Hokkaido Horse Racing Story.

Chapter 343 Dessert Time
Local time 9:55 a.m.

Buyers and sellers could be seen chatting together throughout the auction hall, and the atmosphere had become quite lively even before the auction officially began.

This place is no exception.

Although he doesn't yet have a specific foal he wants to sell, Mahal has already reserved a position as a trainer in Australia.

According to him, Australia does not have a truly national horse racing association like the JRA.

The events are usually hosted by the respective states of New South Wales (where Sydney is located), Victoria (where Melbourne is located), and Queensland (where Brisbane and the Gold Coast are located).

In addition, racetracks are divided into three levels: the first-class Metropolitan Racetrack, the second-class Provincial Racetrack, and the third-class Country Racetrack.

The prize money and the level of the participating horses vary, and the training fees for the stables also differ.

The general standard is that the monthly management fee for the highest-level metropolitan area is about 400,000 yen, for the provincial level it is about 300,000 yen, and for the rural level it is between 200,000 and 150,000 yen.

—Compared to Japan, the costs are much cheaper, both at the central and local levels, but this is largely due to the size of the stables in Australia.

In addition, once a horse is registered in any state, it can compete in races held at all racetracks in Australia.

Horses belonging to the Metropolitan Racecourse stables may sometimes use provincial racecourses for their debut races to ensure victory.

—This is roughly equivalent to the idea that horses belonging to the central government can be used to escape through battles involving Oi or even Saga.

"Here, our goal is to target matches of a suitable level and do our best to achieve a good ranking; nothing else matters."

As she cut a sugar muffin with a fork, Marhania looked up and said casually.

One major difference between Australian and Japanese horse racing is the absence of consolation payments or appearance bonuses.

Here, the bounty is yours.

Japan allocates a portion of its prize money to various allowances for all participating horses, while Australia includes all of it in its ranking prize money.

Conversely, the prize money for rankings is usually set at a relatively high amount.

Even in a race at a rural racetrack where the winner doesn't win, the prize money is around 600,000 to 1 million yen, while at a provincial racetrack it's around 1.5 million yen.

"What a ruthless horse race."

"Haha, that's right! So those who can maintain their horse ownership status in Australia for many years are all tough guys."

The Australian trainer shrugged and then swallowed the muffin on his fork in one gulp.

Three minutes before the auction began, staff brought in another tray.

This time, however, there was nothing edible on it.

Before participating in the auction in Australia, buyer registration is required. This time, thanks to the assistance of the organizer, Inglis, we were able to fill out an online electronic form.

While registering the buyer, we also registered the Australian horse owner. The final outfit used the same white and green stripes as in the United States.

After completing the buyer login, I received a buyer code from the auction website that will be used in the subsequent handover procedures. The staff delivered a victory badge symbolizing the identity of the Australian horse owner.

Kawakami, who was sitting a little further away, leaned closer.

"It looks a bit like a baseball jersey."

"That's what the trainers in the US said too."

He looked at the badges on the tray with a hint of helplessness.

"KITANO, do you like baseball too?"

Even Mahana looked over.

"Actually, I don't know much about it."

It seems that because of this misunderstanding, when communicating with Coach Reed, he would occasionally use some baseball terminology that was not easy to understand.

"So this is ah."

The Australian trainer looked somewhat disappointed.

When the auction officially began, Mahanya and Kawakami both stood up from their seats with their wine glasses in hand.

Many other buyers in the vicinity did the same thing.

In Australia, horses entering the auction first pass through an open-air passageway, which is usually open to buyers.

While most people prefer to remain comfortably indoors and sit through the entire auction, some buyers begin observing the horses as they pass through the aisle.

According to Mahanes, some buyers will deliberately raise their voices or make obvious movements when the horse they want to buy passes by, in order to observe the temperament of the target foal.

Of course, this approach is not suitable for everyone.

After saying goodbye to the two enthusiastic individuals, the chaotic venue quickly returned to silence.

For a while, the only sounds were the clinking of cutlery and plates. While the auctioneer was giving his opening remarks, he checked his phone to confirm his potential targets for the day.

First, there's Dialta 2026, which I initially only had out of curiosity.

Just like when Dialta's foals were auctioned at the HTBA yearling auctions before, she was also placed in number 199, which is quite far back.

The remaining few horses selected based on pedigree and show photos are also ranked 150th or higher.

In other words, the most exciting first half of the auction has essentially come to an end.

So, as the auction officially began and the buyers began to signal to the bidders with their knives and forks or their eyes, he focused on enjoying his lunch at the round table where only one person remained.

"Hmm, this smoked salmon tastes pretty good."

"Fifty-one thousand Australian dollars, I saw that gentleman's offer. Are there any higher prices?"

"The beef tenderloin was a bit tough, but the red wine sauce was excellent."

"How about starting at five thousand Australian dollars for a foal born in the Primordial Sea?"

"call--"

After I had eaten my fill, I asked the staff for a glass of Chardonnay white wine, which was supposedly from the Margaret River. I sipped it slowly while looking up at the stage.

Apart from the yet-to-be-released Dialta 2026, all other anticipated projects have failed to materialize.

This includes several stallions that could fetch high prices at the Hokkaido Select Auction based solely on their physique.

However, after all, these are horses whose transaction prices are all within five million yen after being converted into Japanese yen, and good horses in this range are extremely rare.

After waiting for the two to return to their seats, and after a brief exchange of pleasantries, Ma Hanya contacted her client, Mr. Ma, via Bluetooth headset.

Kawakami also opened his tablet with a serious expression, staring intently at the video showing the gait of the horses entering the arena.

"Next one, born on August 30th, father is a side door sitter, mother is a Dialta deer mare, starting bid from 1,000 Australian dollars."

The deer-mane horse, looking like it hadn't woken up yet, was led to the center of the display area in a daze, only managing to perk up a little when the stable boy patted its neck.

“Five thousand Australian dollars, six thousand Australian dollars, and then seven thousand Australian dollars came from that gentleman.”

After hearing the bidding resume on stage, he finally put down his wine glass.

Then, I picked up another set of cutlery and started working on the crème brûlée.

"It's 25,000 Australian dollars now, are there any higher bids?"

I was just about to leisurely while away the time spent on the inflated prices with dessert after the meal, but the pace of the price announcements slowed down earlier than I expected.

"Twenty-five thousand, any higher bids?"

The atmosphere seemed to have reached a stalemate.

So, somewhat hesitantly, he raised the knife in his hand and signaled to the clerk, "Let's give it a try."

"AUD 26,000, that's the offer from that gentleman!"

The auctioneer on stage suddenly pointed, almost startling everyone.

The next instant, I felt many gazes directed at my face.

"President Kitano... he's actually really interested in that horse."

Kawakami's tone was somewhat subtle as he shifted his attention away from the tablet.

Even Ma Hanya deliberately put on an exaggerated expression of shock, and while responding to the owner on the other end of the Bluetooth headset, she gave a "good job" gesture.

"After all, it's a very interesting bloodline—"

A crisp, small hammer sounded unexpectedly beside my ear.

"A price of 26,000 Australian dollars, thank you to that gentleman!"

------------

"—We understand that you are a very famous horse owner in Japan and the United States. Why did you choose this particular mare?"

"Her lineage is very interesting, and I was also drawn to her aura when I visited the showroom."

—"What kind of temperament is that?"

"—Well, she's the kind of horse that makes people feel relaxed."

"Okay, thank you for your answer. One last question, how do you plan to use this horse?"

"While I did consider having her stay in Australia to compete, I'm now more inclined to bring her back to Japan."

——Lot 199: 2028 HTBA Yearling Sale Interview Session
(End of this chapter)