Hokkaido Horse Racing Story.

Chapter 207 The Belated Cherry Blossom Season
There are less than ten days left in May.

The season is heading towards the hot summer, and most of the cherry blossoms on Honshu Island have already withered.

"Hey! There are cherry blossoms in a place like this—"

Rachel Ho, who was patrolling along the edge of the pasture as usual, suddenly widened her eyes, as if she had discovered something extraordinary.

Between the torii gate and the worship hall of the simple shrine outside the ranch, the branches of a tree that she had always believed to be a beech tree were suddenly dotted with a few faint cherry blossoms.

The next moment, shutter sounds rang out one after another.

"Rachel-senpai, have you only noticed it now?"

Kikuchi, who also stopped, had a hint of helplessness in his tone.

"Because it never bloomed before—"

"Hokkaido's cherry blossom season is in May."

Kikuchi said this, also looking up in surprise.

"But it's still blooming at the end of May, which is rare even in Hokkaido."

She also raised her phone.

【@mika_makuchi:

It's cherry blossoms!!!
But it didn’t fall like snow (laughs)～】

As soon as his fingertips lit up the screen, Kitano's vision was occupied by this somewhat cheerful tweet.

Obviously cherry blossoms are cherry blossoms, and snow is snow——

Who said this?

I shook my head to get rid of my wandering thoughts and refocused my gaze back on the phone screen.

No unread reminders.

Normally, while three-year-olds are still competing in various preliminary battles for their spots in the Classic, two-year-olds have already entered the stables.

Today is one month after the cherry blossom viewing and two days before the Oaks Competition.

Unlike many new breeders, he did not try to create his own "unique theory", fully introduce European and American breeding templates, and actively seek support from Nishiken and Xinsheng Ranch.

This is Kitano's answer to the cultivation issue.

"You absolutely cannot do whatever you want."

The obsession with nurturing may come from a certain memory.

In his final moments, his grandfather, who had difficulty even speaking, seemed to have suddenly regained his strength. He held Kitano's hand and murmured the same words over and over again:

"The horse's physique isn't great, and the training times aren't ideal."

The ranch that had bred countless famous horses with its original "Mejiro-ryu Training" received such praise from its trainer one day.

If there is anything more difficult to accept than bankruptcy, it is probably this one.

"That child will be absolutely fine."

After hearing this judgment from Kana Ogawa, who was actually responsible for most of the training, Kitano hesitated to send the jointly developed star ship to Saga.

certainly--

Although it is called joint training, the difficult part was basically completed under the guidance of the Ogawa family and Kimura.

As originally planned, the deer-hair colt, whose father was Golden Ship and whose mother was Dragon King, was sent to the newly opened Hattori Shigefu stables.

Earlier in March, Xingchuan had received the evaluation of "good development completion" from Hattori.

Even so, the official entry into the stable was postponed until today.

Of course, there are considerations about the horse's physical condition, but Kitano's excessive paranoia may be the main reason.

After a part-time job that was as long as Halloween night carrying a billboard on the streets of Shibuya, I finally received a reply.

The index finger poked at it almost the moment the pop-up window popped up.

[Starship-kun has arrived safely~(^O^)]

Soon, a picture was sent below the concise text.

The obviously overweight Hattori and the Indian stable boy stood on either side, making old-fashioned scissor hand gestures.

The starship, sandwiched between the two, looked at the camera calmly.

[Finally, just to confirm, there's nothing to change about President Kitano's name, right?]

[Yes, please.]

After sending this message, his fingertips seemed to be trembling slightly.

Zep, who was sitting on the sofa not far away, also clenched his cell phone and held his breath nervously.

"You must pass—"

"We absolutely have to ship it!" On the other side, Hattori leisurely led the starship to the common area between several stables.

Unlike the horse-producing region of Hokkaido and the fiercely competitive southern Kanto, horse racing in Saga is a game of "old men and old ladies."

In Saga, most trainers only have 20 to 30 horses under management.

A guy like him who just opened his business only managed less than ten racehorses.

Among the two-year-old horses, Starship was the only one who wanted to be put in a box for protection.

"Four hundred and sixty-three kilograms, it seems like not much has changed since the transport!"

The horses were weighed before being stabled on a shared scale, and the trainer took a photo showing the weight numbers with a happy look on his face.

Almost the next second after it was sent, the message became "read".

【OK! 】

Sent from Kitano is an original sticker of Tanaka Stables.

"This is really true."

Looking at the picture of himself wearing the victory suit and making an "OK" gesture, Hattori couldn't help but smile bitterly.

At this time, several horse trainers who heard the noise also came over.

"It's Mejiro's horse, and it was actually delivered to a guy like you, Hattori."

"How about I exchange Luqilu-chan with you? Just give the child to me?"

"He seems like a pretty good character. Those guys in my stable always have to struggle a long time to get on the scale."

Even though there were many people around him, Xingchuan still had a calm expression that was unique to the Dragon King bloodline.

"Okay, okay, the child hasn't been registered yet."

After smilingly driving away the trainers who came to join in the fun, especially the ones from the Majima family, Hattori picked up the leash and walked towards his own stable.

"I'm sorry to have you suffer here."

Hattori said apologetically as he opened the baffle door.

Even among the many stables with limited funds, the average standard in Saga is relatively poor.

Stopping in front of the stable, Xingchuan raised his head as if to confirm something.

Compared to the luxurious stables at Mejiro Ranch, the environment in front of us can only be described as "simple".

Despite this, the stable was kept very tidy, and clean water and feed had been prepared in advance.

Blinking his eyes, which were as spiritual as his father's, Starship took a step forward.

Seeing the deer-haired pony lowering its head to eat the feed, Hattori finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"From today on, please take good care of him."

The new trainer gave these instructions to the stable boy.

Then, he walked towards the training center of Saga Racecourse with a happy face.

Once you arrive here, you must confirm whether it is the racehorse recorded in the pedigree certificate based on the characteristics, and then conduct formal racehorse registration.

"The child is finally here."

Seeing the figure almost jumping into the training center, the staff in charge of registration asked with a smile.

"Yes."

Hattori nodded his head heavily, a smile from the heart on his face.

"My name is Mejiro Noah, and in European characters it's Mejiro Noah."

After handing over the information he had prepared early in the morning, Hattori spoke word by word, fearing that his tongue would suddenly become tied.

"The name comes from the mythical Noah's Ark, and it also carries the meaning of 'ship' from my father's name."

"I see. It's a very good name."

On May 21, 5, the name of the horse Starship was officially registered in NAR.

His name is Mejiro Noah.

----------

"[Time report]

Sottis, who has three NHK Mile Cups under his belt, will plan his events around the Rose Trophy, with the main goal being the Autumn Flower Festival.

Yasuhiro Tanaka: "She performed very well (in the mixed event). Her growth will be more obvious after the summer. We look forward to her further performance in the second half of the year."

——《n○tkeiba》

(End of this chapter)