Hokkaido Horse Racing Story.

Chapter 7: Entering the Stable and Making a Choice

"What a beautiful horse body!"

Having just met with Kitano's horse owner and the ranch representative, Tanaka couldn't wait to praise them.

This is a lie.

In fact, the two-year-old and two-month-old Medaipei is in the stage of growing up, and his body is covered with dirty-looking gray spots.

Even Kitano, who personally named it "Pegasus", did not think that the gray guy in front of him had any connection with the legendary Pegasus.

Moreover, the body of the horse at this moment is also very ordinary. Although its weight of 467 kg is not thinner than horses of the same age, there is no prominent muscle contour in any part of its body.

As for things like gait, flexibility, or mental attributes, there is no way to talk about them.

Xu Hesheng curled his lips imperceptibly, feeling somewhat disdainful of the hypocritical flattery among people in society.

Then, I felt reluctant to leave.

As the ranch representative, Ogawa Jō was giving final instructions to the trainer and accompanying riders.

This is commonly known as the instruction manual submission ceremony.

"This child has a very smart mind, but can be a bit stubborn at times, so please don't hesitate to be strict with him or crack the whip if necessary."

"Smart but stubborn? Got it."

Tanaka pulled a palm-sized notepad from his pocket and quickly wrote something on the blank page.

"remember."

Rider Ochiai nodded somewhat coldly.

"I already have a general understanding of the situation."

Closing the notebook, Tanaka nodded.

"Mr. Kitano, could you please go over there and talk for a moment?"

He pointed to a spot a little further away.

The Xuhe siblings, who were playing eye contact, stopped and looked at their father with some concern.

"no problem."

Kitano followed Tanaka with a normal expression.

"Well, I'd like to ask Mr. Kitano, as a horse owner, what he thinks about the production and ranching aspect."

"Especially in terms of training."

Tanaka spoke slowly, carefully choosing his words.

He was vaguely disappointed with Mudashi Kuroba, who was about to join his stable.

At first, I thought that Mr. Kitano, who was said to be a veterinarian, would have chosen a very special horse.

The result was ordinary.

It wasn't the kind of thing that was worth his attention among the more than a hundred racehorses.

However, although he gave up the idea of ​​training the horse himself, he did not want to neglect or offend the "Kitano family" in front of him.

To do this, a solution that is acceptable to both parties must be found.

"Nishiken Ranch?"

Although it was unclear what Tanaka meant, Kitano gave a brief thought and replied pertinently, "Although this is a very new farm in many ways, Mr. Ogawa's abilities are unquestionable, and his attitude is also very responsible."

After getting Kitano's answer, Tanaka felt a little relieved.

"Then, what do you think about letting them continue to be responsible for Mudahima's training?"

Concerned that Kitano, a new owner, wouldn't understand the intricacies of the situation, Tanaka quickly explained, "Look, I manage over a hundred racehorses, and with my abilities, I can only take care of a limited number. Even with the help of assistants and stable boys, I can barely manage the rest."

If you don't have the ability, why do you take on this job?

As if anticipating Kitano's question, Tanaka continued, "Actually, the situation is similar at the local and even central levels. Only the top racehorses are often given the best care."

In other words, Medairo Bokuro is not there, at least not in Tanaka's judgment.

Kitano calmly accepted this fact. There was nothing surprising about it.

As a veterinarian, he could somewhat empathize with Tanaka's explanation.

He is fully aware of the difficulties of caring for large livestock.

Seeing that Kitano's reaction wasn't as intense as he'd expected, Tanaka breathed a sigh of relief and patted his chest. "Of course, if Mr. Kitano isn't satisfied with the conditions offered by the production ranch, or if he prefers to trust the stables, that's fine too. We'll definitely do our best to take care of him."

Kitano remained skeptical about Tanaka's words "as much as possible".

"And you don't have to worry about the competition at all. Whether it's the route selection or the rider selection, we will do our best to strive for it."

Kitano is also skeptical about how big the "maximum extent" is.

Of course, this sentence is slightly more credible than the previous one.

"Then I'll try to communicate with Mr. Ogawa first."

In the end, Kitano chose to accept Tanaka's proposal.

He was also uneasy about handing over his only racehorse to a trainer who was already responsible for hundreds of racehorses.

At least there are fewer horses on the Nishiken Ranch side.

After finally reaching a consensus, Tanaka breathed a sigh of relief.

"The stables currently have a rider in mind for Medaimaru's main battle, Genta—the guy who came with me. Of course, if you have another rider you're interested in or you know well, we're always open to discuss it."

Tanaka pointed in the direction of Genta Ochiai.

Some serious riders were holding carrot sticks they had taken from the stable, trying to close the distance between themselves and Mu Baima.

"Don't underestimate Xuan Tai's youth. The cumulative number of races he has participated in over the past two years has exceeded 1,500. At least in Menbie, he can be considered a good rider."

In case Kitano expressed doubts about Ochiai's age, Tanaka did not forget to introduce his apprentice.

In fact, long before today, Kitano had secretly looked up relevant information about Trainer Tanaka and Rider Ochiai through software such as "n○tkeiba".

Even as a new horse owner, he would not wait foolishly without taking the initiative to learn any information.

Tanaka certainly didn't lie.

Ochiai, who is only one year older than Kitano this year, has considerable riding experience and is fully worthy of the title of "local strong rider" in terms of strength.

At Monbetsu Racecourse, rider Genta Ochiai's yellow and black grid three-scale sleeves one-round winning suit is also quite famous.

“As for the riders, I have no problem with that at the moment.”

Kitano nodded, accepting Genta Ochiai as Medaipei's main rider.

"That would be great!"

The two simply shook hands, which was considered a preliminary agreement.

After that, the rest is easy.

"Will we continue to be responsible?"

Even though he tried hard to restrain himself, he could not hide the joy on Xuhe Zhang's face.

The production ranch is responsible for the training and conditioning of the racehorses, and the horses are not handed over to trainers and riders until just before the race.

This way of operating is nothing new even today.

But he didn't expect that Kitano would trust his own ranch, which had just opened, so much.

On the other side, Ogawa Katsu was also waving his fists excitedly.

For him, this is also the best outcome.

"Don't you like it?"

Looking down at the radish strips in his hand that he hadn't touched at all, Ochiai scratched his head.

Medaihira made a nasal sound of disgust.

(End of this chapter)