Hokkaido Horse Racing Story.

Chapter 241 The Season of Flow

Chapter 241 The Season of Flow
While Honshu is still experiencing the heat of August, summer in Hokkaido is drawing to a close.

For breeders, the end of the summer auctions signifies the changing of the season.

Next comes autumn.

A day begins at Mejiro Ranch before the sun has completely risen above Mount Hidaka.

As the night grazing group returned to the stables led by Dober, trainers who had come from all over the country to visit also scrutinized the yearlings in the group with appraising eyes.

President Kitano plans to land in central China next year.

After Kitano personally confirmed it, the conjecture that had lasted for several months was finally verified.

Despite the fairly credible rumor that "President Kitano plans to hand over the management of all the horses entering the stable next year to Wada," some trainers from Miura and Kuritō still visited Mejiro Ranch under the guise of offering their congratulations.

This should be an extremely common sight for ranches, especially production ranches.

For Mejiro Ranch, which has been reborn, the seemingly ordinary life before them is anything but easy.

"The three children are scheduled to be trained by the end of the year, with a slowdown at the beginning of the new year. Then, they will undergo relatively intensive training in March. Adjustments will be made around the Golden Week holiday based on their development, and then preparations will begin for their transport to Treson."

Facing several horse trainers from the central government, Kitano calmly pointed to a few ponies in the herd and began to talk about the breeding plan.

Although, he was merely repeating Ogawa Takeshi's plan verbatim.

Whether out of flattery or genuine approval, the two trainers who had come together nodded at the same time.

"As for the other child—"

He had only spoken halfway when Kitano suddenly felt a tightness in his wrist.

Dober, who had already passed by, quietly turned around and bit his sleeve.

"See? I'm still the better one—"

The old woman with deer fur twitched her ears, looking somewhat smug.

The two ponies, one with a tuft of hair and the other with a black deer hair, also stopped.

"Hey! Isn't this a bit inappropriate?"

Hui Xiang blinked his somewhat comical three-white eyes.

Kaguya, who still showed no signs of turning into a reed, yawned as if she hadn't woken up yet, as if saying something like, "What's the big deal?"

It was almost a plea for Dober to let go of his mouth.

"Still so energetic, Dober."

Watching the imposing figure of the leader, Shi Qiaoshi, who had transitioned from a rider to a professional, smiled.

The trainer then looked at the figure following closely behind the deer-mane horse.

"That child is indeed a very skilled horse physique."

"You've fooled another one, Huiyue."

Kitano's expression became somewhat subtle.

"That kid plans to debut in the Menbie area."

"That's right."

Teacher Shi nodded with some regret.

"Those two children's goal is the grassland in the center."

As he spoke, Kitano pointed to the black deer-haired pony in front of him.

His fingertips paused slightly before aiming at the deer-hair daifuku that was slowly approaching from behind.

The tactical layout for the "Radiance" generation was completed long before the summer auction ended.

In recent years, due to the fact that the central stables are generally very full, the connection between raising and entering the stables has become quite important.

Provided there are no injuries or other health problems, horse owners often decide which horses to transport in which month based on the progress of training before February.

After entering March, specific transport schedules and times were arranged, and formal transport procedures were initiated. At the same time, communication was also conducted with the pre-arranged stables to confirm relevant receiving matters.

With a strong foundation in speed, Hikari, a foal born in a full bottle, will be sent directly to one of the training centers on Honshu Island in April or May after his development is complete.

As for the specific stables, that depends on the results of this year's trainer's license trial.

In any case, under the JRA racing system, which is different from NAR, it is necessary to consciously bring two-year-old horses into the stable earlier.

"For horses that aim for the center, it might be better to train them in the stable first and then find the right time to race them."

I received the same advice from Oga Takeshi and Kimura.

Nishiken and Mejiro Ranch can't compare to specialized breeding ranches, let alone the two training centers, Kuri-dong and Miura.

Another reason for debuting early is the competition for the right to leave.

In the Central Grasslands, where competition is far fiercer than in the local areas, successfully escaping high-bounty races is no easy feat.

For Huixiang, whose range was already awkward and whose options for relocation were limited, the situation became even more dire.

The goal is to at least pass the gate test before the new Malaysian team is formed, so that they can make a smooth debut in the summer.

However, the early summer season is too difficult for most high-producing horses.

During the transition, it was confirmed that there were no obvious physical or mental disabilities, that they possessed sufficient fighting spirit, and most importantly—

Gain a basic understanding of the suitability of the distance and track.

For a two-year-old horse aiming for the summer season, all three are indispensable.

It must be said that the detector was a great help.

Another key player in the "Ki" generation, the promising foal of Ki Maru, will only be moved to another race after ensuring adequate development, especially in terms of the horse's physique.

The competition will likely begin sometime later in the fall.

Huixing, who also aimed for the grassland route, was assigned to the Summer Transport Group along with Huimaru.

"Let's run it a bit and see."

At least compared to the other two horse-themed con artists, Huixing can still run a little bit.

Although there is no rush to participate in official competitions, there will be no deliberate delay in the debut battle if training progresses smoothly.

When Hattori from Saga sent him a message saying that "the chances of debuting are far more than 100%", Kitano quickly agreed to start arranging the debut battle.

Horse racing is essentially a form of relative competition.

The more complete side will always defeat the unprepared opponent.

"This is the child of a national idol."

At this moment, Madoka, who had barely spoken since arriving at the ranch, broke the silence.

"It looks like a very nice horse."

This trainer, who was also originally a rider, looked at the ponies with very gentle eyes.

The little horse timidly stopped in its tracks.

Only when Dober, at the front of the procession, neighed urgingly did the little pony continue its shuffling journey toward the stable.

They neither know how to refuse to move low-quality horses into the stables, nor do they know how to give up on racehorses that can't perform.

The trainer, whose average number of races is said to follow this principle.

As for the stables' performance, it was, unsurprisingly, dismal.

This time, I came with fellow horse trainer Ishibashi, mainly to record a talk show about "Yojun mares in my memories".