Hokkaido Horse Racing Story.

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.

Instead of rushing forward to take a position, Hattori steadily maneuvered Meguro Sakuya along a route that was roughly the same number of times as Meguro Byakuma.

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.

Moreover, aside from the Holy Spirit of Barlow, very few horses would begin to accelerate at this position. To effectively disrupt the Holy Spirit of Barlow, the first step would be to move the White Horse to the same outermost 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.

"Entering the third turn, the horses leading the pack are No. 1 Mu Baima. No. 11 Baro Shengling is half a length behind and in second place. Behind them are No. 2 Tule Chifeng and No. 3 Wuying Feisheng. The horses are quite far apart."

Looking down from the stands, the horses on the track formed a long and narrow line.

Large clouds of smoke rose from between the hooves, like a giant dragon crawling forward.

"It's about time to start speeding up."

When entering the fourth turn from the third turn, Hattori, who had been firmly at the end since the beginning of the race, finally raised his head.

But soon, he frowned in embarrassment again.

In front of my sight, several horses that had begun to attack were lined up in a row, forming a completely impenetrable wall.

If you want to get a forward position on a well-raced route, you'll probably have to go around to the outermost area.

Such an option was of course ruled out.

"Wouldn't it be the same as before?"

Thinking of this, Hattori noticed the innermost gap.

After the previous dozen or so races, a noticeable amount of thick sand had accumulated on the innermost track.

Whether it was Mudaiba in the front, or Barlow Shengling who was chasing closely, and other challengers further behind, they all subconsciously avoided such a route.

"Maybe you can try it."

Whether it was from the ranch or his old partner Tanaka, he had received the message "Mejiro Sakuya is a power type" more than once.

This can be felt to some extent during the running-in training.

However, there is actually not much certainty as to whether Mejiro Sakuya can cope with the challenge of Atsuga inside.

"Or do you want to go up with them?"

Speeding up behind the horses of Satomi Teruhime and Shining Goli in front seemed to be an option as well.

“还是先试试吧。”

It's not often that Hattori switches lanes suddenly during a match.

However, today he made a different choice from usual.

　Thanks to 12356889 for the 100 starting coins reward, thanks to JD_Judong for the 100 starting coins reward, thanks to Wei Baijin for the 100 starting coins reward

　　Thank you for your support

　　Ciallo～(∠ω<)⌒★
　　
　
(End of this chapter)