Hokkaido Horse Racing Story

"If it's convenient for you, Wada-kun, how about joining me at the auction?"

"Hey, me?"

At that time, Hetian's tone was obviously shocked.

It is quite common in the horse racing world for trainers to accompany horse owners to auctions to provide advice, or even for trainers to purchase new horses directly on behalf of horse owners.

but--

Hotan was not very prepared for something like this to happen to him.

I was completely caught off guard.

According to unwritten convention, a new horse purchased with the accompaniment or advice of a trainer will usually be placed in the stable of that trainer.

If I fail the exemption exam again this year, my own embarrassment will be a small matter, but it will be terrible if I cause President Kitano to be laughed at by others.

I wouldn’t have made such boasts earlier.

Despite such concerns, Wada finally couldn't resist Kitano's repeated invitations.

"I'm completely clueless about horses, President Kitano."

"Haha, actually I don't know how either."

Wada's tone was somewhat helpless, but Kitano looked relaxed, and the two of them walked towards a one-year-old horse on display.

Then, even before the stable boy pulled up the leash and started the gait demonstration, Kitano continued walking towards another horse not far away.

On the other side, although his expression remained calm, Hetian's eyes kept scanning the one-year-old horses around him.

I can’t see it at all——

Even if we leave aside factors such as bloodline, gait and actual running performance, it takes a lot of time just to observe the horse's physical condition.

Is it really possible for anyone to figure out a horse's potential in just a few seconds?

Just like he said, "just taking a look", Kitano's eyes basically didn't stay on any horse for too long.

"Perhaps it's to prevent others from guessing the real target."

Thinking of this, Hetian also quickly withdrew his gaze.

Kitano in front of him was chatting with the ranch representatives and horse owners while casually scanning the bodies of different horses.

Rather than observing the horse's body, it seems more like I'm here to expand my network.

Even Wada, who was following him, received some business cards by accident.

"Has President Kitano figured this out?"

Walking through the crowded area, Hetian finally asked with some curiosity.

"No, it just happened that those ones just now were not part of my plan."

After saying that, Kitano silently clicked on the next [Detector] in his mind.

There are too many horse racing fraudsters today.

Looking at the horses that have been shown so far, both their attributes as racehorses and their breeding characteristics are only at a fairly average level.

".And then there are the things to note about online auctions."

During the broadcast, the announcement of precautions was almost at the end.

"Let's go in first."

Kitano's tone suddenly became somewhat helpless.

Although he didn't understand what was going on, Wada nodded and followed him to the venue.

On the way, Kitano took out a pen and wrote down the number of the absent horse according to the broadcast.

By the way, mark off the horses that have been explored.

The cicadas chirped as if coming to life, making you feel that this was the season.

It's summer.

Chapter 227 The Neighbor's Horse

".The 88th Elite Mares and Fillies Oaks Stakes, held at Tokyo Racecourse on May 23rd of this year, was won beautifully by the Mejiro Atalanta, who escaped and won!"

After putting down the microphone, the host looked at Kitano in the audience with a smile on his face.

"The Mejiro Atalanta was purchased by Mr. Yuki Kitano at the Hokkaido Selection Fair in 2025."

"Now, please welcome Mr. Yuki Kitano, the owner of Mejiro Atalanta, and Mr. Daisuke Majima, the trainer, to the stage."

There was a great applause.

The buyers and horse owners in the venue spontaneously gave warm applause.

"I am truly grateful for your support of the Hokkaido market."

Mayor Furukawa bowed deeply to Kitano and Majima, who was standing next to him and almost got late because he went to the wrong venue.

"President Kitano, please give me more guidance in the future."

Market Manager Furukawa handed over the souvenir trophy with both hands and bowed again.

"Each each other."

Kitano took the trophy and returned the gift solemnly.

Majima, who was standing nearby, and Murata, who was present as a representative of the production farm, also followed suit and bowed.

Before the applause died down, the four of them took a group photo.

Except for Murata, whose expression was a little stiff, the other three smiled quite naturally.

"President Kitano, today's auction doesn't look good."

Majima lowered his voice as he made his way back to his seat, a hint of worry crossing his face.

Even if you are slow-witted, you can still sense that the atmosphere in the venue today is unusual.

In this kind of atmosphere, even if no one maliciously raises the price, the degree of premium will definitely exceed expectations.

As soon as he sat down, Hotan also expressed similar concerns.

Although I arrived early and chose a seat near the corner, there were still many buyers and horse owners eager to try their luck.

"That kind of thing is really a headache."

Kitano nodded and suddenly took out his cell phone.

To avoid being targeted or revealing their intentions, horse owners who might attract attention at auction often use agents to bid.

However, Kitano was not contacting the auction agent.

Unlike other horse owners who had a plan before the auction began, his [detector] could only be used on site.

The delay between the completion of the survey and the agent's bid was enough for the auctioneer to bring the hammer down several times.

He adopted an online anonymous bidding model that was somewhat difficult for Wada and Majima to understand.

In order to make up for the short delay of a few seconds, I personally attended the auction.

Maybe, in the eyes of the two, Kitano is such a willful person.

However, the existence of the [detector] cannot be mentioned to outsiders.

Even if they really thought so, Kitano had no choice.

The first one to appear was the Lotto Heart colt that was highly recommended by the ranch members.

"I'm going to show you this, Polisi 2026, a male, Deer Hair, born on March 6th. His sire is Lotto Heart, and his dam is the Northern Dancer 5x4 Polisi. He won the 1,600m Tokyo Turf race by two lengths last month."

Some impatient horse owners even raised their arms impatiently.

"The initial offer was 11 million yen. What do you think of 11 million yen? 11 million—"

The sound of "Oh hey" continued to echo in my ears.

Kitano, who was originally scrolling through his phone, also raised his head.

[Instant Power: B-]

【Health: G+】

His slightly tense shoulders suddenly relaxed.

The investigation of the first horse to appear ends here.

The health of "G+" is probably even questionable as to whether it can become a racehorse.

Thinking of this, Kitano continued to operate his mobile phone with his head down.

The quotes on and off the screen rose rapidly, breaking through the 30 million yen mark in less than a minute.

"Thirty-two million—is there any guest willing to pay thirty-three million?"

Several horse owners seemed unwilling to give up, but the current price was obviously beyond their affordability.

"Then the transaction price is 32 million yen. Thank you to our guest from the ninth branch."

I seemed to hear a sigh.

Next, the horses ranked from second to tenth were all sold at prices significantly higher than expected.

"Judging from this trend, there will probably be a significant premium this year—"

"These bastards who follow the trend, if they have so much money, why don't they just go to the north?"

The horse owners kept complaining, but the bidding became more and more intense.

but--

Kitano, who was identified as a key focus by the surrounding horse owners, was concentrating on browsing his mobile phone from the very beginning. He would occasionally look up but would quickly shift his attention back to the screen.

"What exactly is President Kitano's goal?"

Even the former jockey and trainer who were sitting on Kitano's left and right, many people had this question in their minds.

"The quality isn't much different from previous years. It's really not worth it to buy it at this price."

Putting down the phone, Kitano couldn't help but let out a sigh.

So far, the properties detected for the expected target are only at the level of "about right".

Considering the obviously serious premium, the already dispensable attraction has completely disappeared.

"President Kitano, why don't you take action?"

After noticing that Kitano had clearly skipped several marked target horses, Majima naturally expressed the doubts that had been brewing in his heart.

At this time, Hetian also turned his head and gave him a slightly questioning look.

"No, actually I've already done it more than once."

Kitano shook his phone helplessly.

Several horses recommended by Lavid did have decent breeding characteristics, and he also made an anonymous offer based on his expected price.

As for the result, it was natural that he was defeated by the more fanatical horse owner.

certainly--

These horses are not at the point where you have to buy them.

Otherwise, I will never give up easily no matter what.

"So that's how it is."

The two people beside him nodded thoughtfully.

Inhale slowly, then exhale.

The slight heat that spread to my face suddenly faded away.

"As for the auction, you really have to keep a cool head."

Thinking of this, Kitano's fingertips that were flipping through the manual suddenly paused.

The next horse to appear was the one that Rachel Ho intuitively recommended as a winner.