A night of shining stars

On a Tuesday morning, large, fluffy snowflakes kept falling over Hokkaido.

Before dawn, some of the club members, led by Ravide, were already waiting noisily outside the gates of Nishiken Farm, laden with bags of all sizes.

For the year-end team outing, everyone at the farm would travel overseas to Hong Kong in two groups to watch the races.

With December now upon them, Hong Kong International Races Day, an event now thoroughly familiar to Japanese racing fans, was about to begin.

Around the same time, Happy Valley Racecourse would also host the International Jockeys' Championship, an invitational event for star jockeys from around the world.

"I won this time."

Before they left, Zepp, who was staying behind to look after the farm, waved and flashed a smug expression.

"Mr. Ravide clearly let you win." Rachel Ho, who had also chosen to stay behind this time, could not resist pointing it out.

"Are we really going to be all right leaving the farm to these guys?"

They had not even set off yet, and I was already feeling uneasy.

On the flight to Hong Kong, a steady stream of conversation about horse racing drifted back from the seats ahead.

Looks like they're fellow fans heading overseas for the races, too.

That thought briefly crossed my mind.

But I put on an eye mask as soon as the plane leveled out again, and my memory of the conversation ended there.

Our first stop was the hotel we had booked near the racecourse.

On the bus ride from the airport into the city, we spotted billboards advertising the International Jockey Championship taking place the next day.

Alongside P. F. Y. Poon and McDonald, both hugely popular in Hong Kong, there was a large promotional image of Japan's representative, Kawada. Even Ravide and