Hokkaido Horse Racing Story.

Chapter 359 The Night of 400 Million Yen
On the evening of July 20th, there was hardly any sound coming from the second floor of the Mipo Jockey Club.

Aside from the news broadcasts on the television, there was the ticking of the battery-powered clock on the wall, the slight sound of the air conditioner blowing out cold air to lower the temperature, and the swiping of fingertips across the phone screen.
The room's temperature was just right, slowly easing the tension, and time seemed to slow down even further.

A busy day.

—To explain why I'm so busy today, we have to go back about four months.

In March, I applied for Central Horse Ownership, and then came what seemed to be a rather long wait.

However, caught between his career as a horse owner and breeder, he was caught up in the chaos of running around until July, when the results of the central horse owner application were announced.

I've finally become a central horse owner—

It's only now that I'm beginning to truly grasp the reality of what happened back then.

At that moment, the dense text that popped up in front of my eyes was quickly ignored.

In addition to the regular registration of Central Horse Owners and the registration of the final race, Baozuo, Chongli, Zhibao, and Yueyue, which was recently officially named Traveler, all need to be registered with Central Horse Racing. Baozuo, which has been fully adjusted at the Matsukaze Horse Racing Center, also officially entered the stable on the same day as the registration.

"The child is doing very well. How about he goes to Sapporo to take the gate test after completing the stable quarantine?"

At noon, after assisting with the entry into the stables, I received this suggestion from Yoshida.

There's simply not enough time to schedule the gate tests in the Kanto region.

—Besides the fact that the newly completed ranch makes it easy to settle down and that it is close to the debut battle location, there is another reason not to conduct gate tests in Mipo.

While assisting the trainer in arranging the transport trip to Hokkaido, she quietly added another item to her already bloated schedule.

Not only is the registration of the central horse necessary, but the relocation of Pegasus and Noah to local areas also needs to be carried out simultaneously.

Because this communication had been conducted well in advance, both Tanaka and Hattori efficiently completed the cancellation procedures for the local racehorse and made proper arrangements for its transfer to Miura.

After undergoing quarantine upon entering the stable, they will begin a new life in the same stable.

"Noah would probably feel a bit more relaxed if Pegasus were around—"

Of course, the exact opposite result is also possible.

From morning till evening, I was bombarded with all sorts of documents, phone calls, and text messages.

The first day as a Central Horse owner was exhausting from head to toe, and at the subsequent gathering of trainers and riders in Mipu, the remaining energy was simply not enough to handle the various people as usual.

Fortunately, most of the trainers and riders attending the gathering were acquaintances and elders, and everyone was very understanding and did not hold it against them. Mr. Yokoyama even announced the end of the banquet at 10 pm, which was not too late.

Back in my room on the second floor of the racecourse, I immediately collapsed onto the bed.

Both their bodies and spirits have been completely burned out.

"I'll take a shower after I get up tomorrow—"

As I was thinking this, my phone in my pocket started vibrating.

My drowsiness vanished instantly, and I jumped out of bed as if by reflex.

[Regarding Mejiro Hōsuke's rider]

Starting with this sentence, Yoshida, who appeared to be unconscious at the banquet, sent a long list of riders.

My gaze lingered briefly on the rider Li Muhua's name at the very top before quickly moving on to the lines below.

Since it's the beginning of the summer season, there aren't many familiar names on the list of riders available.

His gaze swept back and forth between the dense Chinese names and the occasional katakana, finally settling on the second line of the list.

【Dai Wengao】

While I don't want to be bound by the stereotype that "overseas riders with short-term exemptions are definitely better than most local riders," this is indeed how I, as a horse owner, often think. Nevertheless, it's always good to double-check this.

With that in mind, I switched out of the chat window and tried searching for information about Devongo riders online.

Judging from his recent performance, he doesn't seem to be the kind of short-term rider with amazing skills.

However, on horse racing forums mainly frequented by horse racing enthusiasts, this rider received a lot of praise.

Switching to the horse racing section of n○tkeiba, the page for the retired white horse, who is frequently mentioned alongside jockey Devonco, still features many positive comments about him near the top.

After hanging up the phone, he then contacted Mr. Yahagi, who was said to have had a collaboration with him during his career as a horse trainer.

The call was answered quickly, and after a brief exchange of pleasantries, I explained my purpose directly to Mr. Yahagi.

"Well, he's a very reliable rider. He's very good at observing the characteristics of horses and he's also a very good listener."

Mr. Yahagi quickly gave this reply.

After repeatedly thanking the original trainer for his assistance and going through several rounds of polite exchanges, I finally hung up the phone.

If possible, try hiring a Devongo rider.

As he sent the message, he took off his suit jacket, which had a distinct odor.

I received a reply from Yoshida while I was on my way to the bathroom.

【clear. 】

Seemingly forgetting to use honorifics, the trainer quickly withdrew the message.

Then, it was changed to a slightly longer sentence.

It's okay to relax a little more.

Although such a message was sent, the reply was still in polite language.

Including the trainers who are about to retire, the trainers at the central level seem to be more serious than those at the local level.

Thinking this, I turned on the bathroom faucet, and hot water flowed into the bathtub.

During the wait, the system panel finally opened.

In the "Shopping Mall" section, most of the columns that were initially filled with mosaics have been unlocked, with only a few lines in the middle still obscured by fog.

Hay, fertilizer, building materials, feed, agricultural machinery, and even various types of horse transport vehicles. The variety of items on the list makes one wonder whether this is a system-wide store or some kind of specialized market for horse breeders.

However, no more items of the same caliber as the [Detector] or [Advisory Group] have appeared.

To say I wasn't disappointed would be a lie.

However, her attention was quickly drawn to the few rows that could only be exchanged with Rainbow Amulets.

[The detector's usage limit for the same horse has increased by one, and the number of available uses has increased from three to four: 1 Rainbow Amulet]

[The advisory group will provide breeding advice unconditionally during the fourth week of December each year: 2-color amulets]

[The detector can detect the explosive potential between the target racehorse and the selected racehorse breeding pair: 1-color protection]

After eliminating some seemingly nonsensical or impractical options, my focus shifted to these three.

"That would make four hundred million yen—"

(End of this chapter)