Allrighty. I made it to the Hood after getting bushwhacked by the mollys and corsairs and their vile cruise disruptors coming out of the jump gate. I landed, sold the goods I had tractored in from their corpses, and rounded out my clydesdale-turned-gunship with a much-needed shield upgrade. Then I went to the bar, and met the dude, and accepted the race and all that (figuring, what the heck, all the ships are the same speed anyways).

Unpleasant surprise- the dagger always, always hits cruise before I do, regardless of how fast I hit the cruise key (even if I button-mash it to oblivion before starting).

Unpleasant surprise mk.2- my poor clydesdale can't make those tight turns at cruise speed.

So I'm left with a most annoying conclusion: Now I have to trade in a ship which I've just finished upgrading over several hours of molly-killing, replace it with a fighter, and blow the better part of the 22,000 credits I've accumulated trying to get it back.

Isn't there some way of beating this twerp in a freighter? I can't imagine the game forcing you to lose several hours of hard work and tons of equipment just so you can race someone, unless there's a MASSIVE cash reward for beating him. I mean, come on, this is complete bull!

Reaper: $200,000,000.
Rockets: $100,000
The look on that pilot's face when you launch a full pod of screamers up his tailpipe: priceless