Hokkaido Horse Racing Story.

Chapter 320 The Day of Rain and Lingering Snow

After leaving the hotel, I looked up at the sky.

The clear blue sky of the morning has vanished, leaving only a gray expanse overlooking the earth.

You can almost feel the rain in the wind.

After checking the time, he glanced down at the travel bag on his shoulder.

The coat I put away this morning to prepare for the British weather will probably take quite a bit of effort to take out again.

So I bought a small folding umbrella from a roadside shop.

While you can't really rely on a coat when it's pouring rain, it probably won't be very reliable in that situation either.

In addition, the short walking distance to the airport inevitably added a bit of luck to the journey.

Then--

After pushing open the door of the rental car and leaving the brief shelter of Terminal 2, strong winds and torrential rain immediately came from all directions.

Most of the pedestrians rushing to catch their flights on the road were also holding tightly to their umbrella handles to prevent them from being blown away by the wind.

Even so, occasionally someone's umbrella will be blown inside out by the strong wind.

Is it really possible to take off in this weather?

Such concerns did not last long.

After changing clothes in the airport restroom, the "pitter-patter" of rain hitting the huge glass windows immediately began to subside.

I don't know whether to call it luck or misfortune, but I didn't receive any notification of flight delay until thirty minutes before takeoff.

According to the local weather forecast displayed on the phone, this round of rain will continue for at least several more hours.

That being said, the remaining rain was not heavy enough to affect the plane's takeoff.

So, just like when we arrived, we started moving from the waiting area.

Walk through the gate and board the plane.

I managed not to fall asleep on the return trip, which was a rare treat, and I was finally able to eat the airplane meal as I had hoped.

—The taste is not worth disrupting your sleep schedule for.

After transiting through Osaka, it was already evening when I arrived at New Chitose Airport.

I picked up my phone from my pocket, and the app on it was flashing message notifications.

More than one hundred unread notifications.

Besides the constantly updated chat in the ranch group, there was also a message from Hattori, the horse trainer.

[If possible, how about letting Noah try running the 1400 meters in the NEXT STAR West Japan event next month?]

Along with the image came a homemade sticker of the horse trainer scratching his head in confusion.

It's not the style from when they were in Hokkaido, but rather the pattern created by Hattori himself at his own stable after he returned to Saga and opened his own stable.

Is this some kind of Tanaka stable tradition?

While thinking this, I continued reading.

Although it is a relatively new event, the Future Star West Japan 1400m dirt track race, as part of the Future Star series, offers a prize of 1200 million yen, which is much higher than the traditional prize of Saga.

In addition, this star-studded tour race, which is held in rotation at three West Japan racetracks in Hyogo, Kochi and Saga, is also a high-prize race recognized by JRA.

In other words, once Noah achieves a result in such a race, he will no longer need to spend time starting from scratch in various one-win and two-win races, since he only has one win in his resume.

In addition, Hattori-sensei stated in the message that Noah's special appearance at Mount Maya was a state of "ascension with the characteristics of a golden ship producing a foal".

Although the hindquarters are still somewhat loose and there are still concerns about stamina, the latest weigh-in showed a weight gain of six kilograms since the last competition.

Clicking on the photo of Noah's horse that came with the message, it was discovered that the previously weak hoof muscles had indeed been strengthened to some extent. Furthermore, the Future Star West Japan race, which is held in rotation at three West Japan racetracks, has this time returned to the Saga Racetrack, the venue for the second race.

[In the familiar Saga Kogyo, given Noah's flexibility, understanding of the track, and the increased stamina from his battle with the strong central horse, if he can unleash his full potential, he should be able to achieve a promising result.]

Given Noah's competitive ability, a match within range like this is indeed quite suitable.

Even if there is a consideration of "saving up strength to go to the center", in reality, at this point in time, there is not much room left to catch up with the classic events after logging into the center.

After discussing with Master Uchida, the team decided not to rush into the competition after registering with the Central Training Center, but instead to start summer training early "in order to adapt to the Central Training Center".

In this way, the bounties and victories accumulated during local periods become even more important.

The consideration period did not last long.

Then go ahead and give it a try!

[For riders, how about we continue to ask Tobita-kun for help?]

After adding this short sentence, press send.

After a short wait, an additional message came from the trainer.

[Understood, I'll go and submit a request to Tobita Rider right away.]

Following that, a sticker of a Tobita rider making an "OK" sign was released.

No matter what, this thing is really too strange.

Despite thinking this way, I still subscribed to the stickers out of a desire to support them.

When we returned to the ranch, the members were already waiting at the low table.

To be precise, the person who was mainly greeted was Lavid, who came in carrying takeout.

In order to pass the qualification review of the Central Horse Owners, the amount of work that needs to be done in the past two months has increased significantly in addition to the daily affairs of the ranch.

It's roughly the level of going from busy to even busier.

My first dinner back home began amidst muttering thoughts like, "I actually kind of miss Kikuchi-chan's cooking."

At the dinner table, Kikuchi complained in a low voice that Zep had knocked over a corner of the fence while clearing the land, and the hoof trimmer involved could only give an embarrassed smile.

Ravid, who was officially appointed as the ranch manager at the beginning of the month, talked about the situation of the two-year-old generation in his usual calm tone, with Asayama occasionally adding a word or two.

Immediately afterwards, the German rolled up his sleeve and showed off the bite marks on his sister, which elicited a burst of laughter.

"Who told you to sneak up behind and touch Aunt Duo?"

"That's right, that's right. I saw it very clearly on the surveillance footage. It was Joseph who attacked Sister Dober while she was dozing off."

"Please postpone the hoof trimming inspection to a slightly more formal setting—"

We're back in that familiar, noisy atmosphere.

"Well then—welcome back, President!"

After a series of Coke cans being opened, I finally received a belated greeting from Rachel Ho.

but--

What she said next immediately caused the fleeting, superficial feeling of being moved to vanish.

"Muk-chan's baby must be so cute, right? Send me the photos soon!"

And so the dinner, consisting of fast food delivery, came to an end.

The next day, when I got up and opened the window, there was no snow left in sight.

(End of this chapter)