Hokkaido Horse Racing Story.

Chapter 308 is only briefly mentioned.

This happened in the ranch lounge on the second day after returning to Japan from England.

"Lorries born to foals that are frequently grazed on larger pastures during their first six months and weaned later are more likely to continue racing, race more frequently, and win more prize money."

"Ugh."

A barely perceptible sigh.

"Therefore, breeders are encouraged to increase grazing frequency as much as possible and consider weaning after this critical period."

"Ugh--"

This time, the sound was deliberately drawn out.

"This study is the first of its kind to assess the impact of early experiences on the later performance of thoroughbred racehorses, and it can be directly applied to production ranches."

"Ugh!"

The sound didn't stop; it had been going on for about ten minutes.

So, he had no choice but to swipe away from the "Equine Veterinarian Magazine" page on the tablet and look up at the opposite side of the low table.

From the moment he entered the break room after finishing work, Kikuchi had been slumped over the table, holding his head and sighing in a gloomy voice.

"The president won't change his mind, Mika-chan."

Patting Kikuchi on the shoulder, Rachel Ho also let out a sigh.

"On the bright side, it's a rare cross-shaped bloodline in Japan!"

Zep waved his hand casually, but his eyes kept signaling in their direction.

"Since the deal is already done, there's nothing we can do about it. Eight thousand pounds isn't too expensive as a possible attempt."

Ravid's face showed a calmness as if he had just finished meditating and practicing yoga.

The attempt to buy Moonshadow unsurprisingly drew complaints.

This time it wasn't the usual cliché of "wasting money again," but rather the doubt of "can that guy really do it?"

A breeding mares whose first two foals failed to meet race standards.

Even Zep, who knew nothing about bloodlines, couldn't help but cast a skeptical vote.

"It should be fine."

Despite saying that, most of the club members still looked incredulous when they recalled the amazing actions their president had taken as a horse breeder.

Amidst the continuous sighs, let's move on to today's first topic.

The two-year-old horses of the "Radiance" generation at the ranch have their formal naming ceremony before entering the stable.

First is the oldest, and also the most outstanding horse-shaped horse, Huiwan.

"How about Hercules? The name of the legendary hero is a good match for Teru Maru."

"I feel Hanuman is more suitable; that kid's jumping ability is truly amazing!"

"Then this is the Nordic team's proposal. Fenrir, come out!"

While the club members were still considering names derived from mythology, a line they'd followed from the past few years, Kitano suddenly blurted out this—

How is de l'lan?

"Dulaland?"

Hearing his company president speak like that, Asayama frowned, looking somewhat confused.

"It should be Buddhist."

Zep turned his head toward them with some uncertainty.

"That's right, it's French."

At the Fumeshiro Ranch, a different theme is used each year to name the foals that are born.

Of course, there's no problem even if we don't change them, since the eight million native gods are more than enough in the mythological theme.

but--

Whether it was a sudden whim or a flash of inspiration, the idea of ​​changing the theme name suddenly came to mind.

If I had to find a reason, it would be to show off my increasingly improved French.

"So, combined with the name 'Mejiro,' 'Mejiro de l'lan' means the impact of Mejiro."

Meanwhile, Zepp, who was the most fluent in French at the ranch, explained the meaning of the name to everyone.

"But saying it in Japanese just makes it sound cute—" "It does have a subtle similarity to my father's name."

"The only thing that's the same is the first syllable. 'Victory is in sight' is a tennis term."

"However, it's not bad to change the theme occasionally."

Surprisingly, the members had no objections to changing the theme.

However, this means that in reality, only Ravid and Rachel Ho, whose French is also only half-fluent, are actually able to join the discussion.

So the others openly started slacking off, only exchanging a few words through translation software when the shortlisted names were about to be finalized.

"Next up is Radiant Star—how about 'de la Lumière'?"

"The light originates from Mejiro. While the meaning is indeed good, it would definitely exceed the maximum character limit if it were in katakana."

"How about trying to abbreviate it to Lumière?"

"It's better for girls' names to be a little cuter."

"Where is Chapeau?"

"Isn't this just a French hat? Isn't that incredibly lazy?"

The two of them turned their heads to look at each other at the same time.

How about the name "Joyau Ultime"?

What we see in Huixing is a possibility called "dream" that goes beyond his ability as a racehorse.

The argument in the room stopped.

Zep's eyebrows moved as if they were dancing.

"Boss, are you serious?"

Looking back on Huixing's usual behavior, it seems that apart from having a larger appetite, there was nothing particularly special about him.

Overall, it's a horse with the same coat color as it is at this stage, and looks quite ordinary.

"'The ultimate treasure'—what a name indeed!"

Scratching his head, the hoof trimmer was speechless again.

Although the actions of a horse breeder are puzzling, his boss still maintains an unbroken record in judging horses.

"But 'Mejiro Joyau Ultime' is more than nine characters long no matter how you look at it."

"Just a brief summary—"

Muttering to herself, "Could that kid really be that strong?" Rachel Ho wrote down the name "Mejiro Juaruto" on her tablet for record-keeping.

The next horse, Huixiang, adopted "Mejiro Héritage," which means "inherited from Mejiro," as its official racehorse name, proposed by Zepp.

However, soon the pronunciation of "Eritako" changed to "Eri-chan" following the shortened name of Asayama.

When it was the next time the Moonlit Night appeared, the final result was "Mejiro de la Ruse," which left the club members somewhat puzzled.

Excluding the long vowels, there are exactly nine characters, no more and no less.

"Cunning and oblivious? But Huiyue has always been a very well-behaved child—"

"Antonymous naming makes sense then."

"probably."

Looking at the group of confused members at the table, he couldn't help but shake his head.

The correct name should be "目白巧计" (Meguro Takumi).

"How about we use L'lan vital for the last Huibang?"

The suggestion was made by Lavid, who described himself as being bad at French.

The term "L'lan vital" is said to have been coined by the French philosopher Henri Bergson and symbolizes the ultimate vitality of life.

"Because Huibang is such a troublemaker. He just bit my wrist yesterday, and last week he did it too."

"The numbers 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 would have more than nine characters if translated into katakana!"

"Just write it briefly, remove the nasal sounds—"

Thus, the racehorses of the "Hui" generation were given names in this noisy atmosphere.

(End of this chapter)