NS Strategy Meeting

"Then, let's begin."

Waving away the mosquitoes buzzing in front of him, Mr. Kitano spoke.

Seated in a circle beside him were Ogawa Joe, representing the breeding farm; Tanaka and Hattori from the trainer's side; and the two jockeys, Ochiai and Shigeshi Hattori.

It was a Sunday evening in late September.

The location was the lounge at Tanaka's stable.

For five grown men, the cramped space was rather inconvenient.

Still, none of them seemed particularly bothered by it.

On the small whiteboard at the back of the lounge, the words "Strategy Meeting—NS Monbetsu" had been scrawled crookedly.

Anyone unfamiliar with horse racing might well have mistaken them for employees of Nint○ndo.

In fact, NS was short for NEXT STAR.

What these men were preparing to discuss was their race strategy for the upcoming graded NEXT STAR—Monbetsu.

Not handheld console sales in the Monbetsu area.

Since it was a graded race, everyone had put on a slightly more serious attitude.

It would not have been appropriate to discuss things casually in an izakaya like they had the first time.

Though Kitano personally still preferred the izakaya.

"How are the horses doing?"

Once the meeting began, Tanaka asked the question he cared about most.

"When Pegasus was weighed yesterday, he came in at 474 kilograms, two kilograms heavier than before the last race."

Ogawa Joe answered with confidence.

"Both physically and mentally, he's ready to race. You can feel his forward drive in training too."

After a month of rest, Mejiro Tenma had not gone slack.

On the contrary, whether in training or out at pasture, the horse had seemed eager to run.

Not only had the accumulated fatigue from the previous string of races been successfully cleared away, but the horse had also developed further physically.

Though perhaps a little slowly.

Tanaka nodded.

"Sakuya has also been brought into racing condition."

Ogawa Joe continued.

Kitano unconsciously rubbed his fingertips together.

Entering a graded race with only one race of experience—could Mejiro Sakuya handle such a sudden change in racing schedule?

He still had his doubts.

"Even though the workload hasn't changed, the horse has gradually become sturdier and more powerful. You can clearly feel the physical growth."

After closely observing the horse's condition, Ogawa Joe gave an answer of "absolutely no problem."

"However... mentally, the horse is still as relaxed as ever."

Even Ogawa Joe had no particularly good solution to that problem.

Given that they could not train too intensely, improving a racehorse's mental condition was truly difficult.

"Still the same, huh..."

Tanaka smiled and shook his head.

Still, things were better than expected.

At the very least, neither horse had any issue racing.

"How are things on your end?"

He turned toward the two jockeys.

"There shouldn't be any problem with Pegasus."

Ochiai answered in his usual calm tone.

In the end, he had chosen Mejiro Tenma, his original partner.

As for the reason, Tanaka did not ask too much.

"I have no problem either."

Compared with a jockey, forty-nine-year-old Shigeshi Hattori looked more like an ordinary office worker one might see anywhere, and his speech carried a strong regional accent.

He was still relatively unfamiliar with Mejiro Sakuya, the horse entrusted to him.

Though the horse belonged to this stable, he had never had any contact with the horse before.

"A little slow to react, but full of power. Once the horse gets going smoothly, the burst is tremendous."

That was his assessment after watching footage of Mejiro Sakuya's race.

"Um... if possible, I'd still like to get a little familiar with the horse before the race."

Though he knew the horse he had been assigned was lame, Hattori still made the request.

If they were aiming for victory, that sort of preparation was necessary.

Tanaka looked toward Kitano and Ogawa Joe.

"That's fine, but try not to do anything too demanding."

Kitano nodded as he spoke.

Ogawa Joe nodded as well.

"Then that's a relief."

Hattori let out a breath and smiled, his eyes narrowing until they were almost invisible.

"Next comes the tactical side."

Nodding in satisfaction, Tanaka tapped the whiteboard.

Kitano and Ogawa Joe both quietly closed their mouths.

In this area, the two of them were comrades in misery at the beginner level.

"If the draw is favorable, how about having Pegasus try to take the lead?"

After placing magnets representing all twelve runners on the track diagram, Tanaka made his suggestion.

"We can try it."

Ochiai's reply remained brief.

"As for Sakuya, it should be fine to settle a little farther back in the field, right?"

Tanaka turned to Hattori again.

"I have no issue with that."

Hattori replied with a smile.

They quickly reached a consensus that Mejiro Sakuya needed to begin the race from the rear.

Whether considering temperament or the horse's physical injuries, asking the horse to throw himself into the race at full speed from the outset was not a particularly realistic option.

For the two racehorses, Tanaka's plans were completely different.

Both Mejiro Tenma and Mejiro Sakuya were horses that performed best when racing at their own pace.

Therefore, preventing the two horses from disrupting each other's rhythm became the foremost consideration.

Mejiro Tenma was tactically flexible and could race from several different positions.

Mejiro Sakuya, on the other hand, could only remain near the back for a variety of reasons.

Limiting Mejiro Tenma's tactics to front-running was a sacrifice made for the overall plan.

Of course, if Ochiai could bring Mejiro Tenma out cleanly and set a fast pace, it would create a favorable race development both for himself and for Mejiro Sakuya behind him.

For all parties, such tactics were an acceptable arrangement.

It was not some brilliant strategy, but it was feasible and offered a degree of coordination.

"Then we'll be counting on everyone."

After completing the tactical analysis, Tanaka bowed to the others.

"Thanks for the effort, everyone."

Kitano rose to his feet as well.

"Um... Mr. Kitano!"

At that moment, Ochiai suddenly spoke up.

Kitano looked at him in confusion.

"Won't we be using the owner's colors this time?"

Unlike most local tracks, where jockeys could only wear their own racing silks, jockeys affiliated with Monbetsu could use either their own silks or the owner's silks during a race.

"Oh, that..."

Kitano scratched his head.

"I suppose it depends on what Jockey Ochiai wants?"

Only then did Kitano remember that he seemed to have submitted a proposal for owner's silks.

"For this race, how about using the owner's colors?"

Ochiai proposed, with slightly more emphasis in his voice.

"I don't have any problem with that."

Kitano agreed readily.

"Then I'll use the owner's racing silks as well."

As though they had discussed it beforehand, Hattori also raised his hand with a cheerful smile.