Hokkaido Horse Racing Story.

Chapter 242 Fools and Fools

The last day of August.

Because it was my weekly weigh-in day, I got up a little earlier than usual.

Except for Dober and Huibang, the inspection and weighing of the other horses were completed smoothly.

In other words-

This problem involving both the elderly and the young has made progress exceptionally difficult.

The moment the numbers on the electronic screen finally froze, Kitano quickly jotted them down.

"A weight gain or loss of 0.4 kilograms is really impressive, Sister Duobo."

In response, the deer-haired horse snorted lightly.

His smug expression was almost as if he were saying, "Of course."

It's unusual that he didn't lose his temper.

On the other side, Zep ducked to avoid the chestnut pony's back kick.

“This shouldn’t happen.”

The German muttered under his breath, "This shouldn't be happening," and then bent down to begin a new round of inspections.

Huibang flicked its tail impatiently.

The chestnut horse's body, bathed in the morning sun, looked as if it were draped in a shimmering golden coat.

The hoof wall is growing normally, the leg shape is impeccable, and the hoof spacing is within the ideal range.

This was all confirmed during the auction.

"At least in terms of general suitability, it shouldn't be wrong."

I attended the auction a few weeks ago with the confidence of a horseshoe expert.

"The way Huibin runs seems a bit strange."

We received similar feedback from Asayama.

As the only two people on the ranch who could be considered veterans, Zepp and Lavid quickly launched an investigation.

As Asayama reported, the result was indeed as bad as Hirahama had described; Hirahama's running performance was rather underwhelming.

It is neither the "Huixiang" style of running with all four hooves moving randomly, nor the "Ata" style of running lightly.

To put it simply, they were as clumsy as an infant just learning to walk.

While it's not a big problem when walking, it becomes quite noticeable if you increase your speed even slightly.

"Your shoulder joint is normal, your wrist joint is normal, and your hip joint angle is excellent, so why can't you run?"

As the inspection progressed, the hoof trimmer became increasingly focused.

Huibang's ears slowly sank down as if they were accumulating a tank of anger.

"In a few days we'll be switching back to daytime grazing, so we can't let them eat too much hay at once."

As Kitano took the lead rope and headed towards the stable, he spoke to Dober as if they were having a chat.

Although it seemed like he was just talking to himself, a look of disdain quickly appeared in Deer-haired Horse's eyes.

You must have understood.

"I see--"

Just then, a hoof trimmer's shout suddenly rang in my ears.

Deer-haired horse seized the opportunity and bit Kitano's collar.

Kitano's eye twitched slightly.

Because they dared not break free forcefully, they could only stagger awkwardly as the head-shaking motion, which appeared elegant yet powerful, tossed them around.

The already loosely fitted shirt collar immediately began to creak under the strain.

After finally getting rid of it, the part near the neckline seemed to have been stretched quite a bit.

It also came with a pool of obviously wet drool.

"What do you understand?"

He turned his head and asked the hoof trimmer in a somewhat subtle tone.

"I've figured out why Hikihama can't run!"

The hoof trimmer puffed out his chest in pride.

Even the chestnut-haired pony, which was about to unleash another back kick, perked up its ears in curiosity.

"This child is actually an idiot!"

The next moment, as if enraged, the little horse turned around and retaliated with a headbutt. Zep, who hadn't expected the change of tactics, was hit squarely.

"Ahem. Anyway, we've found the reason why Hikihama's footsteps were so strange!"

Rubbing his slightly aching chest, the hoof trimmer stubbornly maintained the air of "I'm a specialist."

"Although the horse's physique accounts for at least 80% of the factors related to its gait, the influence of its mind cannot be ignored."

"I have heard Mr. Xuhe mention this before."

"Right, right—it's said that Jin-Wang was too stupid to learn how to breathe properly, so he had to run short-distance races where he could run in one breath."

"That sounds a bit exaggerated."

As he spoke, Kitano turned to look at the chestnut-haired pony.

No matter how you look at it, he shouldn't be an idiot—

However, the dual triangular fitness provided by the system cannot be faked.

If we exclude factors related to horse physiology, Zepp's "stupidity" argument might actually have a considerable degree of credibility.

During casual conversations after work in the morning, this conjecture was agreed upon by many people.

but--

The debate over how to make real-world racehorses smarter remained unresolved until the very end.

"excuse me."

Unlike the various horse trainers who had visited for the first time in the past few days, Tanaka walked into the ranch's rest room with great ease.

Kitano gestured for the trainer, who was wearing a baseball cap despite the sweltering heat, to sit down, and then quietly turned down the air conditioning in the room.

"It's still not too late to register in Pegasus."

After accepting the teacup from Zep and nodding his thanks, Tanaka began to speak.

"Let's just run the race according to the original schedule."

Kitano smiled and shook his head.

For experienced travelers in Hokkaido who don't have plans for an expedition, the "Great Cosmos Memorial - Red Brick Memorial - Asahidake View - Mizuho View - Doei Memorial" route is almost a must-do.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it the ancient horse racing route of the Daoying Horse Racing Road.

At the last camp meeting, when Tanaka proposed the idea of ​​leaving for Asahi-gake-sho, it was rejected by Kitano, the horse owner.

While the 1600-meter distance, which is 400 meters shorter than the Red Brick Memorial, is certainly worth careful consideration, the extra exertion of competing in high temperatures is also a reason for Kitano's concerns.

Although the competition was postponed to the first week of September, when it is relatively less hot, this leaves less than three weeks between the Asahidake Prize and the subsequent Mizuho Prize.

"Let's just forget about Lien Chan."

The three, including Kitano, the horse owner; Tanaka, the horse trainer; and Ochiai, the main rider, quickly reached this consensus.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Pegasus will only have two races left this year: the Mizuho Sho in the 1800m and the Doei Kinen, which will be the final race of the season.

Tanaka's visit this time was certainly not just about his departure strategy.

"Is Pegasus alright? Otherwise, how about letting him go back to the ranch to recuperate for a while?"

Kitano asked while slowly sipping his tea.

It's not good to keep letting that Pegasus guy cause trouble for the stables.

"No, please make sure he stays in the stable."

Tanaka Shi's face still had a very serious and solemn expression.

The club members, who were originally sitting crookedly, unconsciously straightened their posture slightly.

"It's best to continue the training at the original pace."

Setting down his teacup, Tanaka Shi spoke in a somewhat solemn tone.

The two-month gap is somewhat delicate; for local dirt track horse racing, it could even be described as a period of relaxation.

"Although we won't leave for Asahi-gake, preparing for the competition with this as a hypothetical goal and advancing training based on this might be more advantageous for Pegasus."

"Then let's do it."

Kitano nodded in agreement with the trainer's suggestion.

After chatting and drinking a few cups of tea, he got up and accompanied the trainer to the stable.

According to the plan, Kaguya will move into the Tanaka stables in Monbetsu next year.

Although he was privately told that he was only considering buying the one-year-old horse for breeding purposes, Tanaka still couldn't help but praise it when he saw the Reed Horse.

"What an amazing horse!"

(End of this chapter)