Hokkaido Horse Racing Story

Believe in Mejiro Sakuya's final steps.

This choice was made based on past riding experience.

After graduating from the short-term rider course, I still have a vague understanding of what the instructor calls "horse priority."

But he has begun to have some experience in how to reduce the probability of making mistakes during the game.

"Mejiro Sakuya! Mejiro Sakuya, who started in ninth place, takes the lead!"

The Ishikawa rider waved his whip vigorously and did not give up.

But even though he was expected to take first place before the race, the wise and foolish man under the saddle was not out of the ordinary.

As the leading horse, it did not have the strong roots to keep fighting after being overtaken in the latter stages of the race.

Although it was still quite a distance ahead of the herd behind, it was impossible to overtake.

With a clear advantage, Mejiro Sakuya crossed the finish line first.

"Mejiro Sakuya's one move! A difference of two horse lengths! On the saddle is rider Genta Ochiai!"

At the moment of crossing the finish line, Ochiai didn't feel much reality.

His palm brushed gently against his partner's mane.

Then, he breathed a sigh of relief.

After this comes the joy of victory.

"Good job, Genta!"

Leading to the venue for the commendation ceremony, Kobayashi smiled and fastened the leash to the deer-haired horse.

"It's all thanks to Mejiro Sakuya's excellent performance. I just took a nap in the saddle."

Ochiai answered while holding the reins.

After entering the straight line, his physical strength was already very limited.

If you need to push and ride, it may be difficult to exert any force.

In addition, continuing on the outside route is also a somewhat risky option.

Mejiro Sakuya's own strength was the main reason for her victory in the competition.

At least that's what Ochiai, the rider, thinks.

"Let's save the humble remarks for later!"

Kobayashi, the stable attendant, said as he patted the deer-haired horse's body which was constantly radiating heat.

"Amazing! I actually made it out of the undefeated group in my first match!"

"As expected of Mejiro—"

“Rider-san’s performance was also great when exiting the corner!”

As I passed the stands, I heard all sorts of noises.

Ochiai tugged at his helmet in shame.

He didn't think he had done anything remarkable.

Tilting her head, while Kobayashi the stable attendant wasn't paying attention, Mejiro Sakuya quickly lowered her head and took a bite of the green belt beside the railing.

Then, he spit it out quietly.

After realizing that no one seemed to notice, it quickly swung its tail a few times.

Tanaka withdrew his gaze from the stands not far away.

"This horse might win a big prize."

This was the first thing he said to Kitano after the game.

If you hadn't seen it with your own eyes, no one would have thought that a lame racehorse could have such amazing explosive power.

"It's too early to say that."

Kitano smiled and shook his head, then looked at Mejiro Sakuya's figure with some concern.

With every step the deer-hair horse took, its right hind leg would lift uncontrollably.

Just like the ringing of a bell symbolizing the failure of magic, Cinderella shed her gorgeous disguise on the field.

However, he still looks very energetic.

Slightly relieved.

Arriving at the Kuchidori ceremony venue, I first thanked Ochiai, the rider.

"You have worked hard."

"Same to Mr. Kitano."

Raising his head, Kitano looked at the other main actor.

"Thank you for your hard work, too."

He touched Mejiro Sakuya's neck, which was wet with sweat.

The deer-hair horse lowered its head slightly and stuck out its tongue, shaking it playfully.

Sure enough, he has the same temperament as Xiao Ma.

After letting go of her hand, Mejiro Sakuya nudged Kitano's shoulder with her nose, feeling a little unsatisfied.

Under the flash lights, several people's faces were filled with smiles.

After the Kuchitori ceremony, Kitano walked around the edge of the stands as usual.

"Congratulations, Master Kitano!"

"If we keep going at this pace, we'll be able to fight our way back to the center soon—"

"This kid called Mejiro Sakuya is also very powerful!"

"President Kitano is also an oriental chef"

Although the weather was very hot, there were still many horse fans who came to support tonight.

Kitano responded to their support with a smile.

Perhaps because it was the last race, the staff at the racecourse rarely rushed people.

We left the racecourse much later than expected.

Chapter 38: The Head Horse and Taming

"Time to go grazing, Pegasus—"

Early in the morning, Ogawa Katsu walked into the stable with the leash.

When he opened the gate, he was greeted by the gray butt of a white horse.

Even the reed hair, which is not easy to see, can subtly make people feel the growing muscle tension in the horse's body.

"It's time to graze!"

Standing outside the stable, Xu Hesheng urged softly.

When in the stable, Medodayama would occasionally enter a self-state similar to this.

In this state, if you rashly approach and disturb it, it will get furious even if the person is its closest friend, Ogawa Masaru.

After a while, Mubai Ma shook his ears and slowly turned around.

When the leash was taken out, the reed-haired horse raised its head cooperatively.

"Okay, let's go!"

Taking advantage of the moment when Ogawa Katsu turned back to close the gate, Mubai Ma let out a low growl towards the stable opposite.

Ocean Fleet2024, which was originally eating leisurely, suddenly lowered its head and tucked its tail tightly between its legs.

Mudaiba let out a smug humming sound from his nostrils.

"Pegasus!"

Ogawa Masaru looked at the scene in front of him with a helpless look on his face.

Although he does not have an advantage in physique, Mu Baima unexpectedly became the top horse of the ranch not long ago.

Besides having to prioritize grazing and feeding, there are a lot of other headaches.

After becoming the winning horse, Mubai Ma's many hobbies include scaring other horses.

Especially Ocean Fleet2024 in the stable opposite, it seems to be threatened by it several times almost every day.

In response to Ocean Fleet2024's submissive attitude, Mudaiba raised his head high.

Then, as if reviewing his own troops, he walked out of the stable with his chest held high in a "dance-like" marching posture.

For those who are not experienced or do not know enough about white horses, they may mistake this for a positive sign sent by the horse before grazing.

But as the staff member who has been with it the longest, Ogawa Katsu knows that this guy is simply being proud.

But other than that, there was nothing too out of the ordinary.

He can also fulfill his responsibilities as Toastmasters well.

When we got close to the grazing ground, we finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Although things were not going smoothly, at least Mudai Baima didn't cause any more trouble along the way.

Just as he was thinking this, the reed-haired horse suddenly stopped.

Under Ogawa Katsu's somewhat uneasy gaze, Medaihira yawned with trembling lips.

Then continue along the traction line towards the grazing land.

It's great that nothing bad happened.

In this way, a man and a horse arrived at the grazing ground.

After untying the leash, the next second Baima ran out like a happy Husky.

"be careful!"

After closing the gate of the pasture, Xu Hesheng did not forget to remind them.

Although Medo Hirano won't listen to him.

On the other hand, Ogawa Jō also started training one-year-old horses.

Although he had experience studying in American stables in his early years, he is not like traditional American trainers who seek to have racehorses receive training as early as possible.

In this regard, they are more like European trainers who prefer "natural grazing".

In addition to the necessary basic training and adaptive training, we also focus on the training of racehorses' social and group abilities.

Ogawa Jō thought he had quite a bit of experience in training one-year-old horses.

Since the ranch opened, most of the one-year-old horses he trained have successfully reached the standards of qualified racehorses.

But today, things went wrong right from the start.

"Let's clean up the surroundings first, eldest daughter."

He rubbed his swollen head and spoke to his assistant, Kana Ogawa.

The stable was in a mess, and some of the wood chips used as bedding even flew onto Xuhe Zhang's white hair.

From the beginning, Ocean Fleet2024 had been clinging to the wall, making nervous snorting sounds with every breath.

Ocean Fleet2024, which is in the latter part of its first year, should theoretically have received most of the basic training, be able to eliminate fear, learn to wear equipment and receive simple instructions, and start working towards the goal of conserving physical strength and adapting to the track.

And now the chestnut horse in front of him couldn't even do the most basic desensitization to humans.

As for further training, I have absolutely no idea where to start.

Ogawa Jō's method is to use electric toys instead and first conduct the most basic desensitization training on Ocean Fleet2024.

As a result, the chestnut-haired horse became what it is now under the attack of the electric crab.

"It's really difficult—"