The Turf Dream She Chased

Saturday morning, ten o'clock.

Normally, this would have been the time to leisurely drink tea in the ranch lounge, but instead, he regarded his busy self as a horse owner with mixed feelings.

He yawned, suppressing the lingering fatigue from the flight.

What awaited him was the Aoi Stakes, the first battle in his second round as an owner.

This was not a Grade 1 entry, so naturally, there was no shuttle bus waiting for him from the moment he landed.

He took the Hankyu Takarazuka Line north from Hotarugaike Station outside the airport, transferred to the Kyoto Line, changed at Nishiyama-Tennozan Station, and then took the shuttle bus to Yodo Station. It was a much longer trip than taking the direct shuttle.

He was already starting to lose motivation.

Yodo Station at noon on a Saturday stakes race day was not quite as outrageous as last time, but it was still comparable to the streets of Shibuya on a holiday.

Following the crowd streaming toward the entrance gates, he headed inside Kyoto Racecourse.

Rather than following the crowd to the larger Goal Side grandstand, he turned toward the Station Side grandstand instead.

He had eaten nothing but a few perfunctory crackers since last night, and he was truly hungry.

But—

Wanting to eat because he was hungry did not mean he had any idea what he wanted to eat.

Upon reaching the first floor of the grandstand, all sorts of food stalls came into view one after another.

There was far too much to take in.

Following the principle of choosing whatever was closest, he picked a small shop called "Premium Curry," whose specialty was obvious from the sign alone.

Indulging himself for once, he ordered the 1,300-yen pork curry.

It was considerably more expensive than fast-food curry, but