Friday morning before the weekend.
"The ground is yielding."
The moment he stepped onto the track, a heavy resistance unlike that of Japanese racecourses immediately came up through the soles of his shoes.
Though it was still nowhere near as bad as in France.
As he walked farther in, more water began seeping into his shoes and socks, and every step on the ground felt distinctly unpleasant.
Trainer Wada and jockey Duman Lai, who were also wearing sneakers, looked completely used to it.
Newmarket Racecourse, located in Suffolk in northeastern United Kingdom.
Considering Sawin's long-standing issues with his forelegs, they had specifically instructed the stable staff to put protective hoof socks on him before departure, believing they had made every possible preparation.
Yet Sawin was extremely docile. Apparently, he had been loaded onto the flight to Europe without causing much concern at all.
The groom accompanying him had even joked that Sawin had remained so calm throughout the trip that there had been no need for anyone to accompany and care for him.
However—
Not long after the flight carrying Sawin took off, no sound could be heard from the cargo hold at all.
This continued for quite a while. When the accompanying groom nervously leaned in to check, he reportedly witnessed an unexpected sight.
Whether he was simply too slow-witted or possessed the composure of a true champion, Sawin had dozed off just as he would in his stall, despite the occasional bumps and noise of the flight.
He had been bred in Deauville, France, broken in and trained in Suffolk, United Kingdom, and had ultimately debuted as a racehorse in Japan.
Therefore, air transport was far from a first for Sawin.
Even so, faced with such unruffled composure, everyone involved could only smile wryly.
Although much of Trainer