Hokkaido Horse Racing Story.

Chapter 214 Ruo and Ruo

"Hello, President Kitano!"

With a loud greeting, the tanned young rider crossed the gate area that was being set up and trotted over.

"This is Rider Fei Tian. He will be riding Noah for this gate test."

Hattori started to introduce them.

Aito Tobita - the "genius young man" of Saga, Kitano is no stranger to this name.

As early as two years ago, I had heard praise for this local rider from Master Tanaka and Hattori, who was a rider at the time.

He achieved 100 NAR wins in just 268 days after his debut, breaking the record set by local strongmen such as Ando, ​​Mikamimoto and Yoshiwara.

"A very talented young rider."

This was Master Tanaka's evaluation of him at the time.

"Please give me your guidance, Rider Tobita."

Kitano nodded, smiled, and bowed to the young rider in front of him.

"This is me, President Kitano!"

The other party quickly bowed even more in return.

While the staff were rearranging the gates, the three of them chatted about horse racing.

"In 21, Tobita-kun represented West Japan and won the Wakasha Riders Tournament."

Hattori said as he leaned over to adjust the abdominal belt.

"It was just a narrow win due to luck."

Faced with the sudden praise, the confusion and shyness on Tobita's face obviously overwhelmed the joy.

Kitano had some understanding of the Wakashi Riders Conference that the two people mentioned.

To put it simply, it is a limited series similar to the World Star Rider Competition, but only for "newcomers" to participate.

It seems that its popularity is not very high.

As for why Kitano knew about this activity which was relatively unpopular even in the eyes of industry insiders——

During a casual chat during my last visit to Mejiro Ranch, Old Yokoyama jokingly mentioned Takeshi's embarrassing experience of taking advantage of a loophole in the rules to participate in the competition twice, but losing to local riders for two consecutive years.

"At the time, I was thinking about retiring as a horse trainer. Otherwise, in a few years, this guy might not even be able to ride a horse anymore."

"I'm a late bloomer."

The manzai-like dialogue between the Yokoyama father and son left a deep impression on Kitano at the time.

"Anyway, it's still impressive that we were able to win."

Back to reality, Kitano's expression became a little subtle.

As if to change the subject, he then asked about Mejiro Noah's condition.

"The handling is amazing. It doesn't look like a racehorse that hasn't even debuted yet."

Hattori took over the conversation, patted the deer-haired horse's neck and kept praising it.

Among the six racehorses managed by Kon, the two-year-old Mejiro Noah is ranked at the top in terms of handling alone.

Although the running gait is still a bit immature, one can already feel the unique momentum of a mature racehorse.

Judging from his temperament alone, Noah is the kind of racehorse that gives trainers and riders the least worry.

"It feels amazing in the hand, and the back feels quite soft."

After saying this, a hint of obvious hesitation flashed across Tobita's face.

"But... I always feel it's a little too soft."

After saying that, the young rider lowered his head in panic again.

Pointing out a racehorse's flaws to its owner in person before the actual ride or even the commission has been accepted is an absolute taboo.

When I first became a rider, my mentor, Master San Oda, gave me similar teachings.

However, he decided to answer truthfully.

"That's exactly what happened."

Kitano nodded, an expression of agreement on his face. Choosing Hattori's stables in Saga was precisely for this reason.

"The gate is done!"

At this moment, a shout from the staff broke through the air.

Mejiro Noah participated in the fifth race walk of the last 900 meters this morning, and another two-year-old horse also participated in the test.

"Then I'll leave it to you for a moment, Tobita Rider."

After bowing to the young rider again, Kitano turned around and patted the deer-haired horse's neck.

"You must work hard."

After saying that, he turned and walked towards the best observation point in front of the gate, smiling and nodding to the trainer who was looking at him curiously.

"Good morning, President Kitano. I finally get the chance to meet you."

The gray-haired trainer was exceptionally friendly, with a smile on his face that was even a little creepy.

"Hello, Mr. Majima."

Kitano stepped forward again and bowed slightly to him.

"Please just call me Majima. My good-for-nothing son is grateful to President Kitano for his support."

This local legendary horse trainer, who was described by Majima Daisuke as "quite serious and not very joking", now held Kitano's wrist with an exaggerated smile that seemed to be passed down in Majima's school.

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, the two finally walked together to the observation position in front of the gate.

However, I didn't miss anything because of this.

Although the venue had been set up long ago, it still took quite a long time before the test began.

Another racehorse participating in the test from Majima Motoku's stable showed great resistance to entering the gate.

With the efforts of three stable boys pulling and pushing, the uncooperative reed-haired horse was finally stuffed into the gate with difficulty.

Raising his head, Kitano cast a somewhat nervous look at the gate.

After closing the baffle behind the gate, the stable attendants quickly bent down and spread out to both sides of the track.

"Cleared—"

After the gate popped open, the reed-haired horse was obviously stunned for a moment before taking another step.

Mejiro Noah in front came out of the gate very cleanly and neatly, and almost from the beginning he had already opened up a gap of two or three lengths over Ashima.

“The movements are very standard!”

Hattori said with a happy look on his face.

Kitano, on the other hand, secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Go through the gate."

After leaving the gate, Mejiro Noah was not disturbed by the surrounding environment and quickly followed the instructions of the rider on the saddle.

It seems that the deer-hair horse is not used to running on sandy ground, so its running posture seems a bit clumsy.

Despite this, the onlookers can still feel the seriousness of "Ah, you ran well after all."

Soon, the deer-hair horse came running from the opposite track, and the gap between it and the reed-hair horse behind it became increasingly larger.

In the stands, a few horse racing fans who had entered the venue were waving their arms desperately.

However, as if they were worried about disrupting the testing process, they tacitly remained silent.

"Very good--"

It wasn't until Mejiro Noah crossed the finish line with somewhat unsteady steps that belated cheers finally broke out.

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“【@KW7MBql9fYjANgE:

Mejiro Noah!!! He ran very hard and passed the ability test with a beautiful start from the gate.

Looking forward to his future performance]

——Chi Xingzhou
(End of this chapter)