homestretch 復習

日曜日に東京競馬場で３歳最強馬決定戦が行われました。３番人気のマカヒキは, サトノダイアモンドと僅差の争いを繰り広げ, 見事に優勝を収めました。

Makahiki wins Derby in tight race

The Japan News
Third-favorite Makahiki won a neck-and-neck battle against Satono Diamond to grab the Japanese Derby title on Sunday at Tokyo Racecourse, becoming the champion among this year’s 3-year-old horses.

The top three finishers in last month’s Satsuki-sho, the first of the three Classic Races for colts, also dominated the top of the Japanese Derby electronic board. However, their final order was different Sunday, with Makahiki avenging his runner-up finish last month.

The colt ran the 2,400-meter course in 2 minutes 24 seconds, finishing a nose ahead of Satono Diamond in the field of 18 horses. Satsuki-sho winner Dee Majesty, which entered the race as the favorite, finished third, a half-length further behind.

Makahiki ran sharply down the homestretch to take the lead, with Satono Diamond following closely behind. Satono Diamond cut Makahiki’s lead stride by stride, and the two crossed the finish line for a photo finish.

“I rode my horse down the final stretch hoping we’d make it,” jockey Yuga Kawada said in a TV interview. “The decision on the photo finish took a long time, so I was filled with emotion when No. 3 [Makahiki’s post number] appeared on the top of the electronic board.”

以下省略

http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0002980402

本日気になった表現は “homestretch” です。

まず『新英和大辞典』(第五版, 研究社)を引くと, 「1. (米)ホームストレッチ(競争の最後の直線コース; cf. backstretch)」とありました。また「2. 仕事[事業]の最終部分, 追い込み」という意味をもち, “go into the homestretch” で「大詰めに入る」と表現できることがわかりました。

Merriam-Webster.comに “homestretch” は “the part of a racetrack between the last turn and the finish line” と定義されています。

今回の記事では, マカヒキがレースのラストスパートで, 後者に追い越されまいと駆け抜けた様子が伝わってきます。(Cayu)