Because it was a weekday, Jian'an Racetrack seemed deserted. Scattered spectators and reporters from various racing papers sat sparsely throughout the grandstand.
The weather was perfect today—clear, crisp autumn skies, thin white clouds decorating the azure expanse, and warm sunlight falling across their bodies.
Today was Shadow Hunter's debutant race. Zhang Jun had left home early and arrived at Jian'an Racetrack to quietly await the start of the race.
Local racetracks held twelve races every weekday: five in the morning, from nine to eleven-thirty, one every half hour; five in the afternoon, from fifteen hundred to seventeen-thirty; and the final two in the evening, beginning at eight and ending at nine.
Shadow Hunter's race was the third on the card. She would enter the parade ring to warm up at around nine-fifty, with the race starting at ten-fifteen.
Nervous, Zhang Jun had arrived at Jian'an Racetrack shortly after nine. He watched the first two races: one was also a debutant race over 1,200 meters on dirt, while the other was a Class C Lower Division race, with entrants consisting of horses that had failed to place in debutant races and older horses that had struggled in Class C Lower Division for a long time.
Yet after watching those two races, Zhang Jun suddenly no longer felt nervous.
While watching, Zhang Jun had paid particular attention to the horses' attributes. Though the attributes he saw were not necessarily speed, he had happened to see the speed attributes of both winners in the first two races.
The winner of the debutant race was a horse with F+ speed, winning the 1,200-meter race by half a length.
Most of the horses in the Class C Lower Division race had G-rank speed. In the end, a two-year-old G+ horse won by a head.
Thinking of Shadow Hunter's D-rank speed, Zhang Jun let out a long breath. No matter what, a local debutant race couldn't possibly have two horses with D-rank speed, could it?
At that moment, a nearby conversation caught Zhang Jun's attention.
"Which horse do you think will win the next race?"
"Probably Number Five, Shadow Hunter. Judging from the workout videos on the racetrack's official website, she seems to be on a completely different level from the other horses in this race."
Mm-hmm (^o^)/, exactly right. Shadow Hunter was on a completely different level from the other horses. Of course she would win.
Listening to the conversation beside him, Zhang Jun nodded in satisfaction.
"I think Number Three, Soaring Eagle, is pretty good too. Its final furlong in the workout was only 12.2 seconds. As long as it can keep up early, it can win with its closing kick."
What level was Soaring Eagle at? How could it possibly be compared to Shadow Hunter? Zhang Jun retorted inwardly.
That was what he thought, but when he saw Shadow Hunter appearing below with the announcer's introduction, Zhang Jun began to worry again. How was Shadow Hunter's condition? Would she break slowly from the gate? What if she got injured during the race?
"Next up is Number Five in Gate Three, Shadow Hunter! She is the undisputed favorite in this race. Shadow Hunter looks to be in fine condition. Can she repay everyone's expectations in this race?"
The stablehand Zheng Shan, assigned to Shadow Hunter by Lin Zhi, held Shadow Hunter's reins and led her around the parade ring several times.
"All right, the jockeys are coming out now. Prepare to mount."
Shan Yao emerged from the female jockeys' room, lined up with the male jockeys at the entrance, gave a bow, and walked toward Shadow Hunter.
Lin Zhi held Shan Yao's leg and helped her up into the saddle.
"Do you remember the race strategy I told you about?"
Lin Zhi asked uneasily. Shan Yao patted her face and took a breath.
"I remember. Don't fight for the lead at the start. Keep our position around fourth or fifth, conserve stamina by drafting behind the other horses, make our move at the fourth turn, and if victory is secure, ease the speed to reduce stamina consumption."
For horses, especially debutants, if they ran at the front of the field from the start but later fell back into the pack, they might become impatient and start pulling against the reins. That was why Lin Zhi had arranged for Shan Yao to keep Shadow Hunter behind the other horses in her first race, letting her get used to following early on.
Lin Zhi nodded and stepped back. Zheng Shan handed the reins to Shan Yao, who led Shadow Hunter onto the track to circle and warm up.
Zhang Jun watched Shadow Hunter warm up from the owner's section when Lin Zhi came over and greeted him. "Mr. Zhang."
Zhang Jun was a little nervous. "How is Shadow Hunter's condition? Nothing unexpected with her body, right?"
"No, no, she's in excellent condition. Please rest assured. Shadow Hunter is a very smart girl—if anything were uncomfortable, she'd show it herself. Besides, before the race, I specifically had a veterinarian examine her. She's very healthy."
Lin Zhi replied with a smile.
Zhang Jun relaxed and began talking with Lin Zhi about Shadow Hunter's training.
Ten minutes later, the announcer shouted, "All right, they are loading into the gates now."
Zhang Jun shifted his attention to the track.
Jian'an Racetrack was an oval track with dirt on the outside and turf on the inside. Because it had been built around the natural terrain of the hills, there was an elevation difference between the home stretch and the backstretch across from the grandstand. The third and fourth turns, which led from the backstretch into the home stretch, were entirely uphill and consumed considerable stamina.
Many horses ran out of energy after charging up the turn and entering the home stretch, then immediately faded on the racetrack's short final straight. Thus, Jian'an Racetrack was also known as the racetrack in Min Province that placed the greatest emphasis on willpower.
The dirt track at Jian'an Racetrack was 1,600 meters around. The 1,400-meter debutant race Shadow Hunter was entered in began from an auxiliary stretch extending off the turn, bypassing the first turn and heading directly into the second turn, then onto the backstretch, through the third and fourth turns, and finally into the home stretch.
Shan Yao held her breath in the starting gate and counted silently. Three, two, one—now!
Shan Yao pushed forward with both hands, and Shadow Hunter lunged ahead, bursting out of the gate.
"The race is underway, and it's a clean break! Shadow Hunter has taken the lead for now. Will she press forward to contest the front-running position? Jockey Shan Yao isn't urging her on. It seems Shadow Hunter does not intend to lead at the head of the field."
After breaking from the gate, Shan Yao glanced to either side. Since Shadow Hunter had broken quickly, she was temporarily in front by a head. Remembering Lin Zhi's pre-race instructions, Shan Yao did not press for the lead. Instead, she kept Shadow Hunter at her pace and allowed Number Two on the inside to move ahead and take the front.
"All right, let's sort out the field. At the front is Number Two, Swift as Me. Half a length behind is Number One, Black Battle Flag. On the outside is Number Four, I'm Here, and farther outside is the third favorite, Number Seven, Elite Professional. Two lengths behind them is the favorite, Number Five, Shadow Hunter, currently running fifth in the pack."
"Half a length behind is the second favorite, Number Three, Soaring Eagle. On the outside is Number Six, How Are You, followed by Number Nine, Battle Refreshing, with Number Ten, Didi Dudu, on the outside. Bringing up the rear is Number Eight, Schedule. The entire field is separated by only around four lengths—it's an extremely compact pack."
"All right, now they enter the turn, and still at the front is..."
As they entered the turn, Shan Yao turned her head to assess the situation. The four horses ahead were bunched tightly together, leaving no gap to slip through, while Soaring Eagle and How Are You behind them were gradually moving up.
There was no room to gain position ahead, so she could only go wide. If the horses behind boxed them in too, they would be trapped. Since they had to make one run on the outside anyway, she might as well pull out early and find open space.
Shan Yao tugged the reins outward. Shadow Hunter shifted toward the outside, gradually finding clear running room. Now!
The instant the turn changed from moving outward to curving inward, Shan Yao tightened the reins, sat deep in the saddle, and pushed and pulled forcefully with both hands in time with Shadow Hunter's head-lifting and lowering motion.
"The field is entering the fourth turn. Number Two, Swift as Me, still leads. Shadow Hunter is pulling out wide—Shadow Hunter moves! Shadow Hunter begins to accelerate! Is she making her charge just as she enters the fourth turn? Isn't that too hasty? They're still going uphill!"
The announcer cried out in surprise. Beside Zhang Jun, Lin Zhi explained, "Shadow Hunter's acceleration is actually very good. It takes her just over two seconds to reach top speed."
"But Jian'an Racetrack's home stretch is very short. There are only 300 meters from entering the stretch to the finish, and most horses take nineteen to twenty-one seconds from entering the stretch to crossing the line. Two seconds is enough for a horse with strong burst acceleration to open a gap instantly."
"Since we don't know whether there are any horses in this debutant race with powerful burst acceleration, I specifically asked Shan Yao to accelerate at the fourth turn as a precaution."
"I tested it during the first week of September. Accelerating on Jian'an Racetrack's uphill turn is feasible. By extending the acceleration phase appropriately, Shadow Hunter can reach top speed right as she enters the home stretch, while the stamina expenditure remains within her limits."
Zhang Jun nodded, his gaze never leaving Shadow Hunter on the outside of the field, though his hands clenched involuntarily.
Although he had seen in the parade ring that none of the horses in the race surpassed Shadow Hunter in speed, there were no absolutes in racing. What if one of the horses whose other attributes he had seen had speed equal to, or even higher than, Shadow Hunter's?
"The race enters the home stretch! The first horse to step into the final straight is Swift as Me. Shadow Hunter is catching up, and Shadow Hunter is now in first!"
"Are the other horses not going to follow? Jian'an Racetrack's 300-meter straight is very short! Shadow Hunter takes the lead! Shadow Hunter takes the lead!"
"Elite Professional is on the inside, and Soaring Eagle pulls out from the pack. Can they catch Shadow Hunter? Too late! Only 100 meters remain, and Shadow Hunter has opened up a three-length lead! She's running alone, completely alone! Shadow Hunter is all alone!"
Shan Yao glanced from the corner of her eye. There was nothing beside her but dirt. When she turned to look behind, all nine horses were chasing desperately, but even Elite Professional, the nearest, was more than three lengths back.
Shan Yao let out a breath, loosened the reins to signal that Shadow Hunter no longer needed to accelerate, straightened her body, and stopped urging her on.
Feeling that the weight on her back was no longer pushing her forward, Shadow Hunter's flattened ears sprang up, and her movements gradually became more natural.
"Shadow Hunter is all alone! Shadow Hunter is all alone! Jockey Shan Yao has even stopped urging her on! Elite Professional is second, Soaring Eagle is third. Though they are closing the gap, they can't catch her!"
"Shadow Hunter crosses the line! Shadow Hunter takes first! She wins by a length! Soaring Eagle overtakes Elite Professional just before the finish line for second, with Elite Professional third!"
The announcer shouted wildly. Zhang Jun had clenched his fists tightly, only relaxing after Shadow Hunter crossed the line. He excitedly hugged Lin Zhi. "She won! She won!"
Lin Zhi echoed him excitedly. This was the first time his stable had ever produced a horse of this caliber.