Chapter 51 – Golden Beer

The fanfare rang out, and the air trembled.

This was a battle in which everyone had entrusted their dreams.

“What a joke.”

Dreams weren’t something you entrusted to someone else.

You went and seized them yourself.

And today, I was the one who would seize that dream.

I was Golden Beer.

The horse at the center of this generation.

The horse who carried Gold Farm’s banner on his back.

Gold Farm was one of the largest ranches in Japan.

Its facilities, feed, staff, and training were all first-rate.

There had been plenty of strong horses even among my own age group.

But who was the fastest of them all?

“Me.”

Naturally, I was proud of that.

And today was the Satsuki Sho.

Two thousand meters on turf at Nakayama in spring. The first race of the Classics.

In other words, if I won here, everyone would understand that I was the king of this generation.

The horses around me entered the gate one after another, all wearing dangerous expressions.

You couldn’t enter the spring Classics merely to make up the numbers.

That was precisely why winning meant something.

There was, however, one horse I couldn’t ignore.

Sakurai Rudolf.

I’d laughed when I first heard the name.

What an absurdly grand name to carry, I’d thought.

He was the second favorite behind me, and since Custard was his sire, he was also my half-brother.

But that didn’t matter.

Half-brothers were everywhere in this world, and the rare occasions when you met your father were usually more trouble than they were worth.

“Young man, develop an eye for mares while you still can.”

Or:

“Win a Grade I when you get the chance. Trying to make up for it later is a pain.”

Or even:

“Run while you can. Being a stallion isn’t bad, but running is its own kind of fun.”

Sometimes he said something cool, which only made it more irritating.

So Rudolf being my half-brother wasn’t what bothered me.

It was his eyes.

He had the same eyes I did.

Eyes that said, in complete seriousness, Naturally, I’m going to win.

I didn’t like that look.

“Sakurai Rudolf.”

When I called to him, he gave a brief reply.

“What is it?”

What was with that calm tone?

“After today, there’ll only be one undefeated horse left.”

“Indeed.”

“And it’ll be me.”

Rudolf’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly.

“I was thinking the same thing.”

Oh, I really didn’t like him.

This was the Satsuki Sho.

Show a little more spirit when you talked!

I snorted.

“I’m the one who’s going to win.”

“Is that so?”

“It is.”

“Then please do your best to defeat everyone except me.”

He fired back without missing a beat.

Quiet laughter escaped from the surrounding horses.

“Whoa, what was that?”

“Is he the kind who provokes you with a perfectly calm face?”

“I hate that kind.”

“Golden Beer, he got you.”

“Shut up.”

I snorted sharply.

Still, I couldn’t deny that my mood had improved a little.

Good.

He’d be worth crushing.

The jockey on my back patted my neck.

“All right. We can do this.”

His voice was calm.

Dependable.

He was the same man who’d ridden me to victory in the Asahi Hai.

I let out a short neigh.

“Neigh.”

To humans, it was probably nothing more than a cry.

But to me, the meaning was clear.

-Naturally. We’re winning today.

I entered the gate.

The grandstands had fallen silent, but my young master was probably somewhere on the other side.

What sort of expression are you wearing today, Young Master?

Good.

Watch closely.

I won’t disappoint you today either.

CLANG!

The gates opened, and the world surged forward.

The flow of the field, our position, our breathing before the first turn-everything mattered.

The jockey on my back made the same judgment I did.

Good.

The field flowed onward.

The roar of the crowd sounded both distant and near. Hooves struck the turf. Horses snorted. Footfalls settled into rhythm.

Amid it all, only my own heartbeat sounded strangely clear.

On the other side, the humans were probably saying things like, “Has he settled?” and “What’s the pace?”

But only one thing mattered to me.

When we rounded the final turn, could I move forward?

That was all.

I conserved my strength.

The man on my back restrained me ever so slightly when I wanted to press ahead.

Yes, that was right.

Moving now would be second-rate.

Third turn.

The field gradually tightened.

Fourth turn.

Now.

The feel of the reins changed.

That was the signal.

I responded.

I stretched my neck forward slightly and quickened my stride.

My path opened before me.

There was our way out.

The home stretch.

The cheers suddenly swelled.

Nakayama’s uphill climb came into view.

I didn’t hate it.

At the very end, it asked every strong horse the same question: Are you truly strong?

“Go!”

The voice came from my back.

Yeah.

I surged forward all at once.

The leader was close.

No, I’d already caught him.

I passed one horse, then another. The roar grew louder.

Good.

This was it.

This was a Grade I.

This was the leading group.

The grandstands shook.

“Golden Beer takes the lead!”

The announcer’s voice reached my ears.

That sounded good.

Yes.

All you had to do was shout my name.

Then, in the next instant, I sensed something beside me.

Rudolf.

“Oh?”

The sound escaped me before I could stop it.

He stared straight ahead and spoke quietly.

“Excuse me.”

This bastard…!

The jockey on my back urged me on.

Good!

I’ll crush you right here!

Sakurai Rudolf!

I could no longer make out the crowd’s words.

But I could feel their heat.

I was going to win.

Naturally.

Two hundred meters left.

I’d shake him off.

No-I meant to shake him off.

But Rudolf wouldn’t go away.

One hundred fifty left.

This time, he began to edge ahead.

I was the one being swallowed up.

But that wasn’t a feeling I intended to accept.

Me, getting swallowed up?

That wasn’t in today’s script!

Less than a hundred left.

The top of the hill.

Normally, this was where things became painful.

But Rudolf stretched even farther there.

As though to say, You’re struggling already?

“Ha!”

I couldn’t help laughing.

He was strong, wasn’t he?

The real thing.

But-

“Not yet!”

I refused to lose here.

I was the two-year-old champion!

Custard’s son!

The horse who carried Gold Farm’s banner!

I couldn’t lose in a place like this!

Once more, I thrust my head forward.

I wanted to win.

I felt Rudolf’s surprise beside me.

Fifty meters left.

We fought stride for stride.

Turf scattered beneath us.

The cheers exploded.

It felt as though every human in the stands had risen to their feet.

Rudolf and me.

Neither of us yielded.

Neither of us slowed.

Humans would probably call something like this a great race.

But from where I stood, it wasn’t anything so beautiful.

It was will against will.

Pride against pride.

One of us would yield, or he wouldn’t.

“I’m the one who’ll win!”

A soundless roar burst from my chest.

I couldn’t help shouting.

There was no point if I couldn’t move forward now.

But-

But Rudolf found one more step.

“What?”

I couldn’t help wondering.

You still had more?

Twenty meters left.

He moved ahead.

Was it over?

Was I supposed to accept this?

The whip came down.

The man on my back was desperately trying to win.

I could feel it.

So I answered him.

But-

I couldn’t reach him.

The finish rushed toward us.

At this rate, I would lose.

Me!

Me, of all horses!

Damn it.

Damn it!

DAMN IIIIIT!

Finish.

Sakurai Rudolf crossed the line first.

Then me.

Unable to stop immediately, we continued past the line as I breathed hard, my shoulders heaving.

My chest burned.

My legs were heavy.

My head spun.

But the result was so obvious I hated it.

I’d lost.

Me.

“Haah…”

A breath escaped me.

At that moment, Rudolf spoke from beside me.

“Thank you for the race.”

“What’s with that refreshing attitude!?”

I shouted before I could stop myself.

Rudolf looked at me.

He was breathing heavily too, but he still appeared slightly smug.

“You…”

“Yes?”

What was with that face?

It was infuriating.

So damn infuriating.

But he was strong.

This horse was strong.

I had no choice but to admit it.

“…I won’t lose next time.”

When I growled those words, Rudolf narrowed his eyes slightly.

“Neither will I.”

“What?”

“I won’t lose next time either.”

“You bastard…”

This guy.

He truly pissed me off.

Just then, an especially loud cheer rose from the grandstands.

Rudolf’s jockey held one finger aloft toward the crowd.

One.

As though she were declaring-

-The first one.

Damn it.

That was cool.

Only then did the reality of it finally catch up with me.

I’d lost.

But even though I’d lost…

“Wait for me in the Derby.”

When I spoke in a low voice, Rudolf answered briefly without looking away from the path ahead.

“Naturally.”

Damn it.

That “naturally” of his really annoyed me.

But fine.

I was Golden Beer.

I had no intention of ending here.

It was frustrating.

But it wasn’t bad.

If I’d lost to a horse like this, perhaps it wasn’t so bad.

By the time you could think that way, you were probably already captivated by horse racing.

The jockey on my back patted my neck.

“You ran well.”

I gave a small snort in response.

Yeah, I knew.

There was a powerful rival before me.

And I had been born into the same era as him.

If so, things would only become more interesting from here.

I was Golden Beer.

Gold Farm’s representative horse.

Did anyone think I would be satisfied with second place in the Satsuki Sho?

Next time, I’d make that smug emperor eat my dust.

Once I thought of it that way, even my frustration became fuel.

Amid the cheers, I walked on slowly and looked up at the sky.

Above the racecourse, where cherry blossoms danced through the air, the sky was almost painfully bright.