Chapter 48: Riding Choices and Track Knowledge
After seeing Kitano off, Tanaka went to the neighboring Kadokawa Stable.
"You need to work harder, Junji. I've had the plaque for your 2,000th win celebration ready since the beginning of the year."
As soon as they met, Trainer Kadokawa warmly put an arm around his shoulders.
"I'm afraid I won't be that fast. On the other hand, you seem to be on quite a roll, Senior Kadokawa."
Tanaka shook his head, showing a modest smile.
The two had a similar number of wins as Trainers, both very close to the 2,000 mark.
After the pleasantries, Tanaka explained the purpose of his visit.
"Monbetsu Next Star?"
As if recalling some unpleasant memory, Kadokawa's brow furrowed slightly.
"It just so happens I don't have any decent two-year-olds on my end. Go ahead and register."
But soon, he waved his hand and agreed.
Tanaka breathed a small sigh of relief.
"Now, it's finally settled."
The issue of the entry slot was resolved just like that.
"Remember to buy me a drink after you win the race, you lucky bastard!"
As he left, Kadokawa jokingly cursed while offering his blessings.
Returning to the stable, Tanaka shut himself in the narrow breakroom.
Although the race was still over a month away, he had to plan for the Jockeys early.
On Kitano's side, besides giving the green light to the recommended Jockey Hattori, he also left the specific Jockey assignments to him.
According to custom, Ochiai, who was the main Jockey for both horses, would have the priority to choose which one to ride.
Then, a riding request for the remaining horse would be sent to Jockey Hattori.
This was the typical situation for what was called the "saddle arrangements."
There was no obvious gap in strength between Mejiro Pegasus and Mejiro Sakiya, so there was no consideration of a "main" versus a "supporting" runner.
Following custom was undoubtedly the safest choice.
After picking up his phone, Tanaka suddenly hesitated again.
In this matter, the Trainer's position was aligned with the Horse Owner's.
Their shared goal was to get both horses to place as high as possible and earn the best prize money.
For this reason, the choice of Jockeys had to be carefully considered.
Ochiai, who could keenly seize opportunities in a race and was good at getting in sync, paired with the clever and spirited Mejiro Pegasus.
Hattori, with his excellent whip technique and veteran experience, was better suited for the somewhat duller but strong-finishing Mejiro Sakiya.
But this was only the ideal scenario.
Racehorse breeding requires compromise, Breaking-In requires compromise, racing requires compromise, and even when choosing Jockeys, compromise was unavoidable.
The interpersonal relationships between the Horse Owner, the stable, and the Jockeys were usually the first consideration.
As for the compatibility between human and horse, it was relegated to a secondary position.
It would have been better if Kitano had made a specific designation.
Tanaka couldn't help but think with some distress.
He first called Ochiai.
"Both horses are entering Monbetsu Next Star?"
On the other end, Ochiai sounded a bit surprised.
Having the two horses he mainly rode enter the same race meant he had to choose between them.
Although top-tier Central Jockeys often faced such dilemmas, for local Jockeys, this situation was actually quite uncommon.
Even strong horses of the same generation from the same stable were often assigned to different main Jockeys by the Trainer for various reasons.
"Can you give me some time to think, Master?"
Ochiai was in no hurry to give an answer.
"No problem."
Tanaka agreed readily, but after hanging up, he couldn't help but sigh.
Things had become a bit complicated.
Then there was the other side.
"No problem, leave it to me."
On Jockey Hattori's side, things proceeded quite smoothly.
He had no objections to the request to ride either Mejiro Pegasus or Mejiro Sakiya.
Hanging up, the arrangements for Monbetsu Next Star were settled for the time being.
On the other side, the moment of decision for Ochiai had only just begun.
After leaving Tanaka Stable, Kitano returned home.
Although he didn't need to open for business or go on a house call, there weren't many places to go.
In this place where buses only came every two hours and there was only one McDonald's in the whole town, most forms of entertainment were related to horse racing.
Taking off his shoes at the entrance, a faded wind chime swayed, making a somewhat raspy sound.
Closing the door, the fading cicada cries suddenly vanished from his ears.
He could still clearly feel the heat, but the elements of summer were gradually fading away.
Opening the refrigerator and pouring a glass of iced barley tea, Kitano picked up the latest issue of 'yushun'.
It was only August, but the atmosphere of a certain race two months away could already be felt.
Of course, it wasn't [NEXT STAR Monbetsu].
[Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe], an overseas race held on the same day as [NEXT STAR Monbetsu].
Kitano looked with interest at the introduction to the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in the magazine.
ParisLongchamp Racecourse, a 2400-meter outer turf course, was said to have been the focus of the unfulfilled wishes of countless Japanese horse racing fans for many years.
Kitano didn't have any particular feelings about this.
Turning to the page introducing the track, he rubbed his eyes in disbelief.
For a moment, he even suspected there was a misprint in the magazine.
In the provided track profile, both the uphill and downhill sections were simply too exaggerated.
Accustomed to Monbetsu's dirt track, which had almost no undulations and simple turns, he could hardly imagine what a track with such complex changes and undulations would be like.
But with the help of the modern internet, he quickly found a lot of relevant information.
The profile in the magazine was indeed not misprinted.
He even felt a shock far greater than what the paper materials provided through a video introduction of the racecourse.
For a track that could be called "towering," someone had challenged it back in an era when information was far less accessible than today and it was difficult for ordinary Japanese people even to go abroad.
He didn't know whether to call such people warriors or arrogant fools.
Closing the magazine, Kitano took the opportunity to search for information about other racecourses.
The results were an eye-opener.
The tracks in America were similar to Monbetsu.
Simple changes, no very obvious undulations.
But the situation in Europe was much more complex.
It wasn't even easy to find two racecourses with similar track designs.
Even domestically, the several racecourses belonging to Central each had their own characteristics.
Before this, it was completely unimaginable.
He had even thought that racecourses everywhere were probably about the same.
If he registered for races held at other tracks with that mindset, he might suffer a huge loss.
"As expected, there's still a lot to learn."
If there were a [Track Knowledge] ability in the system, Kitano would likely have a status like "[Track Knowledge] ↑" hanging over his head right now.