Hokkaido Horse Racing Story.

Chapter 283 The Coin That Landed Vertically

Is she really a mud horse?

While scratching Shenwei Anna's lower lip, she couldn't help but ask the question.

Black Deer responded with a few grunts.

Mai Bojia, who represented the seller team in the handover, looked somewhat surprised.

Although, Kitano felt that he was the one who should be making that expression.

Among the three breeding candidates recommended by the advisory group, there was none of the traditionally known mud-breed stallions.

As for the landmark pattern that most of the foals were purchased by local horse owners, that's a different matter.

"She is undoubtedly one of the finest mares in the world in recent years."

Recalling the identity of the buyer in front of him, the trainer reluctantly changed his tune.

“I’m sure her child will also achieve great things in the mud.”

"Yes, that's right."

As I nodded in agreement, the advice given by the three consultants came back to mind.

His expression then became even stranger.

"Goodbye, young lady. Maybe you'll be a mother by the time we meet again."

Mai Bojia said, slightly mimicking Kitano's tone.

Shenwei Anna, who had been enjoying the caress with her eyes half-closed, suddenly showed a displeased expression and pushed away the outstretched palm with disgust.

"Haha, looks like I'm disliked."

The trainer shook his head and shrugged, then raised his head as if remembering something.

"If you intend to have her bred with the airline, you can try contacting me."

Mai Bojia lowered his voice and handed over a business card.

Another flight route—

Hearing this name from different people in a short period of time evoked a more complex feeling than the last time.

Of course, pairing a popular stallion with a mares of this caliber is a relatively safe approach.

This applies only to situations involving normal people.

"You've really given me a tough challenge, Anna."

There's not much need to hesitate when it comes to the target stallion.

Or rather, there shouldn't have been any hesitation at all.

Breeding with the Golden Horn as the target —

However, I'm not very familiar with this horse, which is probably from outside Japan.

I sat down on a set of steps that looked fairly clean, slowly sipping the beverage provided by the venue while checking information on my phone.

Our fees are low – we believe this is the best way to attract breeders.

—A slogan from the current owner of the Golden Horn, O'Freebo Ranch.

I have a bad feeling about this.

Moreover, isn't the ranch's homepage a bit too rudimentary? It's even more indescribable than Zep's "Mejiro 1.0".

Clinging to the last glimmer of hope, I clicked on the page for the male horses section of the website.

【Golden Horn】

【10, 000】

I can already imagine how strong the criticism will be a few months from now.

In the world of horse racing, the correlation between stud fees and breeding quality for stallions is not actually that strong.

If enough mares are bred, even stallions that are initially not considered promising can produce large foals.

"If you toss the coin enough times, it will eventually land upright."

Although it may sound far-fetched, that's roughly the gist of it.

but--

When stallions and mares with vastly different values ​​are paired, public skepticism is inevitable.

While they don't care much about what others think, horse racing is, after all, a world where reputation is, to some extent, essential for a livelihood, especially for breeders.

"If this time it's another 'one or eight' choice like the prolific master did, then it will really be difficult to handle."

He loosened his grip on the deformed straw and couldn't help but let out a sigh.

Fortunately, the three stallions recommended this time are all suitable for situations that at least guarantee a certain minimum standard.

It's no big deal.

With that in mind, I entered the number according to the information provided on the website.

Although it should have been evening in the UK, the call was answered very quickly.

"Hello, this is Overbry Farm. I'm Simon, the farm manager. We've been dedicated to crossbreeding between the UK and Ireland for many years."

The voice, somewhere between a British accent and a New York accent, is full of energy.

"Yes, I would like to inquire about the Golden Horn."

"Oh yes, Golden Horn is a horse that leaves an extraordinary impression on anyone who sees him, and his foals perform exceptionally well in hurdles!"

The tone on the other end of the phone became even more cheerful than before.

"Hurdle race?"

Some of the vocabulary is a little unfamiliar.

However, the meaning of "Golden Horn's foal performs well in a certain race" can still be understood for the time being.

"Golden Horn still maintains a very good physique and vigorous energy to this day, enough to undertake the work of a stallion. If you are worried, you can come and see for yourself."

Seemingly afraid that Kitano might change his mind, Simon quickly said this.

“We can provide meticulous, full-time boarding services for your mare and foal, and our production team, which we operate with Conduit, is also very experienced.”

A barrage of high-speed English bullets shot into my ear.

They're even harder to handle than the NHK staff!

"I'll pick some time to go and take a look."

I do have the idea of ​​going to Europe in the next few months.

In addition to on-site visits to Overbrybo Ranch and Golden Horn, the itinerary also includes a visit to the dazzling animals being fostered at Gumoa Ranch.

"You are welcome anytime. If you are willing to submit a deposit before March, we can also provide you with breeding and free consignment services for foals born."

Let's skip that.

After hanging up the phone, I silently started arranging my schedule while looking at my phone screen.

"Oh dear, Kitano-kun, what are you doing sitting here?"

A familiar voice rang in my ears.

After saying that, Kimura, who was holding several auction catalogs, also sat down.

"But it's really exhausting. My legs started hurting badly on the very first day."

"I'm exhausted, both physically and mentally."

"Although it was tough, it was a lot of fun for us guys."

"That's true—"

Mr. Kimura's main focus is on the breeding mares from the second volume onwards; today is an occasion to "get a feel for the atmosphere" and gather intelligence.

Representatives from New Life Ranch did not seem too surprised by the news that had recently spread throughout the global horse racing world.

"In that case, how about we start going all out for next year's breeding season now?"

"Even if I don't say that, I'm running out of money to stay in Kienland any longer."

Although it's a somewhat exaggerated analogy, there really aren't many funds left to buy another breeding mares.

The same applies to amulets.

It's almost time for me to go back to China.

"correct--"

Suddenly I remembered something.

"There's a rather nice-looking kid in the second book, Mr. Kimura."

(End of this chapter)