Rain, Fog, the Slope Toward Glory

Looking beyond the window, the green turf lay veiled behind a thin curtain of rain.

And yet—

"Has the rain let up?"

Following Sugiyama's murmur, he looked up. The raindrops falling from the lead-gray sky were indeed no longer as frequent as they had been a few minutes earlier.

Just before the Derby was due to begin, the rain stopped.

It might have been seen as some kind of omen for the race's outcome, but even Fuchu, with its superb drainage, could hardly restore the track in such a short time—or so he thought, when an announcement sounded amid the commotion stirred by the change in weather.

"Track condition update. Tokyo Race 11, the Tokyo Yushun—Japanese Derby over 2,400 meters on turf will be run on a yielding track under clear skies. All eighteen runners are loaded and ready to start."

Just as expected, the turf, soaked through by the torrential rain, was in the same yielding condition as it had been for the previous Violet Stakes.

The moment that news was announced, countless voices rose even within the spacious indoor room occupied only by owners and stable connections.

Amid jokes of, "So JRA has finally developed weather weapons," Sugiyama held his forehead with a pained expression.

—He looked like the type to take changes in the weather as omens for the race.

Amid the restless buzz, he lowered his gaze toward the starting gates outside, now somewhat clearer through the window.

Perhaps because temperatures had risen sharply in recent days, even though the rain had stopped, everything in sight still seemed hazy.

Was it mist after the rain? A white fog seemed to hang before his eyes.

Just as he thought that, the gates opened.

"The ninety-sixth Japan Derby has begun!"

After a slightly chaotic break, Chongli settled into