Shadow Hunter's Race Schedule and Jockey

Time passed gradually, and before long, it was the first week of September.

The weather was clear, with not a cloud in the sky.

Zhang Jun rode his little electric scooter to the training center affiliated with Jian'an Racetrack in the outskirts of Jianzhou. Shadow Hunter had officially entered Lin Zhi's stable two weeks earlier and begun her final pre-race training.

When Zhang Jun entered the stable, Shadow Hunter had long since finished training and had been bathed. She was leisurely chewing hay in her stall.

Upon seeing Zhang Jun come in, Shadow Hunter trotted over to the stall door, pricked up her ears, pushed her head into his arms, and nudged him while peering toward the pockets of his clothes.

"You're really greedy. Every time I come to see you, the first thing you do is look for candy. You never even play with me first."

Zhang Jun smiled and stroked Shadow Hunter's neck. He took out a sugar cube from his pocket and placed it in his palm. Shadow Hunter rubbed against him, then curled the sugar cube into her mouth.

After stroking Shadow Hunter's relaxed lower lip and her ears as they swayed back and forth, Zhang Jun followed Lin Zhi to the stable's conference room.

A woman was already waiting beside the table. She looked to be around twenty-two or twenty-three, small and thin, about five-foot-one, with delicate features but somewhat rough skin.

Lin Zhi took the main seat. "Mr. Zhang, Jockey Shan, please sit."

Once the three were seated, Zhang Jun curiously glanced at the woman across from him. Lin Zhi handed him a folder.

"Mr. Zhang, Jianzhou Ranch's pre-race training has been highly effective. Shadow Hunter has been at the training center for two weeks now and has already adjusted to peak condition. She is ready to race at any time. This is the race schedule I prepared for Shadow Hunter for the second half of this year."

Zhang Jun opened the folder. Inside were several A4 sheets filled with writing. As Zhang Jun read through them, Lin Zhi explained.

"Shadow Hunter has performed very well in training. Through training and testing, I can confirm that she possesses excellent adaptability to both turf and dirt."

"As for racing styles, because races in Min Province mainly focus on mile and sprint distances, we have only tested her suitability for front-running, stalking, and closing for now."

"She performed exceptionally well in all the tests. We can be certain that Shadow Hunter is suited to multiple racing styles."

"As for distance suitability, due to the limitations of the local training center, we can currently only confirm that she has excellent aptitude for sprints and mile races."

"However, judging from the strength Shadow Hunter displayed in testing, as long as she does not make any major mistakes in her debut, winning first place will not be a problem. Therefore, when drafting this plan, I prioritized the possibility of her debuting successfully."

"Based on Shadow Hunter's condition and the racing strategy you previously proposed of 'safety first, placing second,' I intend to abandon the original plan and enter her a week early in the third race held at Jian'an Racetrack on Wednesday of the third week of September."

"It will be a 1,400-meter dirt Debutant Race. There are currently seven horses entered, and we can be certain the field will reach the full ten-horse limit for a Debutant Race before the race begins."

"Under the local racing system, a horse that wins its debut can enter a Class C1 race directly in its next start."

"If Shadow Hunter wins her debut, I intend to enter her in the fifth race at Mindu Racecourse five weeks later, in the fifth week of October: a 1,400-meter turf Class C1 race. Then we can adjust the plans for her third race based on her placing."

"If Shadow Hunter wins again, then we will wait another five weeks and enter her in either the Jian'an Rising Star Cup or the Jian'an Debutant Championship, both local open races held in the second week of December. They are both 1,600-meter dirt races at Jian'an Racetrack, which can be used to test Shadow Hunter's mile aptitude."

"After that, we will decide based on her results whether to enter her in the Jian'an Mile Race, the first local Graded Stakes race of the new year held at the end of January. After the race, she will return to Jianzhou Ranch for turnout."

"If she does not win but still finishes in the money, then we will enter her in the two-year-old restricted Class B2 race also held in the second week of December, followed by a three-year-old restricted open race in January. After that, she will likewise be turned out."

"Although the possibility is low, I have also prepared a route in case Shadow Hunter fails in her debut..."

As Lin Zhi explained, Zhang Jun continuously nodded in approval of his arrangements.

In truth, Zhang Jun only knew a little about race scheduling. But he did know that sprint horses usually had only three or four weeks of rest between races, while even middle-distance horses in the central circuit generally had intervals of only five to six weeks.

Local horses had their schedules packed tightly because their prize money was far below that of the central circuit. They often raced again the very next day after the minimum three-week interval ended. The fact that Shadow Hunter had five weeks between sprint races was enough to show that Lin Zhi had taken Zhang Jun's requirements into account.

When the explanation ended, Zhang Jun closed the folder. "Mr. Lin's arrangements are very reasonable. Let's proceed as you've planned."

Lin Zhi let out a breath of relief, then introduced the small woman sitting across from Zhang Jun. "Mr. Zhang, I originally wanted to have Du Wei, the best partnered jockey in the stable, ride Shadow Hunter in her Debutant Race. But unfortunately, Jockey Du has already accepted a riding commission for another horse in the same race."

"So I chose another jockey for Shadow Hunter. This is Jockey Shan Yao, an affiliated jockey of my stable. She is currently in her fourth year since debuting and has already won one hundred and sixty races. Her annual win rate has always exceeded ten percent. Her ability is absolutely no worse than that of the male jockeys in the local circuit."

"If you have no other preference, how about having Shan Yao ride Shadow Hunter?"

Lin Zhi looked somewhat uneasy. Shan Yao stood and took the initiative to extend her hand.

"Hello, Mr. Zhang. I'm Shan Yao. Please rest assured, I will do everything I can to help Shadow Hunter win her Debutant Race."

Shan Yao felt somewhat uneasy. When Lin Zhi had approached her, he had specifically said that Shadow Hunter was a horse Jianzhou Ranch thought highly of, and that her owner was a newcomer with an excellent relationship with the ranch. If she could establish this partnership, the resources available to her in the future would improve considerably.

Because she was a woman, she had a slight advantage in assigned weight, but she was weaker than male jockeys in terms of strength. Her driving in the final stretch was less helpful to horses than that of male jockeys.

Although she could obtain some quality opportunities through cooperating owners and stables, whenever it came to Graded Stakes races, the horses she could ride were all rather weak. Most were unpopular also-rans, while the highly favored horses were all specifically assigned by their owners to veteran jockeys from Jian'an or other regions. There was simply no chance for her.

If Lin Zhi had not been her uncle, then with Du Wei unavailable to accept the riding invitation, the chance to apply to the owner for this ride would never have fallen to her. It would have long been divided up among the well-connected veteran jockeys in Jian'an.

Zhang Jun lightly took Shan Yao's hand and shook it up and down. "Hello, Jockey Shan. I'll leave Shadow Hunter's race to you. Sorry for the trouble, but please pay close attention to Shadow Hunter's condition during the race. Make sure the horse's and jockey's safety comes first. Whether she wins or not can be discussed afterward."

Zhang Jun did not particularly care who rode Shadow Hunter. Other than the Luo Family of Jianzhou and the trainers they had introduced to him, he did not know anyone in the racing world. All he cared about was whether the jockey could ensure Shadow Hunter's safety during the race.

"Yes! I will absolutely race while ensuring Shadow Hunter's safety!" Shan Yao said excitedly, bowing deeply.

Zhang Jun waved his hand and asked Lin Zhi if there was anything else to discuss. After receiving a negative reply, he left the conference room and continued playing with Shadow Hunter.