Chapter 47. Dream Flight
The Horse Owner initially planned to find Koichi Tsunoda, who had ridden North Flight in the Queen Elizabeth Cup, but Yutaka Take made an international call, suggesting that Shuta An be invited to ride, and guaranteed that he could persuade his good friend to ride North Flight in the Yasuda Kinen.
Shuta An naturally accepted the riding invitation happily—he had handed his ride, Sakura Bakushin O over to Kojima Futoshi.
Returning the favor, the young man helped Yutaka Take contact André Fabre and Gosden, allowing his good friend to get mounts of a certain quality in Europe.
Yutaka Take was about to experience what Shuta An felt in Europe last year for the next month—he would even be busier, as Yutaka Take had actively requested quantity first, and would ride in many ordinary class races.
—
Returning to Japan, Shuta An did not attend a single training session for North Flight—there had been similar situations before.
Shuta An learned about North Flight's condition directly from North Flight's Groom, Mikiko Ishikura.
Incidentally, this Groom Mikiko Ishikura was quite famous at the moment.
On one hand, it was because she was an extremely rare female in the Groom profession, and on the other hand, she was also a talented woman who graduated from the prestigious Kyoto University.
Shuta An also believed that she was the most comfortable Groom he had worked with.
Without him having to ask too many times, Mikiko Ishikura could explain all aspects of North Flight's condition.
And considering the young man's position, Mikiko Ishikura did not add her own interpretations unnecessarily, but simply stated the facts, leaving everything for Shuta An to handle himself.
With Mikiko Ishikura's help, Shuta An felt that although he had never ridden North Flight once, he already understood this Racehorse, who had won all three of her Mile races, very well.
In this Yasuda Kinen, North Flight drew starting gate 5, which was a very inside gate.
Based on North Flight's previous race performances, Shuta An planned to have her stay in front and fight from behind, so drawing an inside gate was not exactly good news.
However, after Shuta An studied her opponents on both sides, he felt that this gate position was barely acceptable.
On one side was a winner of the French Prix de la Forêt at Longchamp, and on the other, a winner of the British 1000 Guineas; both were strong European sprinters.
But coming to today's dry, fast turf, they would certainly find it difficult to adapt to Japan's high-speed pace.
"But given the riding habits of their jockeys on the saddle, they will definitely choose to try and get them to the front."
Shuta An thought.
"I'll stay behind, then slowly move outwards once we enter the bend, and make a wide outside run into the final straight."
Shuta did not intend to gamble on cutting through the inside of the pack; he still wanted to make a wide outside run—even if it would waste some ground, it was the safest tactic.
On the other hand, this also meant that Shuta An believed North Flight could win as long as she could break free, indicating Shuta's ample confidence in the Racehorse he was partnering with for the first time.
—
Shuta An's lips curled up after he mounted North Flight in the waiting area.
Mikiko Ishikura noticed the young man's expression and asked.
"How do you feel, Shuta-kun?"
"Great."
Shuta An truthfully expressed his thoughts.
"Her topline is very gentle, her coat has a good sheen, her mental state looks excellent, full of fighting spirit but not restless. Miss Ishikura has taken very good care of her."
"This might be North Flight's last year in active racing. As a Groom, it's rare for me to encounter such an amazing Racehorse, so in the limited opportunities we have to compete in G1s, everyone in the stable and I naturally give our all."
Mikiko Ishikura replied before falling silent again.
She wondered if Shuta An would dislike her for adding pressure by saying this, and for a moment, she was even a little apprehensive.
"Since such an amazing Horse as North Flight has been entrusted to me, I naturally must help her achieve the honors she deserves."
Shuta An had not thought that way for a second.
After hearing Miss Ishikura's thoughts, he said.
"Just leave it to me with confidence; North Flight and I will achieve a satisfying victory together."
"Everything is entrusted to Shuta-kun; we will cheer for Shuta-kun and North Flight from the stands."
Mikiko Ishikura said before leaving, bowing deeply to North Flight and Shuta An.
—
Carrying the expectations of the stable staff, Shuta An and North Flight stepped onto the Racecourse.
The biggest favorite in this race was Ski Paradise, who had won a G2 overseas and another G2 in Japan, showing her adaptability to the turf here.
North Flight was the second favorite—however, it was generally acknowledged that this popularity was mainly due to the saddle; if another jockey were riding, North Flight would likely only be at the level of fifth or sixth favorite.
Shuta An was not nervous at all.
He had a premonition that today's North Flight would display a magnificent brilliance that would captivate the spectators.
Twirling his whip, he led North Flight towards the starting gate.
Shuta An did not exchange pleasantries with other jockeys, maintaining a stern face and an aloof demeanor.
Before the race, considering it was a mixed race, to prevent North Flight, being a mare, from feeling uneasy, Shuta An decided to keep North Flight as far away from other Racehorses as possible.
North Flight indeed maintained a good mood until she entered the gate, which later greatly helped Shuta An.
—
In this race, the young man followed his pre-race plan perfectly, staying directly at the back of the pack during the long initial straight.
After entering the bend, he moved to the outside and began to gradually accelerate.
By the time he exited the final bend and entered the final straight, he had already moved up to fifth place, and without pausing, Shuta An pulled out his whip, hitting it with one hand and pushing with the other, unleashing North Flight's explosive power.
"NORTH FLIGHT HAS SURGED TO THE FRONT! GUIDED BY A WORLD-RENOWNED MASTER ON THE SADDLE, NORTH FLIGHT GALLOPS TOWARDS GLORY! NORTH FLIGHT HAS SHAKEN OFF ALL HER OPPONENTS! SHUTA AN HAS STOPPED WHIPPING! HE'S ONLY PUSHING, JUST PUSHING! NORTH FLIGHT HAS PULLED AWAY FROM THE PACK! TAKING OFF ALONE ON THE TOKYO RACECOURSE'S FINAL STRAIGHT! THE LAST 50 METERS! SHUTA AN STRIKES A VICTORY POSE! HE FLINGS HIS WHIP OUT OF THE RACECOURSE!"
The moment she crossed the finish line, Shuta An clamped his legs tightly around her flanks, then straightened his body, turning to wave a fist towards the stands.
At the same time, the second-place Towa Darling was still five lengths behind.
"NORTH FLIGHT CROSSES THE LINE! FOUR CONSECUTIVE STAKES WINS, CONQUERING A G1! YUTAKA TAKE PASSED THE BATON TO HIS CLOSE FRIEND, AND SHUTA AN DID NOT DISAPPOINT YUTAKA TAKE'S EARLIER SETUP!"