A Young Rider's First Victory

"President Kitano... you actually came—

"But you still nearly missed it."

A conversation in the parade ring at 10:39 in the morning.

The moment he hurried out of the owners' lounge, the trainer, who had been discussing something with jockey Haruki, widened his eyes slightly.

Since the decision to watch the race on-site had only been made at the last minute, the flight he booked had theoretically left only the barest margin to make it to the race.

If luck had been bad, the race might have ended before the plane even landed.

Besides taking the train to the racecourse for the rare occasion, he had also informed the stable that he might not make it in time.

Fortunately, it seemed that the first race had been delayed considerably by the entire field acting up at the gates, which in turn pushed the second race back by several minutes.

In the unusually quiet Tokyo Racecourse parade ring, Chongli stood out among the runners as he slowly followed behind the stablehand.

Had this guy gotten fatter again?

That question flashed through his mind.

Still, it was wonderful that he had made it in time.

Just as he thought that, jockey Haruki suddenly bowed deeply.

He had a face that looked almost copied and pasted from his jockey father's, a wild hairstyle like a country rock musician from the last century, and a build that seemed sturdier than the average Japanese jockey's.

"Please take care of me!"

After saying that, the jockey bowed again with such force that it made one worry he might throw out his back.

He had originally thought Haruki might offer a more Western-style handshake.

"Likewise, please take care of us."

When he raised his head after returning the bow, the jockey had already pressed his lips together,