense that he was radiating a negative emotion that seemed to say, "Let's finish this quickly."

"terribly sorry!"

The trainer bowed deeply, causing the hood of his rain gear to slip off.

"No, I should be the one saying that. Noah, I'm sorry to have troubled you."

"That's not true. Noah is a very well-behaved child, and he has been training very hard these past few days in Lidong."

What should have been a match played to perfection was marred by the sudden rain, leaving everyone on the team somewhat frustrated.

"In any case, let's make finishing the race safe and sound our goal."

Looking at the deer-haired horse on the parade ground track, seemingly moving closer to the railing, he sighed and made this decision.

"terribly sorry--"

The trainer wiped his hair, which was wet and stuck to his head with raindrops, and bowed once again.

This was repeated endlessly several times, and finally, he bowed again in the direction of the rider, Tobita.

"I'll leave the rest to you."

When I raised my head, I caught a glimpse of several runaway horses out of the corner of my eye, and they all showed varying degrees of anxiety.

With apprehension, I returned to Chairman Ma's location on the fifth tier of the track, where the trial runs on the debut lap had already begun.

Because of the weather, even the guide horse seemed a bit listless.

Suddenly, a different sound mingled with the pattering of rain against the glass. Clearly off course from the test run, riders Tobita and Noah were running along the outer railing past the stands.

The fans in the front row, wearing eye-catching support outfits, burst into a cheer of "Wow!" followed by an even louder "Noah!" call through the rain.

What should I call this feeling?

Although I already knew the answer.

Amidst the incessant cries of "Oh no!" from the horse owners, the music of the Kansai Grand Prize blared from the loudspeaker.

The straight line directly opposite, as seen through the broadcast screen, suggests that the entry process was not particularly smooth.

The continuous torrential rain soaked the track into a puddle-like, unsuitable surface, and under such adverse conditions, the race unfolded in chaos from the very start.

Several horses, including Noah, did not perform well when they entered the race from the inside gate. After a chaotic entanglement that could hardly be called a fight, the popular horse from the bottom of the thirteenth outside gate took the lead.

The gentle stretch of road in Kyoto, starting at 1,200 meters, passed by in the blink of an eye, but even on the uphill Yodo-no-saka, the lead horse did not slow down.

Amidst the tightly packed herd of horses, Noah, lurking further back in the inner lane, gradually increased the distance between himself and those in front.

This strategy neither suited Noah's playing style nor was it what the team had envisioned before the match.

However, at this point, we can only trust the rider's judgment.

Midway through this rainy short-distance race, it was Noah who first broke the balance.

Starting from the third bend of Yodo-no-saka, the visitors from Saga gradually advanced, and by the fourth bend, they had shown the momentum to keep pace with the Ryogoku Group.

The voice coming from the radio became louder at that moment—

"Starting from the fourth turn, the popular armed runners began to move forward from the outside, while Meguro Noa from the inside caught up. Meguro Noa from the fourth turn!"

The moment the lead horse lost speed, Tobita pulled on the reins without hesitation and surged forward.

—From the innermost side where no one ever sets foot.

From the stands below, cheers and gasps erupted simultaneously.

Seizing the fleeting moment when the tide of the race turned, Deer Hair was already running at the very front of the herd.

The battle of endurance and skill unfolded in the final fifty meters, with the herd of horses chasing from behind gradually closing the distance with the deer-haired horse.

"Mejiro Noah! The one coming from the inside forward is Mejiro Noah, the foal born from the golden ship!"

My heart skipped a beat amidst the annoyingly loud broadcast.

— Five or more horses crossing the finish line, making it almost impossible to tell who came first.

As the numbers on the display board appeared one by one, my heart rate increased.

The few seconds of waiting for the result felt incredibly long; even Mr. Sugiyama's sigh seemed to be stretched out into a stop-motion animation.

【4】

The number that ultimately appeared at the very top of the bulletin board was this.

Sprint races are indeed bad for your heart.

More than the joy of victory, this feeling is what I'm experiencing right now.

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"—I heard that Mejiro Noah isn't a big fan of water?"

"That's true. Outdoor training in the rain in Saga can be quite discouraging, but Mr. Noah is always able to handle it seriously and doesn't let his emotions get the better of him. He's a very good kid."

—"They took an unusual approach when they appeared in the entertainment industry."

"Oh, that's how it is. Although it doesn't seem like it, Mr. Noah is the type who can draw strength from the outside world, so I thought of using this method to cheer him up."

—"It was a victory jointly led by humans and horses."

"I am also very grateful to all the horse racing fans for this."

—"When entering the straight from the curve, he used the same 'drifting cornering' technique as his father's golden ship."

"It was a decision made on a whim. I thought, 'Even if Mr. Noah is a little heavier, he should be able to run,' so I crawled out from there. Looking back now, it was definitely a very risky move."

"Anyway, it was a beautiful victory."

"If it were five meters more, I would have been arrested."

—Post-Aoi Championship Interview—Rider Aito Tobita
(End of this chapter)