Victory Decided from Behind

Ochiai's arm swung up and down, his whip falling like snow covering the head.

Whenever the situation called for the whip, he was just as decisive.

Even Mejiro Sakuya, slow as she was, sensed the rider's intentions.

It was time to make her move.

Though it had taken some time, she had properly entered the state where she needed to get serious.

Ochiai let out a breath of relief.

She was not the overly difficult type to handle.

He intended to let Mejiro Sakuya continue down the outside stretch.

During the turn, he had tried letting her run a section along a slightly more inward line.

By feel, there had not been much difference from the outside track.

Even on the looser sand farther out, she did not seem to struggle too much.

There was no need, then, to pull back inside for the faster ground.

The instant he reached that conclusion, he firmly gripped the reins.

Then he pushed forward.

Sand sprayed beneath her hooves as the bay effortlessly overtook the opponent ahead.

Once she passed Aachen Palace, the route ahead was completely clear.

One, two, three—

With still some distance left before the hundred-meter marker, Mejiro Sakuya had already chased her way far up through the outside lanes.

"Oh—Mejiro Sakuya! It's Mejiro Sakuya! Mejiro Sakuya is charging up from the middle pack! Wise Fool, number three, has overtaken Kazama Yukari, number one, who had been leading!"

"What will happen? Are we about to see a major shakeup in the standings here?!"

Amid the uproar, Kitano unconsciously clenched his fist.

No matter how many times he experienced it, the sight before him always made his heart race.

At the moment they crossed paths, Ochiai clearly heard a cry of alarm.

A monster—

Miyauchi, the jockey aboard Kazama Yukari, had called the bay before him that.

A savage closing burst that seemed intent on trampling every opponent beneath her hooves.

Meanwhile, Ishikawa, aboard Wise Fool, quickened the rhythm of his whip.

Then he could only watch as the bay shape at the edge of his vision drew ever closer.

Mejiro Sakuya had taken first place.

Behind her, a vast spray of white sand surged high, like a cloak being draped over Baselina for her coronation.

Compared with the horse racing fans in the stands, swept up in excitement, Ochiai remained calm atop Mejiro Sakuya.

"A little too fast."

In his estimation, Mejiro Sakuya should not have had a chance to join the fight for the lead until the latter part of the final hundred meters.

The timing of her move had been a little early.

Or rather, he had underestimated Mejiro Sakuya's finishing kick.

But—

Now that she had reached this position, there was no reason to slow down before she lost speed.

Without urging her hard, Ochiai merely lowered his center of gravity slightly, maintaining his balance while interfering with the horse as little as possible.

Trust Mejiro Sakuya's finishing kick.

Drawing upon his past riding experience, he made that choice.

Even after graduating from the short-term jockey course, he had still only vaguely understood the "Horse-First Principle" his instructors spoke of.

But when it came to reducing the chances of making mistakes during a race, he had begun to gain some insight.

"Mejiro Sakuya! Mejiro Sakuya, starting from gate nine, has taken the lead!"

Ishikawa swung his whip with all his strength and refused to give up.

But although Wise Fool had been the favorite before the race, she was not a horse a class above the rest.

And as a front-runner, she did not possess the tremendous grit needed to keep fighting after being overtaken in the latter stages.

Though she still held a considerable lead over the horses behind, retaking the lead was impossible.

With a clear advantage, Mejiro Sakuya crossed the finish line first.

"Mejiro Sakuya takes first! By two lengths! In the saddle is jockey Ochiai Genta!"

At the instant they crossed the line, Ochiai did not feel much of it.

His hand lightly brushed through the mane of his partner beneath him.

Then he let out a relieved breath.

Only after that came the joy of victory.

"Well done, Genta!"

Before the venue for the winner's ceremony, Kobayashi smiled as he fastened a lead rope onto the bay.

"It was all Mejiro Sakuya's performance. I just dozed off in the saddle."

Ochiai replied, holding the reins.

Once they entered the stretch, his stamina had already been stretched to the limit.

If he had needed to drive her forward, he probably would not have been able to put much strength into it.

Besides, continuing along the outside line had been something of a risky choice.

Mejiro Sakuya's own ability accounted for most of the reason they had won.

At least, that was what Ochiai believed as a jockey.

"Save the modesty for later!"

Kobayashi said as he patted the bay's body, which continued to radiate heat.

"That was incredible! She got out of the maiden class in her very first race!"

"As expected of Mejiro—"

"The jockey was amazing coming out of the turn too!"

As they passed the stands, all kinds of voices reached his ears.

Ochiai tugged at his helmet in embarrassment.

He did not think he had done anything particularly remarkable.

Tilting her head aside, Mejiro Sakuya quickly lowered her head and took a bite from the greenery beside the rail while Kobayashi was not paying attention.

Then she quietly spat it back out.

After noticing that no one seemed to have seen her, she quickly flicked her tail several times.

In the stands not far away, Tanaka withdrew his gaze.

"This horse might be able to win a graded race."

Those were the first words he said to Kitano after the race.

If they had not witnessed it themselves, no one would likely have imagined that a racehorse suffering from lameness possessed such astonishing explosive power.

"It's still too early to say that."

Kitano smiled and shook his head, then looked uneasily toward Mejiro Sakuya.

With every step she took, the bay's right hind leg lifted uncontrollably.

Like the ringing of a bell that signaled the end of magic, Cinderella had shed her splendid disguise from the racetrack.

Still, she looked as energetic as ever.

Kitano relaxed a little.

When they reached the winner's ceremony venue, he first thanked Ochiai, the jockey.

"Thank you for your hard work."

"You too, Mr. Kitano."

Raising his head, Kitano looked toward the other star of the day.

"You worked hard too."

He said this while stroking the white blaze on Mejiro Sakuya's face.

The bay lowered her head slightly, then stuck out her tongue and gave it a mischievous wiggle.

Sure enough, she had the temperament of a foal.

After he withdrew his hand, Mejiro Sakuya still nudged Kitano's shoulder with her nose, seemingly wanting more.

Under the camera flashes, all of them wore smiles.

After the winner's ceremony ended, Kitano made his usual way around the edge of the stands.

"Congratulations, owner Kitano!"

"At this rate, you'll be back in the central circuit in no time—"

"This girl named Mejiro Sakuya is amazing too!"

"So President Kitano is an Oriental fan too..."

Although the weather was intensely hot, quite a few horse racing fans had still come to support them that evening.

Kitano smiled as he responded to their encouragement.

Perhaps because it was the final race, the racecourse staff unusually did not hurry them along.

They left the racecourse much later than expected.