After the Race and a Change of Plans

The race was over, and Zhang Jun's heart surged with excitement.

Riding Shadow Hunter, Shan Yao was the last to head toward the weighing area. Zhang Jun, Lin Zhi, and Zheng Shan had been waiting at the passageway, and the moment Shan Yao arrived, they gathered around him.

"You rode brilliantly. You handled that bend very well, moving out early to claim an outside position and avoiding getting boxed in by the closers."

Lin Zhi came to Shadow Hunter's side and helped Shan Yao dismount, praising his decision-making during the race. Zheng Shan took Shadow Hunter's reins.

Zhang Jun immediately went over to Shadow Hunter, patting his neck, rubbing his long ears and pink nose, then hugging his head and kissing it several times.

"You ran amazingly! You worked hard out there. Once the photos are done, you can have a bath. When we get back to the stable, I'll give you some carrots."

Shadow Hunter snorted and nodded up and down, pushing his head into Zhang Jun's embrace as his lips searched Zhang Jun's pockets.

While stroking Shadow Hunter, Zhang Jun also praised Shan Yao.

"You rode this race very well. Especially at the end—you didn't urge Shadow Hunter to accelerate and chose to conserve his strength instead."

Shan Yao hugged Lin Zhi and excitedly thanked Zhang Jun. "Shadow Hunter is very strong. It's my honor to have been able to ride him in a race."

"Trainer Lin told me before the race that if victory was assured, I was to stop accelerating and preserve his energy. I merely followed my teacher's arrangement."

"No matter what, you definitely deserve credit for winning."

Zhang Jun replied with a smile. Shan Yao removed the weighing gear strapped to Shadow Hunter and took it to the weighing room.

Zheng Shan led Shadow Hunter as the three men and the horse followed the staff's directions to the winner's circle. After every race, the winning horse and associated personnel had to take photographs with racecourse staff in the winner's circle. For Graded Stakes races, there would also be dedicated post-race interviews.

After waiting in the winner's circle for a while, Shan Yao came running over after being weighed, and everyone took their positions under the photographer's direction.

Holding the number cloth, Shan Yao stood in front of Shadow Hunter's left shoulder. Zheng Shan, Zhang Jun, and Lin Zhi stood in order on Shadow Hunter's left, each holding the reins, while several Jian'an Racecourse managers stood on the right.

As the photographer counted down, "Three, two, one," there was a click. The photograph marking the first race and first victory in the legendary career of Shadow Hunter, future progenitor of a legendary Huaxia bloodline, and Zhang Jun, legendary breeder and owner, was born.

Shan Yao and Lin Zhi still had other races to prepare for, so they took their leave first. Zheng Shan led Shadow Hunter to a washing stall outside the racecourse to bathe him.

Zhang Jun called out to them, "I booked a restaurant nearby. Let's celebrate together at noon."

Shan Yao and Lin Zhi both agreed. Zhang Jun took the carrots and sugar cubes he had prepared in advance from his bag and followed them to the outside of the washing stall.

After a race, a racehorse's blood remained in its muscles and its digestive system was suppressed. It was best not to feed it immediately, but to wait half an hour to an hour. It could drink a small amount of water and take in a little sugar, but not too much food or drink, just like humans.

Zheng Shan had Shadow Hunter stand still, secured his reins to a hook in the stall, then took out the hose and adjusted it to warm water to wash away the sweat on Shadow Hunter's body.

While Zheng Shan was still adjusting the water temperature, Zhang Jun took a pre-divided small sugar cube and some water he had prepared, holding them out to Shadow Hunter. He first let him take a few sips of water, then placed the sugar cube in his palm. Shadow Hunter took it into his mouth with his lips, smacking them while nodding up and down.

Zhang Jun smiled and patted Shadow Hunter's neck before stepping out of the stall to watch Zheng Shan bathe him. He did not understand these things, so he would not go in and get in Zheng Shan's way.

After the bath, Zheng Shan led Shadow Hunter back to the stable. Once the other horses from Lin Zhi's stable had finished racing that day, Shadow Hunter would return that evening with the other racehorses in a horse transport truck to Lin Zhi's stable at the training center.

Jian'an Racecourse's training center and racecourse were not in the same location. The training center was more than ten kilometers away from the racecourse and was specifically used for training, with its own slopes, tracks, and stables. The racecourse stables were mainly for racehorses competing that week to stay in temporarily. Horses competing had to arrive a day early to prepare. Shadow Hunter's race was on Wednesday, so he had arrived at the racecourse on Monday night.

By the time the photographs and bath were finished, more than half an hour had already passed. Zhang Jun took out the sugar cubes, several carrots, and horse treats he had specially learned to make, feeding them to Shadow Hunter bit by bit. He also shared some of the horse treats with the stablehands outside the other stalls.

While feeding Shadow Hunter, Zhang Jun chatted with Zheng Shan to pass the time.

At noon, after Shadow Hunter had finished the lunch Zheng Shan prepared and lay down in his stall to rest, Zheng Shan asked another stablehand from Lin Zhi's stable to watch over him. Then he joined Zhang Jun and the others at a restaurant near the racetrack for a celebratory meal.

Zhang Jun ordered twice-cooked pork and a Jianzhou specialty dish of minced chicken, then handed the menu to Lin Zhi.

After ordering, Lin Zhi used the time while the restaurant prepared the food to make a request of Zhang Jun.

"Mr. Zhang, Shadow Hunter's performance today was exceptionally outstanding. He does not resemble a two-year-old making his debut at all. I think the race schedule I set before no longer matches Shadow Hunter's ability."

"Then what does Trainer Lin mean?"

Zhang Jun leaned forward, listening attentively.

Lin Zhi moved to sit beside Zhang Jun, took out his phone, and opened a page.

"In the first week of November, there's a two-year-old restricted graded race held in Min Capital: the CN3 Banyan Championship, a 1,600-meter left-handed dirt race. It is benchmarked against a central open race. In the records of racehorses, central trainers, and jockeys, it will count as either a local graded result or a central open race, but it will not count as a Grade Three race."

"Unlike Jian'an Racecourse, Min Capital's racecourse is located on one of Min Province's four major plains, so the terrain is flat with no rises or dips. Though its track is also 1,600 meters, it has a teardrop-like shape, narrow at the top and broad at the bottom, and its straight is longer. Its final straight is 128 meters longer than Jian'an Racecourse's, at 428 meters."

"For Shadow Hunter, whose finishing kick is outstanding, the longer the straight, the better. Min Capital's long straight would be a tremendous advantage for him. Even if Shadow Hunter failed to find room and break free on the bend, he could simply wait until entering the straight to accelerate."

"Combined with Shadow Hunter's varied running styles, even an unfavorable start would not affect his chances of winning. I believe we can absolutely enter him in this race."

"If he wins this race, Shadow Hunter's prize money will be enough to enter Min Province local racing's top two-year-old events. Because of Shadow Hunter's adaptability on both surfaces, the Eight Min Two-Year-Old Championship Dirt Race held in Sanyuan and the Eight Min Two-Year-Old Championship Turf Race held in Longxi would both be viable options."

"If he wins either of those two races, Shadow Hunter can secure the honor of Eight Min Local Racing's Best Two-Year-Old of the Year by the end of this year. After that, we can let him rest until after the Spring Festival, without racing again during that period."

"Then he can directly enter the first leg of the Eight Min Local Triple Crown and continue on to the dirt Triple Crown schedule, or run one warm-up race before going straight to the Eight Min Local Derby Turf Race. Seventy percent of local races are on dirt and thirty percent are on turf. In local racing, the only Grade One turf Graded Stakes are the Derby and the Oaks."

Zhang Jun understood one principle: leave professional matters to professionals. He gladly agreed with Lin Zhi's suggestion. "We'll do as Trainer Lin says."

After everyone chatted for a while longer, two vegetable dishes, three meat dishes, and a soup—six dishes in total—were served, and they immediately dug in.