Pre-Race Preparations

On Monday of the third week of September, inside Lin Zhi's conference room.

The bright lights in the middle of the room were switched on, illuminating the entire conference room.

Zhang Jun sat at the head of the table and took a sip of tea. "All right, let's begin."

Beside him, Luo Heng, representing Jianzhou Ranch, trainer Lin Zhi, stablehand Zheng Shan, and jockey Shan Yao sat in a circle, all wearing serious expressions.

On the blackboard behind Zhang Jun at the front of the conference room, twelve neatly written characters read—Central G2, Mindu Memorial Strategy Meeting.

The five of them had gathered here to discuss their strategy for this Sunday's Central Graded Stakes, the G2 Mindu Memorial. They were not here to figure out how to deal with Feet on the Ground, but to win.

This would be Shadow Hunter's first time competing in a Central Graded Stakes, so everyone involved was taking it with utmost seriousness.

With Shadow Hunter's strength, there would have been no need for a meeting if he were entering a regional Graded Stakes. Even horses with the same speed cap could not match him in other attributes. They could simply follow the normal approach—stalk, press, lead, or come from behind—and crush the competition with sheer power.

But Central Graded Stakes were different. The entrants in a Central G2 were no weaker than Shadow Hunter. Of the eighteen horses, no fewer than ten would have D+ speed, while the rest would all be at least D-rank. Some entrants would even have C-rank speed. Winning would be extremely difficult.

And Shadow Hunter had gained a full eighteen kilograms before returning to the stable...

"How is Shadow Hunter's physical condition?"

As the meeting officially began, Lin Zhi raised the question he cared about most.

Zheng Shan wore