Hokkaido Horse Racing Story.

Chapter 336 The Last Page of the Fairy Tale

On the first Sunday of April, the morning mist still lingered along the banks of the Fumaikawa River.

Sakuya Mejiro is about to depart for the Monbetsu Racecourse, the place where she won her first race and the starting point of Cinderella's fairy tale, to bid a final farewell to her fans back home.

Due to limited space, only 7,000 selected horse racing fans will be able to enter the venue.

However, it is said that before dawn, countless enthusiastic horse racing fans from outside Hokkaido had already gathered in the parking lot in front of the racecourse, where a temporary broadcast screen had been set up.

"Thank you for your hard work, Ravid."

As he said this, he patted the seemingly dejected Indian man on the shoulder.

"No, it's great that we were able to reach an agreement in time."

Shaking his head, Ravid couldn't help but yawn again.

The day before the retirement ceremony, the results of negotiations between the two ranches—

If the mating partner for the following year can be announced in advance at the retirement ceremony, Three Chimney Ranch will list Sakuya as the "highest priority" mating partner for taking the risk and will waive the mating fees for the next two matings.

The sound of leather shoes clattering on the floor echoed down the corridor. Looking at the group of people dressed in formal attire in front of her, Sakuya in the stables looked somewhat confused.

"Hey, is there another match?"

Seemingly thinking this, the deer-haired horse reluctantly stopped chewing, lowered its head, and let people put the reins on it.

The moment the leash was fastened, some emotions that I thought had subsided surged up from my chest once again.

"It's time to go, Sakuya."

With that, he took the lead rope and walked toward the NAR horse transport wagon waiting outside the stable.

As it took a step, the deer-haired horse looked around curiously, seemingly puzzled by the last-minute change of stable boy.

Slowly walking up to the back of the carriage, Sakuya's attention was quickly diverted by the food bowl in front of her as the partition door rose.

The journey was smooth, with only the sound of the air conditioner running and the rhythmic chewing sounds, until we arrived at the Monbyet Racecourse in Bucheon.

Before getting out of the car, he took out the handkerchief that was originally the decoration in the breast pocket of his suit and wiped the grass clippings off the deer's mouth.

He tucked the green handkerchief back into his pocket and, incidentally, pulled the leash, stopping one of the big eaters from burying his head in the food bowl again.

Stepping out of the back of the car, the intense sunlight made me blink involuntarily.

At 10 a.m., at the Menbie Racecourse.

The parade ground, which had been set up with sunshades in advance, was surrounded by horse racing fans, and countless banners made by the fans themselves were hung on the stands.

Amidst the sounds of farewell, the deer-haired horses stepped onto the parade ground track.

Sakuya, circling the track, looked no different from when she was in active racing, and fans watching her figure in the center of the track gradually had tears in their eyes.

Accompanied by Meguro Gozen, the guide horse of the gate, and wearing the number nine bib she used when she debuted, Meguro Sakuya began her retirement run with Kim Miki holding the reins.

—It was also the last run on the field.

Back on the long-missed Monbetsu Sands, Kashima easily outpaced Mejiro Gozen, who was running alongside him, in the straight ahead. When Kim Mi-ki tightened the reins to signal him to slow down, she had a confused look on her face, as if to say, "Is this the end?"

At the other end of the line, she removed her bib and saddle, and changed into a riding outfit specially made for her by 'Youjun' and horse racing fans.

When the broadcast truck screen switched to the unloading scene, a burst of laughter came from the stands.

On the screen, the outline of the deer-haired horse, slightly tucked into its belly band, was clearly reflected.

"Haha, you've gotten so fat in just a few days since retiring!"

"So what Master Huangshan said was true."

“Chubby Sakuya is just as cute!” Amid the rising and falling discussions, the people involved showed somewhat embarrassed expressions.

Fastening the ties, the specially made horse coat, which she had been worried would be too loose, fit Sakuya perfectly.

As he stepped forward again wearing this somewhat comical-looking horse coat, the laughter from the stands slowly faded away.

Instead, there were bursts of sobbing.

Bearing the unique horse coat imbued with the love of horse enthusiasts, the deer-haired horse stood firm amidst the reluctant gazes of seven thousand people on site.

Looking at the riders who had changed into the same style of final outfits and the original riders, Sakuya showed an even more confused look than before.

However, the moment the rope was opened, the deer-haired horse instinctively perked up its ears and struck the same pose it would when taking a photo.

Next, Sakuya was temporarily taken away from the track, while the other people involved gathered in front of the newly set-up podium.

"Hattori, if it really doesn't work, try pulling the zipper down a little further."

Seeing the original rider struggling to maintain the abdominal contraction position, I couldn't help but offer a reminder.

"No problem."

He looked like he couldn't breathe at all!

The casual conversation among those involved didn't last long. First, a notification sound came over the loudspeaker, and then an announcement was made.

"First is Mr. Kitano Yuki, the horse owner."

He bowed deeply towards the stands, then stepped forward to the podium.

"Then there are trainers Junji Tanaka and Katsutoku Arayama."

They changed into unusual suits and morning suits, and the two local horse trainers bowed before standing on the podium to give their speeches.

"Next up are riders Genta Ochiai, Shigefumi Hattori, Ryuji Wada, and Miki Kim."

Four riders who came from all over the world joined the original riders on stage and bowed repeatedly towards the stands.

Amidst thunderous applause, some horse racing enthusiasts exclaimed, "Wow, that's a jockey!"

"Kimura Keio, the producer."

The moment the broadcast started, Kimura quickly stuffed his crumpled handkerchief back into his pocket, sniffed, and then stood on the podium to give his speech.

"Finally, there was the stableman, Mr. Katsumi Ogawa; the hoof trimmer, Mr. Joseph Schmidt; and the race advisor, Mr. Kanna Ogawa."

Even the specially widened and customized podium for retirement occasions had become quite crowded by this time.

However, as a horse owner, during the communication with NAR and the racetrack, he still insisted on making the request that "all stakeholders be able to participate."

After accepting the flowers personally handed to him by Chairman Saito, he expressed his gratitude and then raised the microphone in his hand.

"Thank you all so much for your support. That kid has finally retired from the competition and is in very good health."

"Although we were thinking that we might be able to catch the King's Cup, and with a little more effort we might have a chance to try the Breeders' Cup, we wanted to give her a perfect farewell."

The applause was so loud that the speech, which was halfway through, had to be temporarily interrupted.

He continued speaking only after the applause gradually subsided and he took a deep breath.

"Next year, Mejiro Sakuya will start her second litter at Mejiro Ranch as a breeder. In the first year, I plan to breed her with the Three Chimneys Ranch in the United States. I hope that the foals will be able to retire peacefully like their mother rather than be active on the racetrack in the future."

"thank you all."

(End of this chapter)