Hokkaido Horse Racing Story.

Chapter 361 The First Blow to Home Plate

The same day I became a horse owner.

Baozu briefly stayed at Mipo's stables in order to register for the Central Racecourse.

When body temperature is good, sweating and weight loss are not too significant, and appetite is still on the rise.

Having confirmed this, the horse owner quickly discussed and finalized the pre-debut arrangements with the trainer.

The transport to Hokkaido will begin as soon as possible, with a brief stop at the branch in Yakumo-cho, before proceeding to the expedition stables at Sapporo Racecourse.

Generally speaking, horse racing transportation between Honshu and Hokkaido becomes significantly more difficult during this season, making scheduling more challenging for both transportation companies and breeding farms than at other times.

On the other hand, if it is a situation where we are waiting for the JRA to arrange the horse transport wagons, this step alone may take a long time.

However, compared to other groups that were generally flustered, the first partnership between the new central horse owner and the new trainer was relatively calm.

On the same day the horse racing registration was completed, the horse transport wagons dispatched by the ranch had already set off to return to Hokkaido.

To ensure safety during transport, Zep and Kikuchi, who hold special vehicle permits, were specially assigned to drive the ranch during the busy season.

That morning, after finishing their morning work, they rushed to Yakumo Town, hundreds of kilometers away.

Several months later, a Western-style building that seemed to have been built in the wrong place appeared on the uneven land that was about to be abandoned.

The Yakumo branch was built to serve as a base for horse racing expeditions from Honshu Island.

After parking the pickup truck and stepping into the building, I immediately felt a sense of relief.

It is still significantly smaller and less equipped than the main venue, but it can be considered a successful establishment of such a base.

Although the process wasn't easy, I'm glad I made that attempt in the end.

Accompanied by the soft hum of the central air conditioning blowing out pleasant air, I leisurely began preparations to welcome them into the stable.

Check the equipment's operation, clean away dust, lay bedding material, and prepare feed according to the formula.
They were all relatively simple tasks, but as they worked, it seemed like only a short while before they heard the sound of tires rubbing against the ground.

Looking out the window, a horse-drawn wagon, larger than usual, was already parked at the entrance of the ranch.

"So tired, so tired!"

"The roads are full of horse-drawn carts!"

The two people in the driver's and passenger's seats were shouting and yelling as they rolled down the windows and stretched.

"You've worked hard. Take a good rest for the next few days."

"Actually, it's not that tiring. At least sitting in the front isn't too strenuous."

Zepp flashed his healthy white teeth and stuck his hand out the car window, giving a thumbs-up.

—The current positive review rate is 50%, which comes from the human side.

He took a few steps back and stared at the rear of the car diagonally in front of him.

The barrier door descended silently, making a crisp beep upon contact with the ground.

After a while, an old man with thinning hair, but who still looked quite energetic, slowly walked out leading a black deer-haired horse.

"I have never seen such an amazing horse-carrying wagon. You can't feel the wagon shaking at all while it's in motion."

Upon disembarking from the train, Ikeda, a former stable boy who had been rehired by Yoshida during the expedition to Sapporo, uttered these words of sentiment.

On the other side, Baozuo, with grass clippings still stuck to his mouth, widened his eyes slightly and curiously looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings.

It looks like a 100% positive review rate.

"Still full of energy, Eli."

"Yes, he ate all the feed with great spirit along the way."

"Then all the feed we prepared here would have been for nothing—"

"Haha, that's not true."

They chatted for a while until they arrived at the stables, and after walking through a not-too-long corridor, they reached the prepared stables. After skillfully settling Baozuo in, the stableman Ikeda clapped his hands and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank you so much for your hard work."

I bowed slightly to the old stableman who was still working hard on this long expedition, and then handed him the oolong tea that I had bought in advance at the convenience store.

As for the other two bottles prepared for the members, they became empty cans in the blink of an eye.

"Where."

After bowing back with a smile, the stableman Ikeda finally accepted the oolong tea.

"On another note, we might have set an incredible record this time."

After taking a sip of oolong tea, the stableman Ikeda first let out a satisfied sigh, and then said the following.

—Within a week of registration for the race, the horse will leave for a new race, and the location will still be Sapporo, far away from Honshu Island.

Judging from the current progress, the tight schedule that even Mr. Yahagi was somewhat surprised by has a good chance of being successfully implemented.

Although at the beginning, just in case, I also registered for the fifth Sapporo 1200m turf race on August 5th.

It's fantastic that we hit home run on the first batter!

Under the midday sun, a few people chatted idly in the corridor. Later that evening, Yoshida arrived from Sapporo.

The already cramped space felt even more crowded, forcing everyone to move to the open area outside the stables.

They had only taken a few steps when the black deer-haired horse, which had been comfortably enjoying the air conditioning, suddenly neighed and poked its head out.

"This child has always been afraid of being alone."

"I"

"Then I'll take care of Eri-chan!"

Kikuchi, who had been listless, beat Zep to the punch and offered to stay and take care of Baozu.

On one side is a female employee who suddenly switches to energetic mode and interacts intimately with the black deer, Kema; on the other side is the vice-manager, who is even more listless and looks like the "Hunchback of Notre Dame" described in the novel.

"Because they heard we were going to participate in this competition, all the guys from Miura went somewhere else—"

Leaning against the fence, sitting cross-legged on the grass, Yoshida jokingly sent over the competition registration form.

As the trainer said, among the relatively few nine horses that left, all of them except for Baozu belonged to Lidong.

With the lineup of nine two-year-old horses confirmed, the next battle will be the gate trials.

"Because time is extremely tight, there's probably no time to catch up before the match."

The experienced stable hand pushed up his glasses and squinted at the spreadsheet that had been sent to his phone.

"On the bright side, the gate test also serves as a means of chasing and cutting, and the rest is just adjustments made before the official competition."

"At present, there should be no problem."

Upon hearing this, everyone showed a slight expression of relief.

"The riders from De Wengao will also arrive in Sapporo tomorrow and will start riding Eli from the pre-gate training."

Yoshida Shigeya, who was in charge of negotiating with the rider's agent, nodded and announced yet another piece of good news.

"Well, come on!"

"Oh--"

"We'll have to step up our efforts from now on!"

It quickly turned into a noisy scene of shouting and yelling.

(End of this chapter)