Hokkaido Horse Racing Story.

Chapter 123 Dream Garden

May 2, 2026, Churchill Green.

The continuous heavy rain soaked the track into a muddy and unsuitable field.

"Mr. Kitano."

Before going to the preparation room, Wada found Kitano standing at the door of the stable looking at the rain.

The rider's lips moved, and his words became blurred in the rain.

Soon after, the horse owner nodded.

Turning around and walking into the heavy rain, only determination remained on Hetian's face.

A few minutes later, controversial trainer Barfouda was the first to leave the stables.

Following behind him was a group of more than ten people in formal attire, in addition to the one who wished you well from Ichibanzha.

Then came the second and third rounds.
Aimon Xin, the trainer who was leaving the horse for the fourth time, was almost emotionally broken before leaving, and his fingers were shaking as he made the sign of the cross.

In such an occasion, no one would laugh at his gaffe.

"Let's go too."

Kitano turned up his collar and took a deep breath.

Then, he took a step forward.

At first, this may have been a product of horse racing's imperfect times.

But 152 years later, the event has become an inseparable part of the Kentucky Derby.

Any team that dares to challenge this event needs to cross the mud of Churchill Park and walk towards the open-air stables in front of the parade ring amid the noise of the mountain torrent in the stands.

Regardless of people or horses.

Walking from the stable to the track, the rain mixed with mud quickly soaked Kitano's leather shoes.

The reporter who was interviewing them was wearing a raincoat and quickly came up to them.

"You are the first mares to challenge this event since 2010. Now that you are here, could you please tell us how you feel?"

The trainer's footsteps were sometimes shallow and sometimes deep, and the microphone in the reporter's hand had to shake in sync with his body.

"Just standing here makes me excited, but I think we can do better!"

Huangshan panted as he showed off his patchwork of Japanese English.

"Okay, good luck to you, Barren Mountain."

The reporter hurried to the next camp.

The interview ends here.

A decent gate position, advantages in physique and weight, impressive forward performances, and engaging interactions with fans during open training.
All this made Mejiro Sakuya the star of the Kentucky Derby Day, with many people willing to shout her name to cheer her on.

But that's not enough to make it the favorite in the race.

Fifth Popularity——

For the only mare among the twenty runners, this seems a reasonable ranking.

However, neither Kitano nor his team were satisfied with this.

“We can do better!”

As he said this, Kitano stuck his head over the railing and accepted a horse fan's invitation to take a photo.

Not far away, another horse fan seemed to want to play the song "Legend of Horse Jump" on the saxophone in his hand.

However, it might be because of the rainy day, or maybe I was just too nervous, but after several attempts, I only produced seriously out-of-tune staccato notes.

But Kitano still gave him a thumbs up.

"MEJIRO——"

Amidst the hysterical shouts in my ears, there was suddenly a burst of orderly cheering.

Kitano turned his head to look at the stands, and then he saw the banner held high in the rain.

He opened his mouth to say something, but the team behind him had already arrived.

So he could only wave his arms hurriedly in the direction of the banner.

Leaving the muddy track, we passed through a short underground passage and arrived at the stable for the final adjustments.

Under the pouring rain, Kitano's heartbeat couldn't help but accelerate.

"Running for the roses!"

The old woman in a wide-brimmed hat clenched her fists and screamed in front of the camera with a frenzy that was completely inconsistent with her outfit.

The horse fans in the center of the ring screamed and applauded her.

The rain is getting heavier.

Among the crowd in the appearance circle, the horse fans leaning against the railing on the second floor, all dressed in bright clothes, were exposed to the rain, and no one thought of holding an umbrella.

In the preparation room on the other side, Hetian pursed his lips and wrapped the black ribbon around his wrist.

Two weeks later would be the eighth anniversary of his passing. He hoped to use a victory to proudly report back to the great operas that had passed away.

"Amen."

The Venezuelan rider Casaluano also opened his eyes and ended his prayer.

The two of them stood up almost simultaneously.

"Senior Wada, this way."

Sakai grabbed Wada as he was heading for the exit and pointed to the corner of the preparation room: "You forgot to take the photo."

Several riders who had already taken their positions gave him friendly smiles.

Norihiro Yokoyama and Li Muhua, who also represented Japan, laughed out loud without hesitation.

"Come over here."

Old Yokoyama waved to Wada to sit in front of him, then patted him on the shoulder.

"You have to work harder, Ryuji!"

A photographer wearing a suit in Kentucky Derby colors raised his camera.

Facing the camera, the riders in colorful clothes smiled to varying degrees.

The corners of Hetian's mouth rose slightly, and his upper body was straight.

After the shutter click, they have become part of history.

While waiting, Ogawa Masaru finished saddling Mejiro Sakuya in the open-air stable.

The trainer stood outside the stable, half of his body soaked by the rain, checking the condition of the bit.

Kitano in the corner had a calm expression on his face, but the bowler hat in his hand was slightly deformed from being rubbed.

Kimura felt dizzy and had to press his body against the wall in his heavy tuxedo.

Mejiro Sakuya stuck out half of her tongue and looked at the scene in front of her curiously with her three white eyes.

As the body swayed, the red bow woven into the mane swayed.

Ogawa Kana stepped forward, tied a slightly loose bow again, and then rubbed the deer-haired horse's tongue.

"We'll be leaving soon."

The tall farrier squatted right behind the stable, admiring his masterpiece with a smug look on his face.

Just last week, he managed to move the departure point of Mejiro Sakuya's right hind hoof back another 1mm.

And the horseshoes on all four hooves are custom-made for the Kentucky Derby.

"You won't find a better horseshoe than this!"

After completing this work, the German hoof trimmer wished his already high nose could reach the sky.

Although he didn't quite understand, Kitano still expressed his gratitude to the technician for his cooperation at the time.

At this moment, a bald reporter wearing glasses cast his gaze over from outside the stable.

Instead of approaching a trainer like his local or Japanese counterparts, the reporter asked Kitano for an interview.

Putting on his bowler hat, Kitano followed the reporter to a location slightly away from the stables.

"Mr. Kitano, how do you feel about being able to participate in an event like the Kentucky Derby in just your second year as a horse owner?"

the reporter asked in his lukewarm Cockney English.

"very good."

Kitano smiled, pointed to the sky and said, "Just like the weather now."

The reporter looked at him in surprise, but still wrote the answer truthfully on the memo.

“As a horse owner who has experienced such a string of successes in such a short period of time, what insights can you share with us?”

The reporter asked the next question.

“This sport needs more young people to get involved.”

After quickly reviewing his not-so-long experience as a horse owner, Kitano answered without hesitation.

"We need to get them into the arena and not just drink, bet or focus on winning or losing the game itself."

"We want them to really fall in love with horse racing."

Having said that, Kitano pointed to the busy people in the stable.

"In this way, they may become the same as you, me or them one day in the future."

The cheers were approaching.

The colorful winning uniforms cut through the rain like a rainbow.

　Thanks to Guguowuhandong for the 100 starting coins reward, and thanks to Jiuka for the 100 starting coins reward.

　　Thank you for your support

　　Ciallo～(∠ω<)⌒★
　　
　
(End of this chapter)