“If Kitahara-san is treating, then any family restaurant will do.” Yugi, with a compassionate heart, gave Kitahara-san an early reprieve.
However, at this time, Kitahara-san did not understand his colleague’s good intentions.
After hearing Yugi’s reply, he thumped his chest.
“I’m already going to eat kaiseki cuisine.
If I’m treating, how can I take Yugi-san to an ordinary family restaurant?
Let’s go a bit further, to Lixing in the city, for authentic Chinese cuisine!”
“Alright,” Yugi shrugged, seeing that his friend wasn’t going to accept his mercy.
As he said this, he had already silently mourned for his friend’s wallet in his heart.
In the evening, after finishing work, Yugi, in his pajamas, skillfully got into bed, pulled up the covers, and immediately fell asleep.
Falling into the dream world again, upon arriving at Sagami Masayuki’s stable, he was called over by him.
“Zhou-kun, don’t ride yet.
Come with me.”
Yugi was surprised — after all, this was the first time Sagami Masayuki had called him away after entering the dream world, and judging by his expression, it was likely something important to discuss.
He responded verbally, while secretly guessing what Sagami Masayuki wanted to discuss with him.
“It can’t be that he thinks my performance in riding training is poor and is going to fire me, can it?” Yugi believed that with Moore’s riding skills, he hadn’t made any mistakes in the dream world.
“Follow him.
You’ll know the answer soon.”
He took steps and followed Sagami Masayuki to the stable door.
“Logically, from the day you started your internship at my stable, you could have ridden racehorses in competitions,” Sagami Masayuki said, his back to Yugi.
“But I haven’t given you any riding opportunities, only letting you help with training here.
Are you a bit dissatisfied in your heart?”
“Not at all.
I believe Teacher must have his reasons for doing this,” Yugi denied directly.
“Several of your fellow jockeys from the same period have already achieved their first victories, and I see that your performance in training is also very good, so I think it’s time for you to go to Kasamatsu Racecourse and experience the atmosphere of a race,” Sagami Masayuki paused, then turned around.
“Five days from now, the first race at Kasamatsu Racecourse, a 3-year-old maiden race, dirt 800 meters.
Zhou-kun, you will ride Oguri Cap.”
“Can I trust you?” He stared at the intern jockey in his stable.
“Of course!” Yugi nodded vigorously.
“I didn’t expect that I would arrange for Oguri Cap to debut in reality, and Oguri Cap would also debut on the same day in the dream world,” he thought, surprised.
===
From late April to early May, Japanese people often have a week-long holiday because there are several consecutive public holidays during this period.
But the trainers of the Uma Musume who are about to debut do not have holidays.
The Uma Musume do, after all, and continuing daily training before their debut would significantly affect their stamina.
So, on May 1st, Labor Day, after taking Oguri Cap and Berno Light to run on the Slope Road at the shrine all morning, Yugi immediately announced a holiday for the two of them.
And he still had to continue working — whether it was collecting information on opponents or contemplating Berno Light’s race tactics, it all required time.
May 4th was also a public holiday in Japan, but for Yugi, what he looked forward to most was the evening.
“Tonight, if nothing goes wrong, I will have my first race with Oguri Cap in the dream world,” Yugi sat at his desk, rubbing his shoulders, muttering to himself.
“Dirt 800 meters… Although the tactics look easy to arrange, just charging forward in one go, my focus cannot be solely on this one race.
I must use the race to teach Oguri Cap patience.”
“A dirt 800-meter race is only found at Kasamatsu-level racecourses.
Oguri Cap’s future will definitely be in mile and middle distances.
Because of this, she absolutely cannot develop the habit of charging forward headlong in one go after leaving the gate — she shouldn’t even have the experience of doing so.”
With this in mind, Yugi designated “Front Runner” in his race strategy.
Berno Light, on the other hand, was different.
Since it was meant as an experience, Yugi simply asked her to try to get into the leading position as much as possible while maintaining a clean start, and then run to her heart’s content with her own will.
“No matter the outcome of the race, experiencing the atmosphere of a race is definitely a worthwhile endeavor for you, Berno Light,” he wrote this line at the end of his notepad.
After finishing the race strategy arrangements, along with the opponent analysis he had completed yesterday, Yugi handed everything over to Berno Light and Oguri Cap.
“If you don’t understand anything, you can come to the office to ask me before school ends today,” he instructed.
Oguri Cap immediately voiced her confusion.
“Trainer specifically told me that Fujimasa March will use a leading strategy, and instructed me to adopt a front-runner strategy, but the debut race is only 800 meters.
Is that really okay?”
“The 800-meter course at Kasamatsu Racecourse starts with a long straight, then enters a bend, and finally a 238-meter straight,” Yugi first described the composition of the 800-meter track, then continued to explain.
“This is not a purely straight track.
To escape all the way in one go, you must undoubtedly be superior in quality to all opponents.”
“Although everyone in the academy thinks Fujimasa March is very strong, I believe you, Oguri Cap, are the most amazing one,” his tone was full of trust.
In the final 200 meters, use the explosive power we honed on the Slope Road in front of the shrine as your winning weapon to surpass her!”
Finally, Yugi excitedly pumped a fist.
“Kitahara-san and I made a bet.
As long as you, Oguri Cap, win, Kitahara-san will treat the three of us to a meal at that famous Chinese restaurant in Nagoya!”
“Go, Oguri!” Berno Light’s eyes lit up when she heard this.
“Hold on until the final straight, and win with explosive power?” Oguri Cap clutched the paper filled with Yugi’s handwriting, her fingertips pressing harder, gripping it tighter.
She looked up and made a serious promise.
“I will win according to Trainer’s instructions.”
In the evening, Yugi, who had skillfully arrived in the dream world, found himself already wearing his own racing silks — he remembered that local jockeys wore their own clothes when riding local racehorses.
Yugi’s racing silks were a vibrant red background, with five yellow five-pointed stars printed on the front and back, and five-pointed star patterns on the sleeves as well.
“The reason for designing these racing silks this way is because this body’s hometown is the same as my father’s…” He closed his eyes, immediately able to dig up the reason from his memory.
Yugi shook his head.
“Never mind.
The main point now is to win this debut race with Oguri Cap!”
Kasamatsu Racecourse hosts 12 races on race day, but as an intern jockey, Yugi’s stable was not among the top at Kasamatsu, so Trainer Sagami Masayuki could only provide Oguri Cap as a racehorse for Yugi to compete on.
This meant that Yugi would only participate in the first of these 12 races today.
“It doesn’t matter,” he bounced around outside the lounge, stretching his body.
“As long as Oguri Cap and I can win today’s debut race.”
Inside the lounge, many of the jockeys at Kasamatsu turned their gaze toward Yugi outside the door.
“Heh, a jockey from China… Do people from there understand the riding techniques of horse racing?”
“It seems this kid is only running the first race today.
We’ll teach him a good lesson then, and let him know that this profession isn’t that easy.”
“It’s a pity the debut race is only 800 meters.
It would be more interesting if the distance were longer.”
“I bet he’ll suffer a crushing defeat in his debut race.”
“Kasamatsu isn’t a place where you can just get by easily!”
The jockey Ando, who had encouraged Yugi on his first day at the Kasamatsu training center, was also sitting there.
Listening to his colleagues’ discussions, he secretly worried for Yugi.
However, he didn’t have a chance to race in the first race — and even if he had a riding partner, jockey Ando couldn’t sacrifice his own chance of winning to help Yugi, as that would go against his professional ethics as a jockey.
Nevertheless, he quietly got up when no colleagues were paying attention and went outside the door.
“Zhou-kun, during the race, don’t just focus on the racehorse,” jockey Ando came up to Yugi and whispered a reminder.
“After all, your background is very special here, so be a bit more cautious.”
Yugi was startled, then nodded repeatedly, thanking his kind senior.
“Thank you, Senior Ando.
I understand.”
For him, this kind of experience was quite fresh.
In the real world, Yugi showing his passport was enough to make Japanese people maintain basic respect for him, but in the dream world, even a slight difference could cause trouble.
“Then let me see what these smiling tigers can do on the racecourse.” He stretched his wrists, his gaze deep.
===
Oguri Cap’s debut race had 10 racehorses competing, and Yugi’s gate position was exactly the middle, number 5.
“Now it’s a pincer attack.” After he mounted Oguri Cap, his eyes casually surveyed the surroundings.
The gazes filled with malice toward him were completely undisguised.
It was impossible for Yugi not to be nervous, but after a few deep breaths, he tried to keep his composure.
“I’ve even run the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in the dream world.
A debut race in a place like this won’t trouble me!”
Although Yugi was unsure of the quality of Moore’s riding technique he had mastered in the dream world, he had been praised for his excellent riding skills during his dream world riding training over the past month, so Yugi was quite confident.
“And Fujimasa March is also in this race…” He involuntarily glanced at the racehorse wearing bib number 1.
“Is the trajectory of this world and the real world really so consistent?”
Yugi tightened his whip.
“Whether it’s here or in reality, I will win this debut race with Oguri Cap!”
Because this race had no partner, Trainer Ando, who remained in the lounge, squinted his eyes, looking at the image of his junior on the big screen.
“I always feel that Zhou-kun has the aura of a top trainer from Central.
Is it just my imagination?” he murmured.
One minute before the race, the trainers, with the assistance of the Kasamatsu Racecourse staff, urged their partners to enter the gates one by one.
Although Oguri Cap was on the track for the first time, the process of entering the gate was very smooth.
As gate number 5, their group was the third to enter.
Yugi could feel Oguri Cap’s body trembling slightly beneath his saddle after they entered the gate.
“I believe you are very excited too, Oguri Cap.”
“Let’s teach these arrogant bastards a good lesson!”
As the electric bell rang, with a “click,” the gates opened in unison.
Relying on his instincts, Yugi immediately pushed Oguri Cap’s neck, urging her to accelerate forward.
“Since we’re going to be attacked from both sides, let’s break out before they can form their attack!” He absolutely did not want to rack his brains in an 800-meter lightning battle to figure out how to break the situation in a flash, so he simply used the easiest method.
Fujimasa March in the innermost lane and Trainer Hara Tatsuo on her back had also received instructions from the trainer before the race to seize the leading position in this super-short distance race.
Therefore, upon seeing Yugi and Oguri Cap charge forward aggressively after leaving the gate, Hara Tatsuo dared not delay and immediately started whipping.
“Whipping so early.” Yugi was quite surprised to see this.
“Does he want the leading position that badly?”
But the leading position was indispensable in his plan, so Yugi was not going to give him face.
As they were about to enter the turn, relying on his advantage of being further ahead, he switched the whip from his right hand to his left, then gave Oguri Cap a warning whip, making his partner move diagonally to the right inner lane, forcibly blocking Fujimasa March’s path.
It must be admitted that Oguri Cap’s daily habit of eating a lot made her unafraid of physical confrontation with opponents in races — weighing tens of kilograms more than Fujimasa March, and with no one doing strength training, Oguri Cap clearly had the advantage in collisions.
Hara Tatsuo was no fool and naturally noticed this, so after Yugi openly used a diagonal block, he could only grit his teeth and, helplessly pulling the reins, made Fujimasa March slow down slightly, falling behind Oguri Cap.
Maintaining an advantage of more than one horse length, Yugi rode Oguri Cap into the turn.
Although everyone knew that sticking to the rail saved the most ground, he still made Oguri Cap move outwards.
Yugi also wasn’t worried that Fujimasa March behind him would take advantage of the space he yielded to overtake him.
Because no one took the inner lane, the sand on the inner lane was the thickest, which also caused a significant drop in speed when stepping on it.
He knew the veteran trainer behind him was well aware of this, so he didn’t guard against it.
As Yugi expected, even if he and Oguri Cap created a gap, Hara Tatsuo and Fujimasa March dared not cut in.
“If I give you a chance and you don’t take it, then I’m sorry.” As they were about to exit the turn, contrary to common sense, Yugi tightened the reins, then immediately pushed Oguri Cap’s neck forcefully, and then tightened the reins again, making Oguri Cap raise her head, maintaining this cyclical action.
“What is he doing?” The trainers behind him could only understand half of Yugi’s actions — that is, the pushing part.
Everyone knew this was to assist their partners, allowing them to kick back more smoothly and sprint forward.
But the preceding action of tightening the reins was beyond their level of comprehension.
“Push riding assists partners in lowering their heads and pushing back, while tightening the reins assists partners in raising their heads, making their bodies more tense, and improving the elasticity for the next step.” The reason for doing this flashed through Yugi’s mind.
The push riding force of this body was quite strong, and Oguri Cap also adapted well to this rhythm.
After exiting the turn, she quickly regained the speed lost in the turn, instantly widening the distance between herself and Fujimasa March.
Hara Tatsuo completely lost his composure.
After exiting the turn and reaching the final straight, his right hand gripped the whip tightly, his arm began to flail wildly in the air, and every one or two seconds, the whip would hit Fujimasa March’s backside with a “smack.”
Hara Tatsuo wanted to rely on this pain to make his partner catch up and close the gap between himself and Yugi.
Initially, he was quite confident, because Hara Tatsuo noticed that Yugi was only push riding, not whipping at all, adopting a “lax” attitude.
“I absolutely must teach this newcomer a lesson!
Don’t think you’ve got it in the bag until you cross the finish line!” He gritted his teeth, whipping with even greater force.
But with each whip, the gap between Yugi and him widened by another increment.
“We won!” As he crossed the finish line, Yugi squeezed Oguri Cap’s body with his legs, and with excellent core strength, he lifted himself from the saddle, straightened up, and switched the whip, which he hadn’t wielded once in this race, to his left hand, twirling it like a pen.
“A newcomer trainer and a new Uma Musume partner win on their debut.” The live commentator’s tone was similar to the atmosphere in the stands — both quite listless.
This even dampened Yugi’s excitement somewhat.
“Tsk, just like Kasamatsu in reality,” he grumbled inwardly.
“If I have the chance in the future, I definitely want to go to Central.”
As for the “seniors” who had discussed giving Yugi a hard time before the race, over the 800-meter course, they had completely become spectators, having no impact on Yugi whatsoever.
“Like clowns,” Trainer Ando sat alone in the lounge, grinning and muttering to himself.
===
After waking up, Yugi habitually checked the rewards he received after winning the debut race with Oguri Cap in the dream world.
“Yesterday was my first race in the dream world.
They can’t just give me more of Oguri Cap’s intimacy again, can they?
Then there’s no difference whether I go to the race or not.” He muttered to himself while calling up the interface in his mind.
“Oguri Cap’s debut race victory reward: Kayano running shoes + matching Queen plate horseshoes.”
“Uh… I’m not a Uma Musume, so I probably don’t need these, do I?” Yugi’s mouth twitched as he looked at the rewards he received after yesterday’s challenge.
“Let me see where these things were put for me.”
He was about to roll out of bed when he stepped on something.
He quickly retracted his leg.
Yugi leaned over the bed to look down — a tightly sealed box, with a pair of horseshoes on top.
Just by looking at the box’s delicate pink color, he made a judgment.
“This really isn’t for me.”
Reaching out to place the horseshoes on the bedside table, Yugi then brought the shoebox closer and observed it carefully.
“This shoe size… Japanese standard 27.5, which is exactly Oguri Cap’s size.” Noticing this, he shook the box.
“Then I’ll just give her these shoes and horseshoes.”