Hokkaido Horse Racing Story.

Chapter 226 Comparative Display
Before we knew it, July had quietly arrived.

Discussions between horse owners and trainers are beginning to increase around the upcoming auctions.

Tasks like where to buy this year's yearlings and current yearlings, how many to buy, and how to include horses with subsidies are not easy.

But at least, Kitano can be said to be enjoying it for now.

On the first day of the selection meeting, he arrived at the Hokkaido market earlier than in previous years.

I parked the pickup truck in a corner of the parking lot and glanced at the time.

There are still nearly thirty minutes until the scheduled meeting.

There's no rush to get off the bus.

He turned around and fumbled around in the back seat for a moment, and when he came back, he was holding two auction brochures in his hands.

One is a list of targets he has identified himself, and the other is a list of recommendations from ranch members.

The number of participating horses this year has increased significantly, forcing buyers and owners to constantly adjust their auction strategies.

He casually flipped through the recommended list of members and quickly closed the manual.

Then, rub the center of your eyebrows with your index finger and thumb.

The ranch's budget is about 50 million yen—

Among the list recommended by the members, except for Lavid's choice which was relatively reliable, the others were completely random.

"Isn't each one around 50 million yen?"

In comparison, even Rachel Ho's recommendation of a winning colt seems to be a reasonable option.

Of course, the reason for recommendation, "I think he should be very good," still made Kitano shake his head.

After quickly eliminating the options that were clearly over the budget, he began marking the remaining candidate targets in the manual.

Having been a horse owner and breeder for some time, I wouldn’t say my vision has improved much, but my assessment of the actual value of racehorses has become much clearer.

In general, the theoretical price of a one-year-old horse is roughly equal to the breeding fee + the cost of feeding the breeding mare during pregnancy + the cost of feeding the foal before it is sold + possible medical expenses + auction fees + pedigree value (α) + added value of the horse's body (β).

It's a formula that looks a bit complicated.

However, the most important part is actually the bloodline.

To be precise, it is the sum of the values ​​of paternal and maternal lineages.

"This kid's physique looks pretty good, but his pedigree is a bit hard to describe."

I marked the corresponding page in the manual and hesitantly added a question mark below it.

Flipping through the manual page by page, I finally managed to integrate all the potential targets before the agreed time.

Grabbing the manual and jumping out of the pickup truck, Kitano did not go straight to the venue as in previous years, but turned to the exhibition area first.

Comparative display means that the auction horses to be sold are gathered in a designated area for display before the auction begins, so that buyers and owners can make a clearer and more intuitive assessment of the horses' condition and characteristics.

Although such advance observation is not of much use to Kitano who has the [detector] in hand.

but--

Thanks to his experience at the Kyushu 1-year-old market and the exchange meeting a few days ago, he is somewhat aware of his reputation among horse owners.

If I were to attend the auction directly as usual, even if I could finally buy it, there might be some unnecessary twists and turns.

Arriving at the exhibition area, someone who was observing the yearling horse in front of him closely raised his head.

"Good morning, President Kitano."

"Good morning, Wada-kun."

At first glance, the former rider, Wada, looked as calm as usual, but his tone sounded a little uneasy.

One day in early July, Kitano contacted a retired jockey who was preparing for the trainer's license exam.

It was originally just a casual exchange of information about the other party's recent situation, but after learning that the other party was preparing for the exam smoothly, Kitano immediately extended an invitation.

"If it's convenient for you, Wada-kun, how about joining me at the auction?"

"Eh, me?" Wada's tone clearly betrayed his surprise.

It is quite common in the horse racing world for trainers to accompany horse owners to auctions to provide advice, or even for trainers to purchase new horses directly on behalf of horse owners.

but--

Hotan was not very prepared for something like this to happen to him.

I was completely caught off guard.

According to unwritten convention, a new horse purchased with the accompaniment or advice of a trainer will usually be placed in the stable of that trainer.

If I fail the exemption exam again this year, my own embarrassment will be a small matter, but it will be terrible if I cause President Kitano to be laughed at by others.

I wouldn’t have made such boasts earlier.

Despite such concerns, Wada finally couldn't resist Kitano's repeated invitations.

"I'm completely clueless about horses, President Kitano."

"Haha, actually I don't know how either."

Wada's tone was somewhat helpless, but Kitano looked relaxed, and the two of them walked towards a one-year-old horse on display.

Then, even before the stable boy pulled up the leash and started the gait demonstration, Kitano continued walking towards another horse not far away.

On the other side, although his expression remained calm, Hetian's eyes kept scanning the one-year-old horses around him.

I can’t see it at all——

Even if we leave aside factors such as bloodline, gait and actual running performance, it takes a lot of time just to observe the horse's physical condition.

Is it really possible for anyone to figure out a horse's potential in just a few seconds?

Just like he said, "just taking a look", Kitano's eyes basically didn't stay on any horse for too long.

"Perhaps it's to prevent others from guessing the real target."

Thinking of this, Hetian also quickly withdrew his gaze.

Kitano in front of him was chatting with the ranch representatives and horse owners while casually scanning the bodies of different horses.

Rather than observing the horse's body, it seems more like I'm here to expand my network.

Even Wada, who was following him, received some business cards by accident.

"Has President Kitano figured this out?"

Walking through the crowded area, Hetian finally asked with some curiosity.

"No, it just happened that those ones just now were not part of my plan."

After saying that, Kitano silently clicked on the next [Detector] in his mind.

There are too many horse racing fraudsters today.

Looking at the horses that have been shown so far, both their attributes as racehorses and their breeding characteristics are only at a fairly average level.

".And then there are the things to note about online auctions."

During the broadcast, the announcement of precautions was almost at the end.

"Let's go in first."

Kitano's tone suddenly became somewhat helpless.

Although he didn't understand what was going on, Wada nodded and followed him to the venue.

On the way, Kitano took out a pen and wrote down the number of the absent horse according to the broadcast.

By the way, mark off the horses that have been explored.

The cicadas chirped as if coming to life, making you feel that this was the season.

It's summer.

　Chapter 2: Late
　　
　
(End of this chapter)