Chapter 59 – The Kikuka Sho
On the television, Rudolf entered the gate wearing an expression that said victory was assured.
Kyoto Racecourse.
Three thousand meters on turf.
The Kikuka Sho.
“Saku! Where’s Big Brother Rudolf!?”
“There! The one in the red cap!”
“He looks cool!”
“Kyoto!”
“I’m hungry!”
The foals said whatever came into their heads.
The yearlings and broodmares were craning their necks toward the screen too.
I was truly glad I’d bought a larger television.
Although, viewed calmly, buying a bigger television for a stable made very little sense.
Stone watched the screen through half-closed eyes.
“Rudolf looks so dignified that it irritates me.”
One of the older mares answered slowly.
“Not being overwhelmed on a stage like this is a strength.”
Perhaps she was right.
He’d won the Satsuki Sho in spring.
He’d won the Derby in early summer.
And today…
If Rudolf won, he would complete the Triple Crown.
Undefeated.
And yet Rudolf was standing there as calmly as ever, wearing his usual smug expression.
His personality might be a problem, but perhaps it was an asset for a racehorse.
“The gates open! A slightly uneven start, but no serious trouble!”
Rudolf settled a little behind midfield.
If Chloe-san thought that was fine, then I would trust her.
Grandpa had gone to Kyoto.
At first, he’d been extremely reluctant.
-To be honest, I’d wanted to go too.
But I thought Grandpa should be there.
If Rudolf truly completed the Triple Crown, that was a sight Grandpa deserved to witness.
So I had practically forced him out the door.
Somehow, staying here and watching with everyone had felt right for me.
Yes.
This was good.
“Go, Big Brother Rudolf!”
“Don’t lose!”
“What’s a Triple Crown?”
“Something amazing!”
“Is it tasty?”
“Treats!”
Nothing could shake you lot.
But I was strangely grateful for the noise.
On the television, the leading group began descending from Kyoto Racecourse’s third turn.
Before I realized it, my hands were tightly clenched.
The announcer’s voice suddenly rose.
“Now they enter the home stretch!”
On-screen, a red cap emerged from the inside.
Chloe-san and Rudolf.
At that moment, Crown shouted,
“Go!”
Too loud.
But my heart was shouting the same thing.
Go!
Go!
“Rudolf takes the lead!”
The announcer’s voice rang out.
Crown screamed as if his voice could reach Rudolf.
“Keep going! Do your best! Do your best!”
Stone said nothing.
Perhaps she couldn’t speak at all.
The commentary grew even more excited.
“A tremendous roar! Kyoto Racecourse is roaring!”
Before long, even the veteran broodmares were leaning toward the screen.
“Go!”
“Keep moving!”
“You cheeky brat, don’t you dare lose!”
“You’ve talked big enough-now prove it!”
Beyond the glass, the red cap moved farther ahead.
Rudolf.
Sakurai Rudolf.
Our horse.
“A great red flower blooms beneath the cloudy Kyoto sky!”
He crossed the finish line first.
-He won.
“A Triple Crown winner! Sakurai Rudolf!”
“WAAAAAAAAAH!”
“Big Brother Rudolf did it!”
“Hooray!”
“Celebration!?”
“A holiday!?”
Even the yearlings screamed.
The foals shouted without understanding what had happened.
Crown was already beyond his limit.
“YAAAAAAAAAAY!”
“Did you see that!?”
“My junior is a Triple Crown winner!”
Beside him, the broodmares spoke with admiration.
“What an achievement.”
“That selfish little brat.”
“His accomplishments have finally caught up with his attitude.”
“As expected of Stone’s child.”
“His father’s blood seems strong too.”
They said whatever they pleased, but every voice was jubilant.
At last, Stone gave a quiet snort.
“Hmph.”
Everything was contained in that one sound.
Pride.
Exasperation.
And, no matter how I listened, happiness.
I stared blankly at the screen.
He’d won.
Rudolf was an undefeated Triple Crown winner.
The fact still didn’t feel real.
The stable was deafening, yet the noise sounded strangely distant.
Something settled deep within my chest.
By the time I noticed, my eyes were hot.
“Ah…”
I didn’t understand it myself.
I hadn’t run.
Rudolf had worked hard.
Okabe-san had prepared him.
Chloe-san had ridden him.
I’d only watched.
But…
The tears fell on their own.
“Saku-san?”
Beside me, Yayoi-chan sounded surprised.
I hurriedly turned away, but it was already too late.
“…Sorry.”
I didn’t even know why I was apologizing.
“No, um, you don’t need to apologize…”
Yayoi-chan clearly didn’t know what to do.
Even so, she quietly remained beside me.
“He’s a Triple Crown winner.”
“Yeah.”
“It’s all right to cry, isn’t it?”
Hearing that only made it worse.
“Yeah…”
All I could manage were pathetic replies.
The tears kept coming.
It felt as though something had broken in a place deep in my chest that I couldn’t name.
I was happy.
Of course I was.
But it wasn’t only happiness.
All this time…
Truly, all this time…
Somewhere inside me, I’d been afraid.
Ever since I inherited the ranch.
Ever since the day Grandpa called me home.
Ever since I heard a horse’s voice and thought I might be losing my mind.
Could I truly hear them?
Wasn’t it merely a convenient delusion?
Was I only imagining everything?
That fear had never left me.
When I sent yearlings away to auction.
When Stone fought hard and won a graded race.
When I attended my first owners’ party and felt completely out of place.
When Crown kept working, running, and earning money for us.
When I decided to hire Yayoi-chan.
When I spent an enormous sum to breed Stone to Custard.
When I named Rudolf.
When I refused every offer, no matter how high the price.
When he won the Satsuki Sho.
When he won the Derby.
Always.
Always, always, always.
I had been scared.
What if I destroyed Grandpa’s precious ranch?
What if everyone was hurt or became ill because of my choices?
What if hearing the horses was nothing but my own belief and I had been wrong all along?
I had wondered countless times.
But now…
Rudolf had become an undefeated Triple Crown winner.
He’d accomplished a feat worthy of the name he’d been given.
Sakurai Rudolf.
At last…
At long last…
I felt, just a little, as though I had been forgiven.
I’m glad I inherited the ranch.
I’m glad I’m here.
For the first time, I felt able to think those words.
“…”
My breathing came out strangely.
But I couldn’t stop it.
“…Kid?”
Stone sounded unusually uncertain.
“Why are you crying?”
“…I don’t know.”
I truly didn’t.
But I was crying.
“…Saku, are those tears of joy?”
“Maybe.”
“Humans cry too.”
“Of course they do.”
“Saku, you did well too, didn’t you?”
The broodmares’ voices were strangely gentle.
The foals didn’t understand at all.
“Saku, does it hurt?”
“Are you sad?”
“Are you hungry?”
“Saku, there, there.”
One pushed its muzzle through a gap in the fence, apparently trying to comfort me.
“Thank you.”
When I said that, even more tears came.
No.
I was completely hopeless today.
“Saku,” Crown said in a quieter voice.
“Are you crying?”
“…I am.”
“Good.”
That single word was unusually direct.
But I understood.
Crown was incredibly happy too.
More than anyone, Crown knew how extraordinary an undefeated Triple Crown winner was.
The yearlings were already enjoying themselves.
“Big Brother Rudolf will be so smug when he comes home.”
“He’ll say, ‘I’m amazing,’ a hundred times.”
“Is that all a Triple Crown winner can say?”
“It’s Rudolf. He’ll say it.”
Their conversation finally made me laugh a little.
“…He probably will.”
I must have looked awful.
But that was fine.
I gazed at the television as Chloe-san held up three fingers.
Riiiiing.
“…”
The telephone rang in the main house.
I assumed someone would answer it.
Yayoi-chan and I exchanged looks.
Riiiiing.
It rang again.
“Ah…”
Yayoi-chan’s distant expression was exceptionally easy to read.
“It has begun.”
Immediately afterward, Matsu-san shouted from the main house.
“Saku-san! All the telephones are ringing!”
Ume-san called from inside.
“This one too!”
Take-san shouted from farther away.
“Cars are arriving at the entrance!”
“Already!?”
The race had only just ended!
Reality instantly washed away the quiet emotion.
And yet, the stable somehow felt brighter than before.
It was loud and allowed no time to remain moved.
But it felt like our ranch.
Dreams and reality had been placed side by side with absolutely no delicacy.
As I ran toward the main house, Crown shouted behind me.
“Answer the telephone! And tell everyone Rudolf is the strongest horse in the world!”
“He hasn’t conquered the world!”
“Then the strongest in Japan!”
“It’s still too early to say that!”
But he was a Triple Crown winner.
At least for this moment, everyone at Sakurai Ranch was thinking the same thing with troublesome, overwhelming pride.
Rudolf, you did very well.
Riiiiing.
“Yes, Sakurai Ranch!”
An extremely loud voice came through the receiver.
“DID YOU SEEEEEE THAT!?”
Yes.
I knew it would be you, Kanemochi.