Hokkaido Horse Racing Story.

Chapter 358 The Outpost of Summer

Thursday in early July.

Despite being incredibly busy, I still managed to take some time that day to visit the Kurito Training Center in Shiga Prefecture.

Although it appears immature compared to its "generational" Po-Tsou and even Chong-Li, according to the regulations of the Northern Hemisphere horse racing region, Yue-Yue, born in 2026, will already be a two-year-old as an outsider.

Currently, the plan is to debut in the Fukushima Grassland 2600m Three-Year-Old Undefeated Race in the third week of April next year. Before that, I will stay on the ranch for a long time to continue to strengthen my riding training and adjust my temperament.

Thanks to the seller's high level of training and early conditioning at their New Zealand ranch, Moon Leap, as a horse born in the Southern Hemisphere, has achieved a considerable level of completion in terms of both physique and training progress.

Although in terms of temperament, it can still be considered to be a bit of a horse enthusiast.

—Once again, I'm glad that the range suitability was discovered, which at least saved me from many unnecessary detours in my debut planning and route prediction.

Then comes the formal naming.

The members who unanimously agreed on the "late debut" issue ended up arguing fiercely here.

Horses born in the Southern Hemisphere are indeed a bit hard to understand—

I had that feeling again.

Ultimately, the faction that agreed to adopt the naming pattern of the "Hui" generation unexpectedly prevailed, while the official racehorse name for Moon Leap was "Voyageuse," proposed by Zepp.

That is, the feminine representation of "traveler" in French.

—The most crucial issue is the selection of stables.

In fact, I had already tried to contact several familiar horse trainers while I was still in Australia.

However, the stables for the newly opened trainers were all booked up well in advance, and even the breeding farm was completely overwhelmed.

Although trainer Nobuyuki Hori was willing to help, the former also had a shortage of stable space, and the latter would have to retire next March.

In this situation, I tried contacting Master Ikee Taiju, who was recommended by Mr. Taketoyo.

My impression is that he was a master trainer who managed many famous horses, including the Golden Master, so the space in his stables should have been quite limited.

Moreover, although the two families did have some close relationship, that was decades ago.

"Horses from the Southern Hemisphere are fine too, please leave them to me."

However, the reply I received from Professor Ikee was quite unexpected.

Although the stables are a place where online conversations are "OK," I still decided to go there in person.

There are three entrances to the Kuridung Tressen stables area, and this visit began at the old main gate, the Kaimen.

To enter the premises through this gate, you need a photo pass issued by the JRA. The border color of the pass is used to distinguish the type of industry.

Since the official central owner status will not be officially issued until the 20th of this month, the blue pass of the stable owner is being used.

It is said that when Master Hetian was young, the pass was just a simple round badge.

Back then, some people would lose their belongings and find it troublesome to reapply, so they would just grab any round object that looked similar and wave it around, which often allowed them to get past the security guards at each gate.

At the time, there was even a game among the riders where they would see who could get away with the weirdest thing, like using a milk bottle cap or something.

It is said that occasionally, there are cases where particularly strict guards discover them, and they are severely reprimanded, contacted by their trainers, and ultimately required to write a letter of apology.

If this happened today, he would probably be banned for forging a pass.

Despite being identified, he unsurprisingly underwent a rather rigorous check at the entrance.

After entering the Kaimen, there is a straight road leading towards the stands.

In the past, anyone who went to Lidong Tressen to complete the formalities could walk through the Kaimen gate and freely visit the facilities inside the training center.

After walking through the tree-lined path, you'll reach the waiting plaza in front of the training field.

Two grandstands, one large and one small, came into view. Climbing the small hill known as "Tanuki Hill" and walking towards the main grandstand in the distance, only a few shadows remained on the training track in my peripheral vision.

After bowing twice and clapping twice, we continued our journey after concluding our worship of the Horse-Headed Guanyin at Limao Mountain.

I stopped at the entrance below the stands and sent a message to Professor Ikee announcing my arrival.

Please come in.

I received this reply very quickly.

After climbing the dark stairs, the blazing sunlight of a sunny day descends.

In a corner of the training platform, Ikee, a trainer with unusually thick black hair, stood up and waved.

"Over here, President Kitano—"

All eyes in the room were on his face.

It lasted only a very brief moment before the other trainers in the room looked away and exchanged pleasantries after Ikee introduced them.

"I'm very sorry to have made you come all this way. 'Great Tengu' hasn't received any visitors from horse owners for a long time."

Arriving at a corner of the room, the trainer apologized as he borrowed the other person's chair amidst his colleague's half-joking protests.

"It's alright, it's my fault for causing you trouble."

He first bowed slightly to the trainer whose chair had been borrowed, and then continued speaking.

"If possible, how about we start now?"

Master Chi nodded and replied, "Of course, of course," while taking out two cans of oolong tea from under his seat.

"I've roughly figured out the child's situation; it's indeed a very interesting bloodline."

A can of oolong tea was handed over.

"Thank you. If you don't mind, would it be alright if she entered the stable a little later?"

"Please don't worry, you can come into my stables anytime."

Having probably misunderstood the reason for arriving late, Master Ikee quickly put down the oolong tea he had just opened and waved his hand dismissively.

It took a little time to explain my considerations as a horse owner regarding the Moon Leap's debut race.

"I see. But I still think it's better to get to the stables as early as possible when appetites are high, and training in Hokkaido might be inconvenient in winter, right?"

After a conversation that lasted for more than ten minutes, a preliminary plan was set for moving to Honshu Island around late November, settling in, and then moving into the stables.

Over the next period of time, Master Ike asked many questions about Tsukikage and carefully recorded various details, including his legs, muscles, gait, habits, and temperament.

"Finally, what are your thoughts on the child's name, President Kitano?"

Putting down the notebook filled with writing, Ikee raised his head with some curiosity.

“Mejiro Voyageuse, the traveler from Mejiro.”

Without hesitation, I gave the answer.

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"【Hakodate 2-Year-Old Championship】"

The Moon Thief, who had failed to win a single battle at the age of two, will be ridden by Devon, a rider holding a short-term exemption, to the Hakodate 2-year-old championship.

"It feels great to be able to participate in the summer racing season in Japan, and the goal is to bring out the best in the horses," said jockey Devonco.

——《n○tkeiba》

(End of this chapter)