Hokkaido Horse Racing Story

Even in Menbie, one hundred horses is the limit for the stables and trainers.

In the central regions of Ritto and Miho, trainers often keep the number of racehorses under their names below 50.

A trainer who manages more than 500 racehorses——

Even if it is just to the extent of not making any mistakes, it is indeed enough to be considered a high level of management.

"Mr. Kitano, our flight is almost here!"

Zepp shouted as he ran with a huge luggage bag on his back.

As Mejiro Sakuya's personal hoof trimmer, although nominally belonging to the Arashiyama Stables, Zepp is actually Kitano's personal employee.

On this trip to Australia, I brought a German hoof trimmer along.

Just think of it as a paid vacation to reward him for his recent hard work.

Although with Kitano's limited knowledge, he couldn't think of any entertainment options in Australia.

"Isn't there still time?"

Looking down at his watch, Kitano spoke slowly.

However, I still took the first step.

As they passed the shopping area, Zep's eyes suddenly lit up.

If he didn't have to catch a flight, Kitano felt he could spend the whole day there.

The soft sound of the cabin door closing announced the beginning of the first air journey.

There was a sporadic conversation between the two people sitting next to each other.

However, most of the time it was Zep who took the initiative to bring up the topic, while Kitano was the one who passively responded.

While occasionally agreeing with a few words, he took out his mobile phone and turned on a documentary.

A Game of Chess with Nature

After learning that Kitano was studying ranch management, Kanna Ogawa recommended this documentary to him.

So, I downloaded it to my phone while I still had some free time.

I turned my phone to silent mode, whispered to Zep, and watched the documentary with the subtitles.

Some time after takeoff, the obvious turbulence disappeared, and the slowly vibrating seat back transmitted drowsy 1/f fluctuations.

The German hoof trimmer next to him quickly closed his eyes.

Slightly relieved.

After putting on the headphones, I continued to click play.

The documentary introduces the history of the Aga Khan Stud Farm from a third-person perspective. It has a slow pace but a compact structure, and is interspersed with many interview clips with Aga Khan IV himself.

After boarding the connecting flight to Sydney Airport, Kitano watched the documentary several times.

Even when I set foot on Australian soil, a subtle emotion was still surging and echoing in my chest.

“The Aga Khan’s centuries-old history and horse breeding philosophy are all condensed into this one hour.”

This seems to be what Kanna Ogawa said when she recommended this documentary.

This is indeed the case.

Aga Khan IV runs horse breeding as an ongoing business, and bloodline is the bond that maintains this huge business.

Even through just a few words in the documentary, Kitano was able to sense Aga Khan IV's almost obsessive pursuit of bloodline.

To this end, he rarely even keeps his top racehorses in active service beyond a classic year.

Although it doesn't align with mainstream breeder guidelines, this philosophy seems to be working.

and--

In recent years, there seem to be more and more cases of strong horses being retired early for breeding in the horse racing world in Japan and the United States.

However, for Kitano, such an idea can only be regarded as a reference.

He cannot agree with the practice of retiring a racehorse early or later in order to continue the bloodline or earn bounties.

If we really have to classify horse breeding concepts, he can be considered as one of the "follow nature" factions.

After leaving Sydney Airport, Kitano met the staff sent by Bang Bang Ranch to pick him up.

A trainee communications specialist named Rooney.

On the way to the ranch, Rooney enthusiastically introduced the facilities of Bang Bang Ranch.

Training routes include a 1250m irrigated gently sloping grass track and a 1200m sand track, a hyperbaric oxygen chamber, a horse spa, a water walker, a hypoxia chamber, two gaiters, two indoor arenas and state-of-the-art office facilities

Everything at Bang Bang Ranch is state-of-the-art.

"He's like Mourinho making his Premier League debut. Mr Mahanya has revolutionised horse racing."

Even holding the steering wheel, Rooney could hardly restrain the desire to raise his hand to gesture.

“Before him, few trainers had thought of treating racehorses like top athletes.”

Chapter 131 The Future Ranch

Outside the car window, the street scene of Sydney slid backwards, and the sparsely populated natural scenery gradually unfolded.

Outside the settlement are mostly stretches of pasture, with families clearly separated from each other.

It is still spring in the northern hemisphere, but Australia has entered late autumn.

Of course, that's not what it looks like in reality.

There are evergreen trees on both sides of the road, stretching endlessly.

South of Wilton, the scenery begins to become desolate.

After driving for a while on the long road surrounded by greenery, Rooney said, "Yellingbur is just ahead."

It is said that the name comes from the local Aboriginal language and means "place of waterfalls".

Passing through the narrow town on the southeast edge of the Blue Mountains, Braemar is on the way.

Bangbang Ranch is located further south.

After Rooney introduced the above long list of place names, I almost forgot them after they went through my mind.

It's like trying to point out the city's circular route to someone who has just arrived in Beijing. The only responses you'll probably get are "hmm," "mmm," or "ah."

On the way, the hotel that Kitano had booked called, and the Australian finally stopped his endless introduction for a while.

After confirming that the luggage was successfully delivered to the hotel, he quickly hung up the phone again.

Kitano soon regretted this action.

Because Rooney soon started his Australian geography class again.

Before the trainee communications specialist completely switched to being a tour guide, the vehicle finally drove into the main gate of the giant ranch.

“This is horse racing heaven.”

When he arrived at Bang Bang Ranch, Rooney's face quickly showed an even more enthusiastic expression than before.

The vehicle stopped in front of a surprisingly large grazing field.

"You can get off the bus and take a look."

The Australian said.

So Kitano opened the car door, stretched his body and looked towards the grazing land.

He noticed that the racehorses grazing there seemed to be wearing something.

"That's an amazing little device."

Rooney smiled and said.

“It can monitor a horse’s heart rate, maximum oxygen uptake, lactate threshold and heart rate recovery around the clock, helping to track training progress and ensure effectiveness.”

"Even when we're in Magna or grazing."

Finally, he added an extra emphasis.

Rooney then pointed to the hoof of a nearby racehorse.

"During training, we install some gadgets on their legs that look similar."

After a pause, he continued, "Of course, the uses are completely different."

The Australian explained with the seriousness of an expert: "By placing sensors on the legs, we can collect complete data on the racehorse's cadence and stride length."

"Analyzing this data allows us to specifically improve the performance skills of each individual racehorse and significantly reduce their risk of injury."

Kitano turned his head and looked at Zepu who was also listening attentively.

If he remembered correctly, a German hoof trimmer had also developed a special hoof trimming plan for Mejiro Sakuya by establishing a similar movement model.

Last year, Ogawa also seemed to mention that American trainers would confirm the suitability of racehorses by testing the degree of stride decay on different tracks.

So Kitano raised his own questions.

Rooney smiled and replied, "A database compiled from stride length and cadence data can certainly provide guidance on racehorses' distance and even their suitability for the track. Combined with observations of different track surfaces, we can even simulate their performance during the race."

He turned his head and looked at the stables not far away that were several stories high.

"We collect all the data you can think of. We communicate and share all the data with the teams at the other seven CMR training bases through an online system."

“Through this extensive database, the career data of every CMR-managed racehorse is accurately tracked, allowing us to analyse their current performance with over 93 per cent accuracy.”

Kitano's eyes were a little surprised.

In Japan, professionals such as horse physique specialists and horse racing commentators also make various pre-race predictions.

But their expectations are more based on experience or feelings, which are difficult for others to understand.

Generally speaking, it is a case of "because I feel this horse is good, so maybe it really is good and may run well too."

Predicting horse racing performance through analysis of data and even sports models——

At least in Japan, this is not a mainstream method.

After finishing his long preaching speech, Rooney finally brought the two of them to the tall and magnificent stable.

“Isn’t it wonderful here?”

Walking into the stables, there was even some emotion mixed in the trainee communications specialist's words.

“We have one of the most advanced sports science departments in the entire racing industry, combining the latest sports science and data analysis technology to elevate the performance of CMR horses to new heights.”

While walking in the corridor outside the stable, Kitano looked at every corner of the stable.

In terms of decoration, you can still feel a sense of historical heritage in this luxurious stable.

Other than that, everything is brand new.

Brand new facilities, brand new training and management.

“The horse racing world has stayed with the same training style for far too long.”

Standing in the corridor, Rooney looked into the office through the glass.

“Before entering the CMR stables, our sports science team assesses each horse’s optimal racing distance through a test that analyses the myostatin gene.”

"To get the horse to perform at its best over the best distance in the shortest possible time is what we strive for."

He pointed to the other side of the office, and a man and a woman raised their heads and smiled at them.

"That's our racing sports nutrition consultant and data analyst."

“CMR is collaborating with teams at the University of Melbourne and the University of Kentucky to develop customized feeding regimens targeted at enhancing gut health and athletic performance.”

Taking out his mobile phone, Rooney opened an app that seemed to be designed by CMR itself.

Kitano was dazzled by the various data that popped up on the screen.

“Through split timing and performance ratings, we can assess a horse’s ability at every stage of their career, select races where they have the highest chance of winning, and support their long-term development.”

Seemingly satisfied with the expression on Kitano's face, the Australian sported a somewhat smug expression as he put his phone away.

【Accurate】