Hibiscus Cup · Part Two

[I went to visit a grave and I'm exhausted. A heads-up: tomorrow I have to spend several hours traveling back to my hometown, so there won't be an update.]

Using the momentum of the downhill stretch, Ascend the Blue Sky began to accelerate, trying to pull away from Shu Road Hard behind him.

Shu Road Hard refused to give ground and stayed close. His jockey crouched low in the saddle, urging him forward with a steady rhythm of both hands.

After three and a half years of racing here, the veteran Shu Road Hard knew every inch of this turf. His stride was light.

The horses behind them also used the downhill momentum to pick up speed, aiming to join the group ahead.

Shan Yao still made no move. She let Cloudstream Flying Shadow keep her original rhythm, and they gradually slipped toward the rear of the field.

"Cloudstream Flying Shadow isn't accelerating to join the leaders."

A note of puzzlement entered the race caller's voice. "They're already on the third turn. If she doesn't use the downhill momentum to move up now, is she planning to accelerate on the uphill fourth turn? Otherwise, she may be too late once they hit the straight!"

The guest commentator picked up the thread. "Perhaps she's saving her strength and plans to take first with a late burst? Tianfu Racecourse's final straight is a full 520 meters—plenty of room for a closer to show what she can do."

Zhang Jun gripped his binoculars tighter.

He knew why Shan Yao was doing this. The boundary between Tianfu Racecourse's third and fourth turns was also where the downhill stretch became an uphill climb. Once the field accelerated downhill, the horses might not react in time at that point, causing an accident.

That was why, when