"The game begins!"
The gate popped open, and Ochiai quickly balanced his body.
Then, he turned his head and looked to the left.
It was pretty fierce competition from the beginning.
The second-class Tour Lechifeng and the third-class Mistlight Ascension adjacent to the gate also joined the competition for pace dominance.
However, no matter in terms of exit or order, Mejiro Tenma has the advantage.
Lead the reins sideways, Ochiai, and bring the reed horse out to a position one or two horses' width away from the inside rail.
Not only to avoid the thick sand accumulated on the innermost side, but also to block the advancement route of Tourer Chifeng and Mistlight Ascension.
Then, tap the horse's belly lightly with your heel.
Mejiro Tenma immediately understood his intention, and his neck muscles tensed up.
Ochiai relaxed the reins in response.
Generally speaking, such an action is very risky.
Except for situations other than great escapes, Jockeys often adjust their position by pulling the reins briefly after exiting the gate, while ensuring that Racehorses do not consume their energy early due to over-excitement.
In the last competition, the popular Eternal Wind rushed to a very high position in the early stages of the competition precisely because Miyazaki Jockey was released early.
Then, with the time of the last three waves being nearly five seconds behind the eventual champion Tian Lai Zhi, Xiti Xing came with no other tricks.
After this game, Miyazaki Jockey was ridiculed for several months.
Until recently, some people would use the nickname "Reiner Miyazaki" as a joke.
However, Mejiro Tenma is different.
At least that's what Ochiai thinks.
It has its own criteria for judging competitions.
Let Mejiro Tenma run at a pace that suits you. This is the strategy set from the beginning.
The horses' hooves galloped, and the gray-white figure was steadily widening the distance from the horses behind.
Mejiro Tenma gasped evenly.
"That's it!"
Ochiai silently estimated the pace.
It's not that it's so fast that it's out of control.
On the other side, Hattori Jockey, who started from the ninth rank of the outside lane, steadily landed at the back of the team.
When neither the gate position nor the exit response is dominant, it is not surprising to get such a result.
There was no rush to move forward, Hattori steadily steered Mejiro Sakuya along the same path as Mejiro Tenma.
Accumulating strength is the only thing that needs to be concerned about at this stage.
"After exiting the gate, the first-class Mejiro Tenma was in front. The second-class Tour Lechifeng and the third-class Mistlight Ascension were parallel at a distance of half a horse's length behind. The eleventh-class Balo Holy Spirit also caught up on the outside. It was a very fierce start!"
Until entering the third corner, the competition among the leading groups was not yet completely decided.
After overtaking Patrol Chifeng and Mistlight Ascension from the outside, Balo Holy Spirit launched a non-stop attack on Mejiro Tenma at the front.
Ignoring the approaching figure from the side, Ochiai held the reins firmly and guided Mejiro Tenma into the bend along the inside route.
Balo Holy Spirit at the rear still didn't slow down and caught up along the route further to the outside.
It seems that Jockey, Abe on the saddle, has decided that Balo Holy Spirit, who has won three of the previous three games and is twice as popular, is enough to take advantage of Mejiro Tenma by virtue of his class advantage.
"Then let's give it a try."
Ochiai doesn't have much fluctuation on his face.
At a relatively fast pace and with few horses around, we cannot expect the horses coming up from behind to cover Balo Holy Spirit.
Besides, except for Balo Holy Spirit, few horses will start to accelerate at this position.
If you want to effectively interfere with Balo Holy Spirit, you must first pull Mejiro Tenma to the same large outside route.
As for starting to accelerate, although this option was considered, it was quickly rejected.
He chose to wait.
When the first game started, Mejiro Tenma had already consumed a certain amount of energy in order to win the leading position.
If you can't take a breath in the corner, it will be difficult to form a combative ending after entering the straight line.
The option of running the entire distance at a high pace did not exist from the start.
Although Ochiai, as Jockey, also has a winning record in the 1,500 meters, which is 300 meters longer, it is very clear that Mejiro Tenma is not the type who is good at physical strength.
Accelerate in the front section, decelerate in the middle section, and finally continue to accelerate--
This is the game rhythm that he found through several games that is more suitable for Mejiro Tenma.
However, there was one thing that made him slightly worried.
The stimulation from Balo Holy Spirit may disrupt the rhythm of Mejiro Tenma.
For Racehorse, who is so competitive, he will never allow his opponent to overtake him until he runs out of energy.
Under the current situation, this is likely to become a constraint for Mejiro Tenma.
"Entering the third corner, the one in the lead is Ichiban Mejiro Tenma, and the eleventh class Balo Holy Spirit is one-half a length behind and has come to second place. Behind them are the second class Tourer Chifeng and the third class Mistlight Ascension. The horses are relatively far apart."
Looking down from the stands, the horses on the track formed a long and narrow queue.
Large clouds of smoke rose from between the hooves, like a crawling dragon.
"It's almost time to start accelerating."
When entering the fourth corner from the third corner, Hattori, who had been firmly in the last place since the beginning of the race, finally raised his head.
But soon, he frowned in embarrassment.
In front of the line of sight, several horses starting to attack were lined up, forming a completely airtight wall.
If you want to get ahead on a line with good racing conditions, you may have to go around to the outermost spot.
Such an option is of course ruled out.
"Wouldn't it still be the same as before?"
Thinking like this, Hattori noticed the innermost gap.
After the previous dozen races, there was quite obvious thick sand accumulated on the innermost track.
Whether it was Mejiro Tenma at the front, or Balo Holy Spirit chasing closely, and other challengers further back, they all subconsciously avoided such a route.
"Maybe you can try it."
Whether it was from Nishiken Farm or his old partner Tanaka, they all received the message "Mejiro Sakuya is a powerful type" more than once.
You can also feel this to some extent during the running-in training.
However, there is actually not much certainty as to whether Mejiro Sakuya can cope with the challenge of thick sand on the inside.
"Or do you want to go up with them?"
Accelerating behind the horses Satomi Kaguhime and Twinkle Gorge in front seemed to be an option as well.
"Let's try it first."
Sudden switching of routes during a game doesn't happen often to Hattori.
However, today he made a different choice than usual.