After the three-day downpour, the rain clouds over Hokkaido took a one-day break.
On this day, Monbetsu Racecourse would release the gate assignments for the Hokkaido Yushun Championship.
Since it was just a national local exchange G3 Graded Race, there was no gate draw ceremony, let alone an invitation for the participating Horse Girls to personally decide their own gate positions. He and Oguri Cap could only seize the time to get a feel for running on the inn's training track while waiting for the gate draw results.
After lunch, Zhou Tai'an, changed into a new set of clothes, sat in a corner of the lobby, holding a cup of iced Americano, waiting for the staff from Monbetsu Racecourse to deliver the letter.
Tojo Hana, sitting opposite him, took a sip of her barley tea and asked with a smile, "I'm curious, do you have a desired gate position, Zhou-kun? Or do you think it doesn't matter what gate Oguri Cap is in?"
"Although I'd like to say the latter, and I believe her ability can indeed achieve that, but—" he shrugged, "—as a trainer, of course I hope my Horse Girl can get an advantageous objective condition before the race. So I hope she can draw the outermost gate, which is the gate with the highest winning rate in races at Monbetsu."
"Then I wish your expectation can become a reality, Zhou-kun," Tojo Hana said with a smile, raising her cup.
He also raised his cup, then drained the last of his coffee. "It would be best if we get it, but it doesn't matter if we don't."
…
After a while, the staff from Monbetsu Racecourse arrived. He proactively went up to him and took the sealed envelope from his hand.
In front of the staff member, he opened the envelope and took out the gate assignment sheet.
With just one glance, he frowned, then said to the staff, "Thank you for your trouble."
"It's no trouble, it's our job," the staff member waved his hand. "Since you have received the gate sheet, Trainer-san, I'll be on my way."
"Take care," he nodded, watching him leave.
Tojo Hana stood up and walked over to his side, asking, "What's the result?"
He handed her the sheet and pouted. "Contrary to my wishes, Gate 1."
"Then you'll have to lead?" Tojo Hana was also aware of the characteristics of Monbetsu Racecourse—she had heard him analyze it quite a few times.
"It's impossible to have Oguri Cap try a 'Lead' strategy she's never used before here," he shook his head. "The innermost gate makes it easy to be squeezed. It's probably better to just give up on a forward position and run as a 'Closer'."
"It's not necessarily a bad thing," Silent Suzuka, who had been listening from the side without a word, took over. "If everyone wants to go for the lead, it's easy to create an opportunity for the 'Closer' and 'Chaser' groups."
"If nothing unexpected happens, there will be another rain in the next few days. The composition of Monbetsu Racecourse means that the moisture evaporates very slowly. It's safe to say that on race day, it will be an 'off' track 80% of the time..." At this, his brow slowly relaxed—
"I've got it!" he clenched his fists. "The inside gate might actually be a good thing!"
A dirt track in an "off" state meant that the sand on the track would be very thin, and the Horse Girls would run faster on it.
This meant that the original disadvantage of the thicker sand on the inside might have disappeared—it had been raining in Monbetsu for the past few days. The sand on both the inside and outside had probably been thinned by the rain.
"The Monbetsu Horse Girls, like those in the Tokai region, don't like to run on the inside. But Oguri Cap, under my training, has completely overcome this habit."
Silent Suzuka noticed that his eyes were now overflowing with confidence in Oguri Cap.
"It's settled!" the young man grinned. "Save energy in the first half, overtake on the inside in the second half, hold back and then strike, and give the hosts a surprise!"
When he got back to his room, his explanation to Oguri Cap during the pre-race calculation was even more detailed.
He had borrowed a whiteboard from Sachiko-san, drawn a rough map of the Monbetsu Racecourse track, and then explained to Oguri Cap what she needed to do in different sections.
After everything was explained, he added, "That being said, I give you permission to adapt to the situation, Oguri Cap. If you feel that at a certain stage, it would be better not to do as I say, then go ahead and do it. No matter the result, I won't blame you."
"I understand," Oguri Cap nodded in response. "I won't let you down, Trainer."
"No," he paused and shook his head. "What you have to do is not to disappoint yourself. Don't let yourself look back on this race in the future and think, 'If only I had done that'."
"As long as you do your best, I won't be disappointed," he pointed to his own eyes. "After all, I'm the one who decided to enter you in the Hokkaido Yushun Championship."
"I will win," Oguri Cap stood up from the sofa.
She held her right fist to her chest, her eyes fixed on her trainer, and stated her thoughts very seriously, "When I rushed from Hokkaido to Kasamatsu, I was thinking that I had to work hard to get a chance to race at Kasamatsu, so that my mother's care for me when I was little would not be in vain."
"It was you, Trainer, who saw my qualification as a Horse Girl and proactively invited me to join the team."
"It was you who gave me training that surpassed the level of the academy."
"It was you who believed in my ability, didn't let me just stay at Kasamatsu, and encouraged me to come to a bigger stage."
"Besides my mother, you are the one who believes in me the most."
"And I also feel that besides my mother, you are the person I trust the most."
At this, the usually quiet Oguri Cap's gaze fell to the floor. "In my first Graded Race challenge, I want to see your smile as the ending."
He was quite surprised. This was the first time he had seen her speak so much at once.
The atmosphere in the living room gradually became heavy. Sensing this, Brand New Shine, who was hiding in the bedroom, didn't dare to come out, just secretly opened the door a crack to peek at the scene.
"Look at me," he proactively broke the increasingly awkward atmosphere, took her hand, and stared into her face.
Oguri Cap obediently met his gaze.
He stared at the exquisite face of the gray-coated Horse Girl before him and saw through the unease she was trying so hard to hide. After all, this was her first time challenging a national local exchange Graded Race, a few levels higher than the Tokai Oka Sho she had watched. And her family would be in the stands... all these factors combined, he could completely understand her anxiety.
Gathering his myriad thoughts, he pursed his lips and spoke earnestly, "You are my hope, Oguri Cap. I will always believe you are the strongest Horse Girl. Together, we can win any race."
"Please believe in yourself, just as I have always believed in you."
He pressed the hand he was holding to his own chest. "I swear it on my heart."
-------
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