Hokkaido Horse Racing Story.

Chapter 310 Is the upward trend encouraging?
It was 9:29 a.m.

Because it was Sunday, I got up a little later than usual, and naturally finished my morning work a little later as well.

He stomped his numb feet through his boots and rubbed his hands together with a slightly painful force.

Then he walked toward the stables and said good morning.

"Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Ravid."

"You are one too, President."

The Indian continued working without looking up.

"How's it going with the stallions?"

"We heard that we want to reserve the breeding rights for Manle, and the local authorities seem a bit surprised."

Is that so?

"Yes, but the negotiation went very smoothly, and they arranged for us to be among the first batch of mating times!"

As he spoke, Ravid lowered his head slightly and patted the full, hairy belly in front of him.

"It's time for the other side, Sister Duobo."

Dober snorted a few times with a look of disgust, but he still stood obediently in the stable, letting the Indian groom him.

"Heave-ho—ready!"

Full of energy and enthusiasm, Rachel Ho rolled up the sleeves of her ranch uniform, revealing her upper arms, and leaned over.

In his hands were two slow food nets, each filled to the brim.

Dober, who had been looking back at Ravid with a predatory gaze, suddenly twitched his ears and turned back to face him.

In the stables across the street, Anna also poked her head out expectantly, wagging her tongue.

"Speaking of which, shouldn't Noah run to see the Saga Wakakoma Prize?"

Replacing the brush with a damp, soft cloth, Ravid changed the subject.

"Hmm, 1,750 meters is still a bit long."

Both Ravid and Rachel Ho, who was standing next to him, showed an expression of conviction that was more common than they had seen since last year in response to this explanation.

"After discussing with the stables, we decided to set our sights on the JRA 3rd year old exchange race this Thursday at 4,400 meters."

"Eh—doesn't that mean our opponent is even stronger than the guy who got the Saga bounty?"

Rachel Ho stared in surprise.

"So if we can perform well in such competitions, we might be able to consider moving to a higher level of racetrack sooner."

"Hattori-sensei and Tobita-kun will get hurt if they hear this~"

"No, rather, it was their suggestion that came about."

Lavid paused in his movements.

"Mr. Noah is the type of horse that can continue to grow through training and competition. How about he try to challenge a higher level when he's three years old and his physique is a bit stronger?"

At Tobita's suggestion, trainer Hattori, though reluctant, proposed on behalf of the stables that the horse leave with the goal of participating in the JRA exchange race.

If they can perform well in races where they leave Central Racecourse, they should try to transfer to Menbe, Minami-Kanto, or even Central Racecourse, which have higher competition levels and better training facilities.

After discussion, this consensus was tentatively reached.

At this moment, Dober, who had been looking dissatisfied, tilted his head and showed a confused expression, as if to say, "Eh, is it over already?"

"Sorry sorry!"

So Ravid quickly apologized while continuing the work the hair care officer had been doing.

"If you get distracted again, I won't let you off the hook!"

After humming twice like that, Dober turned his head away with a haughty expression.

"So, Tobita-kun and Hattori-sensei are really amazing!" Rachel Ho said with a sigh as she effortlessly hung up the slow food net.

"yes--"

He let out a soft breath.

Although I can't do without the help of the system, it is also thanks to the help of people like Mr. Ogawa, Mr. Tanaka, Mr. Ochiai, and Mr. Hattori that I have been able to get to where I am today.

Although things aren't always smooth sailing, it's precisely because of people like this and doing what I love that I'm able to overcome those unpleasant experiences and persevere.

"anyway--"

The sound coming from beside my ear interrupted my wandering thoughts.

What should we do about Anna?

Rachel Ho hung another slow food net in front of Dober's stable and asked in a somewhat subtle tone.

Anna, who had been slowly chewing, twitched her ears and rested her chin on the edge of the fence, giving a look that seemed to be concerned.

"After checking with Professor Yano and everyone at the research institute, it seems that the first heat cycle this year is likely to be in early February."

Although the physical adjustments have gone relatively smoothly, it won't be so easy for the disordered hormones in the horse's body to return to the level of a breeding mares in a short period of time.

Even Professor Yano, who has conducted in-depth research in the field of reproductive hormones, could only give the helpless reply, "That's just how it is this year."

"Eh! If that's the case—"

Rachel Ho's deliberately drawn-out tone conveyed less disappointment and more the complete opposite of joy.

Even Ravid slightly opened his eyes, casting a burning gaze that seemed to ask, "Could it be?"

"O'Frybo has indicated that Golden Horn can be sent to Japan for breeding before the official breeding season for the National Hunting Horses, but we will have to bear the transportation costs."

Two heavy sighs that revealed their true thoughts.

"The transportation costs must be very high, especially here at the ranch—"

Ravid struggled to raise his arm.

"The subsidies from the agricultural cooperatives and JBBA in this regard are quite substantial, and I can also bear a portion of them as a co-owner of the stallion."

Then, the two let out an even heavier sigh.

By the afternoon of that day, the atmosphere on the ranch, which had eased somewhat, had become even heavier again.

It was in this atmosphere that the first round of interviews with stakeholders took place in the new year.

The first place to visit the ranch was the barren mountain of the horse trainer.

According to the original plan of the faction, Sakuya would, just like at this time last year, take a break at Kobayashi Ranch for a period of rest and grazing before setting off for Dubai a little earlier.

Because of her history of leg injuries, both the stables and the ranch were very careful in their training and herding arrangements for Sakuya.

In other words, even when you realize that your weight is getting worse, it's actually difficult to come up with truly effective weight loss measures.

As expected, my weight increased after winter.

"Is she pregnant?"

【524.49】

The trainer stared in disbelief as the weighing results came out.

Although it was somewhat expected, everyone on the ranch, from the trainers to the ranch staff, was genuinely taken aback by such staggering numbers.

Huang Shan smiled wryly and patted the head of the deer-haired horse in front of him with a helpless expression.

Sakuya, the horse in question, stuck out her tongue innocently and rubbed her head against the trainer's palm as if trying to get away with it by acting cute.

"This has really presented me with a formidable problem."

(End of this chapter)