Hokkaido Horse Racing Story.

Chapter 233 Descendants of Idols

"It's the neighbor's horse again—"

There's a slightly subtle feeling.

Sato Ranch in the Honki area is only five kilometers away from Mejiro Ranch in Mishikifumi.

Due to prolonged operational difficulties, it appears to be under immense pressure.

I overheard this rumor at a town council meeting not long ago.

Now it seems that things are probably not as simple as the rumors suggest.

"Otherwise, they probably wouldn't have put this horse up for auction."

Turning to a certain page in the auction booklet, Kitano marked it with several circles without hesitation.

The father was merely a local racehorse in Iwate Prefecture, and the racing record of his foals born to the same mother could only be described as a complete mess.

However, it attracted the attention of many buyers and horse owners even before the auction season began.

To successfully acquire it, you'll probably have to spend an amount exceeding its theoretical value.

Kitano sat down in the same corner as last month's featured event and started fiddling with his phone.

"Have you decided on your first target, Boss?"

Sitting down next to Kitano, Zep, who was like a city wall blocking the view of others, asked in a low voice.

"That's right, our first target today is this child."

Kitano turned the screen slightly outward.

"Hey! This—"

The hoof trimmer's startled movements immediately attracted a lot of attention.

"terribly sorry!"

Somewhat comically, Zep covered his mouth and kept apologizing to the horse owners who were looking over.

Once the attention in the room had shifted slightly, he immediately continued the previous topic.

"This is just too much!"

Even though their Japanese had improved considerably over the past year, the Germans couldn't find the right words to describe Kitano's actions at that moment.

“Absurd”.

In the end, he couldn't help but blurt out his mother tongue.

However, Zepp quickly struck his back with almost murderous force.

"Sorry, Boss."

Seeing Kitano's somewhat distorted eyebrows, the German scratched his head and belatedly apologized.

"nothing."

Weird.

However, there are more important things to do right now.

"This bloodline is truly remarkable."

As my gaze swept across the pedigree chart, I couldn't help but utter such a sigh.

"Blood ties are the essence of horse racing—"

Several familiar horse owners often said this.

It must be said that there is some truth to that.

Before turning to the next page, Kitano glanced at the name on the manual one last time.

"Idols for All 2026"

The mother was a reed-haired horse named "Idol of the Masses," and the father was that reed-haired monster—

【Oguri Hat】

In the eyes of some passionate horse racing fans, this pedigree is a treasure that cannot be measured in monetary terms.

However, Kitano had other reasons for purchasing it.

[Idols for All 2026]

【Female 1】

【Reed hair】

[Father: Imperial Pegasus]

[Father: Xiaoli Hat]

【Reed hair】

【speed】

[Instantaneous Power]

【? 】

【? 】

Even ignoring [Hairy] and the two undiscovered traits, [Speed] and [Instantaneous Power] are still very valuable breeding traits.

"Even if it costs more, it's still worth it."

Despite making this decision, Idol of All Time was ranked 2026rd on the first day.

It would only be on the evening when the auction was almost over.

Of course, Kitano wouldn't just sit there and wait.

Despite the unexpected bonus of the "Idol for All 2026" event, the original tasks could not be relaxed. Before the auction officially began, Market Manager Furukawa reiterated the precautions that were highly similar to those for last month's selection event.

However, the summer auction seems to have been streamlined quite a bit, and the section on awarding saddles that used to be displayed on the screen no longer appears to be visible.

No sooner had the market manager of Furukawa stepped down from the display area than the first horse to make its debut emerged from the passageway as if it couldn't wait.

"How about starting with five million two hundred thousand? Five million two hundred thousand—"

The enthusiasm had already been exhausted at last month's selection event, and it took the auctioneer quite a while before someone finally raised their hand to bid.

After flipping through several pages of the manual, the prices on the table were still climbing at a rather slow pace.

"Six million eight hundred thousand to thank this guest, is anyone willing to offer seven million?"

At this moment, Kitano suddenly stopped turning the page and fell into thought.

"In the Southern Hemisphere, there seems to be a type of stallion that can be compatible with this bloodline."

Turning back to the previous page, which had already been skipped, it was marked "pending" again.

"Eight million four hundred thousand, thank you to this guest."

Just then, the sound of a small mallet being struck came from the stage.

Looking up, I saw that the number "0001" still followed "No" on the electronic screen.

The auction is likely still a long way off.

Inside the venue, where the air conditioning was still fairly adequate, some of the exhausted horse buyers began to feel their eyelids getting heavy.

A series of yawns rang in my ears.

As if it were contagious, Kitano followed suit and yawned widely.

After finally getting to the first anticipated target, my slightly tense shoulders quickly relaxed again.

"So, someone who's bad at muddy terrain has this kind of characteristic? I didn't know."

My knowledge continues to grow.

The midday sun was still very strong, shining directly through the window onto the wooden fence below the "HOKKAIDO HORSE SALE" sign.

My eyelids began to feel heavy, and the sunlight, divided into several sections by the window, seemed to be moving to the right at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Only after the slanting light completely disappeared and the artificial orange and white lights came on did the intense drowsiness subside slightly.

The long day finally came to an end, and night fell.

Some of the buyers who were about to fall asleep quickly perked up and looked toward the entrance to the display aisle.

The little horse, which showed almost no signs of asparagus, timidly took its first steps.

"Number 193, Idol of All 2026, Female, Ash Hair, born on February 17th, Father is Imperial Pegasus, Mother is that Oguri Hat!"

Despite his voice being noticeably hoarse after a full day of bidding, the auctioneer unconsciously raised his voice.

"What do you think of the price of two million yen? Two million—"

On the first day of the summer auction, where starting bids generally exceeded six million yen, the fact that "Idol of All Time 2026" only had two million yen seemed somewhat out of place.

This is despite the production ranch significantly raising the auction price.

Several buyers raised their arms almost simultaneously.

"Oh!"

“Oh eh—”

The sounds of bidding rose and fell.

"Okay, two million eight hundred thousand, two million nine hundred thousand, thank you for the three million offer from the horse owner."

The number of raised arms gradually decreased.

After the price on the electronic screen exceeded three million yen, only a few horse owners, visible to the naked eye, remained bidding in the arena.

"Oh!"

The horse owner, sporting a goatee and piercing eyes, gritted his teeth and shouted out his offer.

"Three million four hundred thousand, three million five hundred thousand, thanks to the online horse owner for the offer."

"Guohee—"

After several other horse owners at the scene gave up, the goatee-bearded horse owner still stubbornly raised his arm.

"Three million ninety-four million yen! Isn't there a higher price than four million? Four million two hundred thousand—"

"Oh!"

Just as Kitano put down his phone and was about to breathe a sigh of relief, another horse owner from the other side of the venue joined the bidding.

Zep, who was standing next to him, seemed to have something to say, but Kitano ignored him.

Continue to raise the price.

"Four million eight hundred thousand yen—are there any other offers?"

"Oh!"

As if he were vying with the elusive online buyer, the horse owner raised his arm once again.

"Five million, five million two hundred thousand! Five million four hundred thousand yen. What do you think of that price?"

The hall remained silent until the gavel struck.

"call--"

Kitano let out a sigh that sounded like a sigh of relief.

"Luckily, it's a summer auction."

(End of this chapter)