Hokkaido Horse Racing Story

Earlier in March, Xingchuan had received the evaluation of "good development completion" from Hattori.

Even so, the official entry into the stable was postponed until today.

Of course, there are considerations about the horse's physical condition, but Kitano's excessive paranoia may be the main reason.

After a part-time job that was as long as Halloween night carrying a billboard on the streets of Shibuya, I finally received a reply.

The index finger poked at it almost the moment the pop-up window popped up.

[Starship-kun has arrived safely~(^O^)]

Soon, a picture was sent below the concise text.

The obviously overweight Hattori and the Indian stable boy stood on either side, making old-fashioned scissor hand gestures.

The starship, sandwiched between the two, looked at the camera calmly.

[Finally, just to confirm, there's nothing to change about President Kitano's name, right?]

[Yes, please.]

After sending this message, his fingertips seemed to be trembling slightly.

Zep, who was sitting on the sofa not far away, also clenched his cell phone and held his breath nervously.

"You must pass—"

"We must ship it—"

On the other side, Hattori slowly brought the star ship to the common area between several stables.

Unlike the horse-producing region of Hokkaido and the fiercely competitive southern Kanto, horse racing in Saga is a game of "old men and old ladies."

In Saga, most trainers only have 20 to 30 horses under management.

A guy like him who just opened his business only managed less than ten racehorses.

Among the two-year-old horses, Starship was the only one who wanted to be put in a box for protection.

"Four hundred and sixty-three kilograms, it seems like not much has changed since the transport!"

The horses were weighed before being stabled on a shared scale, and the trainer took a photo showing the weight numbers with a happy look on his face.

Almost the next second after it was sent, the message became "read".

【OK! 】

Sent from Kitano is an original sticker of Tanaka Stables.

"This is really true."

Looking at the picture of himself wearing the victory suit and making an "OK" gesture, Hattori couldn't help but smile bitterly.

At this time, several horse trainers who heard the noise also came over.

"It's Mejiro's horse, and it was actually delivered to a guy like you, Hattori."

"How about I exchange Luqilu-chan with you? Just give the child to me?"

"He seems like a pretty good character. Those guys in my stable always have to struggle a long time to get on the scale."

Even though there were many people around him, Xingchuan still had a calm expression that was unique to the Dragon King bloodline.

"Okay, okay, the child hasn't been registered yet."

After smilingly driving away the trainers who came to join in the fun, especially the ones from the Majima family, Hattori picked up the leash and walked towards his own stable.

"I'm sorry to have you suffer here."

Hattori said apologetically as he opened the baffle door.

Even among the many stables with limited funds, the average standard in Saga is relatively poor.

Stopping in front of the stable, Xingchuan raised his head as if to confirm something.

Compared to the luxurious stables at Mejiro Ranch, the environment in front of us can only be described as "simple".

Despite this, the stable was kept very tidy, and clean water and feed had been prepared in advance.

Blinking his eyes, which were as spiritual as his father's, Starship took a step forward.

Seeing the deer-haired pony lowering its head to eat the feed, Hattori finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"From today on, please take good care of him."

The new trainer gave these instructions to the stable boy.

Then, he walked towards the training center of Saga Racecourse with a happy face.

Once you arrive here, you must confirm whether it is the racehorse recorded in the pedigree certificate based on the characteristics, and then conduct formal racehorse registration.

"The child is finally here."

Seeing the figure almost jumping into the training center, the staff in charge of registration asked with a smile.

"Yes."

Hattori nodded his head heavily, a smile from the heart on his face.

"My name is Mejiro Noah, and in European characters it's Mejiro Noah."

After handing over the information he had prepared early in the morning, Hattori spoke word by word, fearing that his tongue would suddenly become tied.

"The name comes from the mythical Noah's Ark, and it also carries the meaning of 'ship' from my father's name."

"I see. It's a very good name."

On May 21, 5, the name of the horse Starship was officially registered in NAR.

His name is Mejiro Noah.

----------

"[Time report]

Sottis, who has three NHK Mile Cups under his belt, will plan his events around the Rose Trophy, with the main goal being the Autumn Flower Festival.

Yasuhiro Tanaka: "She performed very well (in the mixed event). Her growth will be more obvious after the summer. We look forward to her further performance in the second half of the year."

——《n○tkeiba》

Chapter 208: Morning in Saga

"First up in the morning is the 400-meter wildebeest training. I'll be in charge of Noah's horse physical exam."

Swiping his finger across the tablet screen, Hattori quickly completed the plan for today's training, took a screenshot and sent it to the stable attendant.

"learn."

The cell phone rang, and the dark-skinned stable boy glanced at it and nodded.

"By the way, does that kid want to try the wildebeest track too?"

"No, that's not necessary."

Hattori waved his hand, the corners of his lips raised confidently.

"That child's development level—it's a full 120 points!"

Usually, the level of development of two-year-old horses sent directly from non-Shetai ranches is often unbearable to watch.

Not to mention ability tests, even normal level of training in a short period of time is impossible.

Especially for breeding horses from small ranches, they have to spend several months in the stable after entering the stable to make up for the basic training such as wildebeest field, bit and saddle, rein operation, etc. that should have been completed on the ranch.

This situation is actually similar whether in Hokkaido or Saga.

Even some two-year-old horses that are declared to be fully bred often need extra time to fill in the gaps in the basics after entering the stable.

It can be said that these "semi-finished products" from small ranches are the hot potatoes that horse trainers are most worried about.

Do not--

To be frank, it's not even a semi-finished product.

In contrast, racehorses transferred from South Kanto or even Central Japan not only have a certain guarantee of strength, but also save possible additional training time.

Of course, new trainers usually don't have much to do with such good things.

"Okay, let's get to work."

Putting away the tablet, Hattori walked towards the still deserted stable.

"If the number is smaller than others, then try to spend more time on each one."

With this awareness, he carefully checked the condition of each horse and finally stopped in front of the stable door at the end of the corridor.

With a grin on his face, the trainer looked inside and asked gently, "Good morning, Noah. How are you feeling today?"

As if he understood the trainer's greeting, Mejiro Noah twitched his ears.

The deer-hair horse took a light step forward with its front hoof, and then began to stretch in the center of the stable.

"Hey, hey, be careful not to hurt yourself."

Hattori couldn't help but laugh.

At this time, the Indian stable boy also came over with a racehorse that had a practice schedule.

The two of them worked together to fasten the abdominal belt and then began to install the saddle.

After everything was ready, the stable boy fastened his helmet and climbed onto the horse's back.

At the beginning, Hattori would also try to practice riding by himself.

However, nowadays, such work can basically only be handed over to stable attendants or riders in other stables.

After leaving the stables, the view gradually opens up, and the rolling hills outside the racecourse are dotted with lush greenery.

If there is anything really worth boasting about the Saga Racecourse in the mountains, it is probably only that the environment is quite good.

On the practice track, several horses were preparing to practice the gates.

Maybe there will be an opponent for Noah's debut battle——

Thinking of this, the horse trainer couldn't help but slow down his pace.

"Sorry, you go first."

"I understand. Then I will start practicing right away."

After watching the man and horse walk into the fence of the wildebeest field, Hattori turned his gaze back to the gate in front of him.

“Oh eh—”

A stable boy who was acting as the starter shouted in a serious tone.

however--

When the gate opened at a much slower speed than normal, the three two-year-old horses in practice were still frightened and took a few steps back.

The trainers and stable boys on the sidelines all laughed out loud.

It was not until the riders urged them with a smile that the three obviously immature racehorses hesitantly stepped out of the gate.

"One wave, twenty-one seconds and three seconds—"

The stable boy standing at the furlong pole clicked the timer on his cell phone and shouted out the number.

"At least it got out of the gate smoothly."

"When the gate opened, my back suddenly became stiff."

"Haha, I feel the same way."

"Hey - Hattori, you are here to gather information, right?"

At this time, a trainer waved to Hattori and asked half-jokingly.

"How despicable! They're already using tactics before the Xinma War even begins."

"That's right, you have to treat us to lunch as an apology."

"Okay, enough joking around. We still have a second practice session later."

The gray-haired horse trainer smiled and waved his hand, stopping the spread of the situation in time.