They took off from Chitose Airport and landed at Nagoya Airport.
Once they landed, the temporary stable staff were already waiting for them.
Compared with Hokkaido, where it snowed so often, the weather here inland was noticeably better.
Koichi did not feel quite so cold, either.
Under the airport staff's direction, Golden Masterpiece and Danon Blue were soon loaded into another vehicle.
Of course, both horses underwent another round of checks before boarding.
Their food and water had already been placed inside.
They could replenish their energy in the vehicle for the rest of the journey.
Since this was not their first long trip, they had grown somewhat accustomed to the process.
Although Golden Masterpiece was not particularly fond of Danon Blue.
The vehicle really did not have much room, though, and he could not be bothered to pick a fight with her.
Neigh-
Compared with Golden Masterpiece, Danon Blue was clearly a little restless.
The long journey had left her in a foul mood.
"Jockey Matsutomo, Mr. Kudo hopes you'll put in a good performance this time and live up to his trust. He was the one who recommended you to ride Danon Blue, after all!"
That was what Danon Blue's Stablehand told him.
Once that Sasaki fellow failed this time, even the young lady would have no way to keep him on as Golden Masterpiece's jockey.
The young lady alone did not have the final say over a ranch as large as Aoe Ranch.
Who knew what spell he had cast over her? She had actually chosen a rookie jockey who had never even ridden in a maiden race.
Racehorse racing was nowhere near as simple as daily training. There were far too many unpredictable factors involved.
This incident alone would be enough to send Koichi Sasaki plunging into the abyss.
Let him spend the rest of his days struggling in the mire of regional Racehorse racing!
"Heh, of course. I'll show that brat what real Racehorse racing looks like!"
Matsutomo Kazuma could naturally see the other man's jealousy.
Handling rookie jockeys who had just debuted was easy enough for him.
Especially since his partner this time was a daughter of Deep Impact.
He was absolutely confident that he could take first place in this race!
For a moment, he could already see the two-million prize purse beckoning to him.
"Good. Mr. Kudo will also be coming on race day. He looks forward to your performance."
The Stablehand could not help gritting his teeth as he stared fixedly at the vehicle behind them.
He had even heard that the young lady was not coming for Danon Blue this time.
He genuinely could not understand how the offspring of a lottery king could compare with the offspring of a nearly undefeated Triple Crown winner.
As Danon Blue's Stablehand, his own pay was directly tied to her results.
How could those two newcomers possibly stand a chance against them?!
On the road, Hitachi Yosuke slipped into his chatty mode.
There really was not much scenery to admire on the journey from Nagoya to Kyoto. Mountains lined the entire route, and they frequently had to pass through tunnels bored into them.
They had already eaten a simple meal on the plane.
They had to admit that the service provided by a major airline was quite good.
"This went pretty well. Nothing held us up. Last time we went to Tokyo, the weather had us circling in the air for ages. As soon as we landed, Asho started throwing a tantrum."
"That really is something we can't do anything about."
Koichi had experienced that sort of thing before, too.
Traveling elsewhere to compete was no easy matter for racehorses.
Not only did they have to endure long journeys by plane, they also had to adjust to unfamiliar tracks and conditions.
"We still have another two or three hours before we reach Kyoto, right?"
Koichi took out his phone and checked it.
The whole day had been spent traveling.
They had set off in the morning and would not arrive until evening.
"That's about what the staff said. In any case, we'll definitely get there before dark."
Hitachi Yosuke reached into his backpack and took out a bottle of water.
These staff members all worked for the Kyoto Racing Association and were specifically responsible for transporting the competing Racehorses.
"Oh, right. I heard they deliberately chose not to ride in the same car as us."
He glanced at the small car ahead of them out of the corner of his eye.
He had no particular fondness for Matsutomo Kazuma as a jockey.
Anyone who did not know better might think the man had won countless Grade 1 races.
"Isn't that a good thing? This car could have seated four people, but now there are only two of us. We've got a lot more room to move around."
Koichi did not particularly care.
He was not the one paying for it, anyway, and it was only a small expense for the ranch.
"Sasaki, let's give it our best together!"
"No problem."
"I'm telling you, Asho's been in great form lately. As long as nothing major goes wrong, I think a top-five finish should be no problem."
With nothing else to do, Hitachi Yosuke began introducing their opponents to Koichi.
There were sixteen Racehorses in this Grade 3 race in Kyoto, and quite a few were grandchildren of Sunday Silence.
His earlier encouragement had simply been meant to keep Koichi Sasaki from losing confidence. Although this was a Grade 3 race, their opponents were by no means weak.
Quite a few people attached considerable importance to this race.
There was another piece of news he knew, of course, but he did not mention it.
With a rookie jockey riding Golden Masterpiece this time, the horse's popularity had dropped considerably. According to the ranch's earlier predictions, Asho should have ranked among the top three favorites.
Now, even ranking seventh would be difficult.
Just like the people at the ranch, the racing fans had little faith in this new pairing.
"All right, I've got a general idea now."
Koichi had also received the information his uncle had gathered.
This time, besides the information on his rivals, his uncle had also mailed him his racing silks.
He had originally intended to pay to have the silks designed himself, but he had never expected his uncle to have prepared them already.
Hopefully, these silks will bring me some luck.
Since he had set out on this path, Ayumu Kusakawa had arguably been the person who had helped him the most.
He remembered every kindness.
"Sasaki, did something interesting happen?"
Seeing Koichi suddenly smile, Hitachi Yosuke asked curiously.
He rarely saw Sasaki smile. The few times he had were when Sasaki was training with Asho.
"Nothing much. I'm chatting with my uncle."
Ayumu Kusakawa: Koichi, don't put yourself under any pressure this time. I'd originally wanted to invite you over to spend New Year's together.
Ayumu Kusakawa: I'll be cheering you on in the livestream for this race!
After reading those two messages, Koichi replied, telling him to stay safe and get plenty of rest.
Then he also let Miku Kuchiki know that he had arrived safely.
There were still plenty of people supporting him.
"Oh, I see."
Aoe Ranch's convoy sped along the highway.
Kyoto.
Here they came!
(End of chapter)
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