Chapter 25. "Aggressive Positioning"
However, before Rice Shower's Japanese Derby, Shuta An still had two races ahead of him—Hokuto Vega's Apple Blossom Handicap in the Dream World and Mejiro Dober's Victoria Mile in the real world.
Shuta hadn't researched the former at all in the Dream World, but for the latter, the young man already had a plan in mind.
However, in the chronological order of the two races, the Apple Blossom Handicap came earlier. It was to be held at Oaklawn Park Race Track the week after the Spring Tenno Sho.
After watching this week's graded races with Rice Shower, Shuta An returned home and went to bed early, preparing to partner with Hokuto Vega in the Dream World to challenge the Apple Blossom Handicap.
—
A total of 11 racehorses were competing in this Apple Blossom Handicap. Hokuto Vega was lucky not to draw the outermost gate, number 11, but she did draw gate number 10.
When Shuta An drew this gate position, he couldn't help but chuckle.
"My luck with draws has never been great. I feel like I should go to a shrine later and draw a fortune slip to check."
A reporter, not quite reading the room, enthusiastically recommended a local church to Shuta An.
The young man brushed him off. One must know that in the real world, compared to deities who have not shown miracles, people are still more willing to believe in The Three Goddesses.
And today at Oaklawn Park Race Track, Shuta only had two races to ride—but it wasn't that he only received one additional riding request. It was just that the young man had studied the situation and felt that this Maiden Race, being the same distance as the Apple Blossom Handicap, was very suitable for a pre-race warm-up.
"It's just a Maiden Race; winning it should be quite easy."
the young man said, confident in his ability to ride young racehorses.
Although today was a G1 stakes race day, Shuta An glanced around the entire jockey waiting room and realized the only person he knew was Pat Day. This unlucky fellow had his main ride for the Sunday Silence Triple Crown taken by Shuta An.
Pat Day himself hadn't come to terms with this matter. Even though he knew deep down that if he had ridden, he definitely wouldn't have won at least the Belmont Stakes, he still wanted to personally experience the feeling of riding a Triple Crown racehorse and winning the Triple Crown. Pat Day himself wasn't even sure if he would have such an opportunity again in the future.
When he noticed Shuta An, he realized the other person was also looking at him.
Pat Day, not wanting to talk to this guy, immediately turned his head away, adopting a "don't bother me" posture.
Seeing Pat Day's state, the young man didn't go up to invite a snub. To be honest, he could understand Pat Day's dislike of him.
If it were me, I definitely wouldn't feel good either.
Shuta An thought to himself.
But thinking that way didn't mean Shuta An would be magnanimous about the matter.
In this 1700-meter dirt Maiden Race later, I need to beat him by at least three lengths
The young man set a requirement for himself in his heart.
—
In this dirt Maiden Race, the racehorse Shuta An was riding was named Flight K.
The name sounded impressive, but Shuta An, who hadn't ridden him in training and had only watched a few morning workouts from the sidelines, couldn't guarantee that Flight K would perform on the racecourse as he did in training.
The probability of a well-trained racehorse performing to its full potential on the racecourse is actually not high. After all, there's a big difference between the racecourse and the training ground—the presence or absence of spectators, the number of opponents running together, the mindset of the jockey on the saddle, the varying track conditions—
This is also why temperament is highly valued in the racehorse industry.
Come to think of it, Uma Musume Trainers also need to pay attention to the Uma Musume's temperament when recruiting them into the team.
For example, if a team's atmosphere is relatively lax, recruiting a rigid and serious Uma Musume would be asking for trouble. And taking the young man's Team Sadalsuud as an example, even if the Academy considered Haru Urara a very good member for building positive energy, he would not consider recruiting her.
In Sadalsuud, Shuta An wouldn't be surprised and rather be worried if Haru Urara completely forgot how to smile purely.
Shaking his head, in today's eighth race, Shuta An was riding Flight K.
To experiment with the tactics he planned to use with Hokuto Vega in the next race, Shuta An intended to lead from the front.
However—
"FLIGHT K JUMPED AT THE START! SHUTA AN WASN'T UNSEATED, BUT IT GREATLY AFFECTED HIS PERFORMANCE AT THE GATE! FLIGHT K IS NOW AT THE VERY BACK OF THE PACK!"
The live commentator shouted loudly.
Trainer Nakano Takayoshi, who had come to watch live in the United States again, frowned.
"At this point, this race can really only serve as a warm-up, right?"
"Pretty much." the assistants beside him echoed.
"There's nothing we can do."
Said Flight K's Trainer, Dronet Guiliam, resigned to his bad luck. Who would have thought that Flight K, who had been so well-behaved in training, would give such a big "surprise" to his jockey on the saddle at the start of his first race.
But as Flight K gradually began to accelerate and chase his opponents, Shuta An felt that his partner on the saddle had ample leg strength.
Maybe we can catch up?
Shuta An mused, narrowing his eyes.
By the time they reached the straight opposite the grandstand, Flight K had already moved into fifth place, only five lengths behind the leader, Revel.
Shuta An estimated that Revel had set a slow pace, so he no longer hesitated, directly increasing his pushing force to have Flight K continue to move forward and gain position.
Anyway, the start was already so bad. Shuta An felt it was better to accelerate and gamble on having enough stamina to use this tactic.
It'll be a good way to test how leading from the front works on this track for Hokuto Vega, he thought.
—
Just before turning into the final straight in front of the grandstand, Flight K successfully overtook Revel.
The final straight at Oaklawn Park Race Track is 352 meters long. Needless to say, it is a short straight track. This means that racehorses that actively gain position are definitely most likely to achieve good results here.
So, who was the most aggressive in gaining position in this race? It was definitely Flight K, who was last at the start but had now surged to the front of the pack.
"This works?!"
Dronet Guiliam couldn't help but exclaim when he saw Shuta An and Flight K elegantly pull away from second-place Delta Wolf 3 by 1½ lengths to cross the finish line.
"He can win like this?!"
Nakano Takayoshi also shouted in Japanese.
"It seems that today's Oaklawn Park Race Track is indeed a traditional track favorable to front-runners and early leaders."
The assistants beside him made the same judgment as Nakano Takayoshi at that moment—but anyone with a bit of racing common sense would think so.
Shuta An, who crossed the finish line first, smiled, very satisfied with his performance in this race. He had no reason not to be satisfied. Even though Flight K gave the young man a scare at the start, he later managed to turn the race around with his boldness, and this race allowed Shuta An to thoroughly understand the conditions of Oaklawn Park Race Track.
Hokuto Vega definitely needs to go forward and gain position. This means that after the start of this race, acceleration must be as fast as possible, which could easily lead to a stamina-draining battle, and a chaotic race means instability, after reviewing this point, an idea popped into Shuta An's mind. Perhaps I can refer to this race?
I'll study the situation of the neighbors on both sides of the gate later to see if it can be used, the young man mused.
—
No matter what, this was just a Maiden Race, so Shuta An didn't even have an interview segment. He simply checked his weight, and then he could quickly rinse off and change into his racing silks for the next race.
Once all of this was done, Shuta An returned to the jockey waiting room.
As before, he sat alone on the bench, with no one coming to talk to him. What was different from before was that the colleagues in the jockey waiting room were now discussing, in hushed tones, the young man's risky decision in that Maiden Race.
Overall, everyone felt that Flight K's run was a stroke of luck for Shuta An.
With a passing order of 13-9-5-1, it would be almost impossible to win the Apple Blossom Handicap, one of only two G1 races at Oaklawn Park Race Track.
As a Handicap, this race required Hokuto Vega to carry the highest weight of 121 pounds.
In contrast, Looie Capote, who had the worst performance record in this race, only needed to carry 114 pounds. A difference of 7 pounds meant that the handicapper believed Hokuto Vega, at the same weight level, could beat Looie Capote by 7 lengths.
For Shuta An, the good news was that he didn't need to lose any more weight to meet the handicap. The bad news was that he and Hokuto Vega had to perform exceptionally well to offset the disadvantage of the weight.
But it doesn't matter—even if she has to carry 3 more pounds, Hokuto Vega will definitely win!
Even so, when Shuta An mounted Hokuto Vega's saddle, his heart was still pounding, threatening to leap out of his throat.
"This is her first race carrying this much weight, so maintaining her health is the top priority."
The Groom said.
"There's definitely no problem."
Even if the young man himself was nervous, he still had to appear calm in front of the Groom.
"We all believe in Shuta-kun!"
The Groom shouted as he handed the reins to Shuta An before leaving.
"Cheer me on from the stands!"
Shuta An gave a thumbs-up, then urged Hokuto Vega onto the racecourse.
—
After stepping onto the racecourse, just like in the jockey waiting room, Shuta An once again became the focus of attention for other jockeys on the track.
The young man wasn't surprised by this either. Although Oaklawn Park Race Track isn't a small venue, it only hosts two G1 stakes races each year, and the jockeys stationed here rarely see top jockeys for most of the season. An overseas master like Shuta An was even rarer.
I always feel like they're more curious about me than hostile.
After a brief assessment, Shuta An stopped paying attention to these people and simply walked slowly with Hokuto Vega towards the starting gate.
—
"Carrying 121 pounds, are the Americans discriminating against us too much?"
Nakano Takayoshi still felt a bit indignant thinking about this.
"121 pounds isn't the heaviest weight in the history of this race."
An assistant reminded him.
"But it's 2 pounds more than the second heaviest in the same race!"
Nakano Takayoshi didn't just feel that Hokuto Vega's weight was heavy; everything was relative.
"We can only rely on Shuta-kun—"
Trainer Nakano Takayoshi sighed deeply.
Shuta An, on the other hand, felt that Hokuto Vega was in good condition even with 121 pounds.
"Her gait hasn't become heavy due to the increased load. Her mood is also very positive."
Shuta An knew Hokuto Vega's reactions, and Hokuto Vega could also sense her partner's emotions.
She snorted, then immediately broke into a trot.
Shuta An quickly pulled on the reins, making Hokuto Vega slow down. He didn't want Hokuto Vega to waste stamina at this unimportant moment.
Use good steel on the blade; stamina should also be used in the race.
Shuta An silently told himself in his heart while tightening the reins.
Soon, Hokuto Vega stopped.
Not far away, Patrick, riding Re Toss, looked at Shuta An and Hokuto Vega, clutching his whip tightly.
A Breeder's Cup champion Racehorse—do I have to defeat such an opponent?
Patrick was both nervous and excited.
You defeated me once a few years ago; this year, I have to win it back! He twirled his whip once, then began to plan what he should do in the upcoming race.
Re Toss drew gate 8, with one horse separating her from Hokuto Vega.
But Patrick believed that as long as Hokuto Vega used a leading or early-runner tactic, he would have a good chance to encounter her early.
Re Toss's competitive ability is quite strong; she will definitely surprise Hokuto Vega!
Patrick was very confident.
—
After Shuta An and Hokuto Vega entered the starting gate, the young man surveyed his opponents on both sides—Teddy's Top Ten in gate 11 and Gray Cashmere in gate 9.
That's good; it looks like they all plan to take an aggressive early position.
Seeing this, the idea the young man had thought of earlier stirred.