An Evening Drink for the Losing Side

After the race, the evening air had grown a little warmer.

It was hardly a victory party, but the team still held a small celebration at an upscale Japanese restaurant across the river from Sha Tin Racecourse.

"Thanks to everyone's care, horse and rider finished safely today."

"That's all thanks to Mr. Yutaka Take."

"I was just an old man weighing down the horse's back."

With that, Mr. Yutaka Take raised his glass of special ginjo sake. The others lifted their bottles of Sapporo beer.

"Ah, bliss."

The jockey set down his empty glass and let out a sigh of relief.

It sounded less like the release of race-day pressure and more like the satisfaction of finally replenishing his alcohol reserves.

After the toast, they started on the appetizers. Along with the crab and avocado recommended by Mr. Yutaka Take, a seasoned drinker, they had ordered an extra plate of bite-sized Hakata gyoza.

A little later, the conversation turned to the race.

"That boy really is sensitive... No, it's more that he cares what other people think."

Mr. Yutaka Take went on to recount what had happened after the race.

Aside from worrying about the nerve-racking weigh-in at his ultralight assigned weight, he had spent most of his time comforting Baozuo.

Unlike the rest of the team, who had already braced themselves for defeat, Baozuo seemed to have decided, as his understanding of racing took shape, that this was another race he "needed to win."

As soon as the gates sprang open, Mr. Yutaka Take had to fight to hold Baozuo back.

Left to his own devices, the boy would probably have charged straight to the front.

"Speaking of which, Eri-chan seemed to realize he'd lost this time too. He threw quite a tantrum when he got back to the