Derby Draw and Formidable Central Rivals

Four days after the interview, on the Sunday of the third week of June.

The lobby of the Min Province Local Racing Association was brightly lit.

Zhang Jun sat below with the owners, trainers, and jockeys of the racehorses participating in the Eight Min Local Derby: Dirt Race, waiting for the gate draw ceremony to begin.

At the center of the podium, Mu Fei, chairman of the Min Province Local Racing Association, held a microphone and introduced the history of the Eight Min Local Derby: Dirt Race.

Below, Zhang Jun held his phone and checked the information on the horses entered in the race.

There were fifteen horses entered in next Friday's Dirt Derby. Ten belonged to Min Province local racing, while five were Central Racehorses born in Min Province.

According to Lin Zhi's analysis, Shadow Hunter was unquestionably the best among the ten local horses. It had gone three for three at age two and won its sole race at age three, for a total record of four wins from four starts, including three Graded Stakes victories and one CN1 win.

Next came Southern Township and Longxi Mad Shark, who had faced Shadow Hunter in the Two-Year-Old Stakes and each had two Graded Stakes wins to their names.

Then there was Jiahe Storm, which had missed the Two-Year-Old Stakes due to injury. Besides its two Graded Stakes victories at age two, it had won another Graded Stakes race at age three, making it the second-most important rival in Lin Zhi's eyes.

Of the five Central Racehorses, only one warranted attention: Feet on the Ground.

It had been injured during training at age two and had not debuted until age three. It currently had two wins from three starts, with its only defeat coming in a Derby trial race against