Hokkaido Horse Racing Story

"No, this is my side."

Kitano, who was packing up medical supplies, raised his head.

"I have been troubled by you taking care of these three children."

He responded softly.

"Mr. Kitano is a very gentle person."

Suddenly, the girl covered her mouth and laughed.

Is this considered being given a nice guy card?

Kitano showed a somewhat confused expression.

He suddenly remembered an aria from Verdi's opera Rigoletto:

"La donna e mobile, qual piuma al vento"

Translated, it means "Women are as fickle as flying catkins, drifting in the wind without a trace."

At this moment, he reached a consensus with Verdi.

Walking out of the stable, above the green land were large cumulonimbus clouds dyed red.

After leaving the ranch, Kitano still didn't understand the meaning of Ogawa Kana's words.

Chapter 47: Double Horse Lineup

After returning home, Kitano received a call from trainer Tanaka.

The other party hopes to discuss Mejiro Sakuya's next match in the near future.

Kitano agreed very readily and scheduled the discussion meeting for the next morning.

It happened to be Sunday, and the clinic was closed.

The next morning, Kitano arrived at Monbetsu stables next to the racecourse at the agreed time.

As we approached Tanaka's stables, we saw stable attendant Kobayashi waving a broom to drive away rows of crows that were clinging to the water pipes.

Tried several times without success.

"Let me do it."

Another tall, thin stable boy took the broom and swayed on a bench, slapping it a few times.

The crows cawed and flapped their wings and flew away.

Before they could be proud for too long, after circling in the air for a few times, the black figure quickly returned to its position above the water pipe.

“Ka-ka-ka-ka”

As if mocking the incompetence of the humans below, the crows made calls one after another.

Although the early summer breeding season has passed, the crows in Quicksand County are still very noisy.

"It seems that we have to install protective equipment."

In response to this, Tanaka had no choice but to quietly add a new expense to the stable expenses.

Then, he noticed Kitano who was looking at him with some curiosity not far away.

"Good morning, Mr. Kitano."

With a slightly apologetic look on his face, Tanaka trotted over to meet him.

Following behind were Kobayashi and another tall and thin stable boy, who lowered their heads like an elementary school student who had done something wrong.

"Good morning everyone."

Kitano turned his gaze away from the crow and greeted the three people in front of him with a smile.

"Excuse me, but please come in and talk."

Tanaka pointed to the stable and said.

As I walked into the stable, the temperature instantly rose by several degrees.

Even with the fan running at full power, the stuffiness showed no sign of going away.

Most of the racehorses in the stables looked listless.

"At first I thought of sprinkling water to lower the temperature, but it actually got even hotter."

As they walked, Tanaka shook his head and explained the situation inside the stable.

"After that, I also tried putting ice cubes in front of the fan, but it didn't seem to have much effect."

In order to lower the temperature in the stable, he tried many methods he learned from the Internet.

However, so far, other than sinking the chilled mineral water bottle into the sink, other methods seem to have no effect.

"Watering isn't working, maybe it's because the humidity is too high. How about hanging some tarpaulins on the windward side to direct the wind in?"

Looking up at the sensor hanging on the wall, Kitano suggested.

"Tarp. Will this work?"

Tanaka paused slightly and asked uncertainly.

"It should be able to reduce the perceived temperature by two to three degrees."

Kitano also replied somewhat uncertainly.

This was just a folk remedy he heard from several breeders.

"Then give it a try."

Taking off his helmet and fanning himself, Tanaka added another item to his expenses.

Anyway, it doesn’t cost much.

Through the long and narrow stable is the bathing area.

Large patches of mottled green spread along the edges of the partitions.

All three bathing rooms were occupied, and the racehorses were enjoying the hard-earned coolness in the summer with their tongues out.

Then, we finally arrived at the somewhat small staff lounge.

Taking out a few cans of oolong tea from the small refrigerator, Tanaka handed one to Kitano.

There was a neat sound of cans being opened.

Then, there was another round of uniform sighs.

Only after that did Tanaka take out a registration form.

"With Mejiro Sakuya's ability, she should be able to give this match a try."

he said.

Then, he handed the registration form to Kitano.

"NEXT STAR, a bounty of 10 million yen for one move?"

Kitano raised his head in surprise.

He thought that what Tanaka said after the Singapore-Malaysia War was just a polite remark.

Now it seems that the other party is really considering letting Mejiro Sakuya participate in the big reward.

"Yes, I think Mejiro Sakuya should have a good chance of getting a good ranking."

Tanaka smiled and nodded.

"Also, Pegasus should be able to give it a try."

After hesitating for a moment, he continued.

At first, no one paid much attention to these two Mejiro-titled racehorses.

It could even be said that their inclusion in the stables was simply a matter of momentary interest.

But now, these two horses are already the best among the two-year-old horses in Tanaka Stable.

Going back and forth between various unwinnable races is the norm for most two-year-old horses.

"Can it be done?"

The joy of having the opportunity to escape with a huge reward only lasted for a very brief moment, and Kitano quickly regained his composure.

Whether it is the strength of the racehorse itself, its eligibility to run, or even its condition and fatigue level, these are all factors that must be taken into consideration.

"No problem. 1,200 meters is well within their range. Both Pegasus and Sakuya should be able to perform well."

Tanaka nodded.

"So what about the qualifications to leave? Is it okay if Sakuya only wins one rookie match?"

Kitano asked, still a little worried.

He vaguely remembered that most of the big rewards, except for the priority qualification for escaping from the outpost battle, had to be registered in order of the bounty.

"Just leave this to me. The two horses' qualifications to escape will not be a problem."

Tanaka replied, patting his shoulder with a smile.

There are no strict regulations for registering for local rewards.

There was even a certain tacit understanding among the horse trainers, who were actually dividing up the qualifications for the lucrative leave.

Last year, because there were no strong two-year-old horses on hand, Tanaka simply gave up the opportunity to run [Future Star - Menbetsu].

To do this, he obtained a favor from his senior brother, Trainer Kadokawa.

The opponent sent out three horses at once, including a popular one.

Although the results aren't ideal.

This year, he plans to field a two-horse lineup for the race.

Both Mejiro Hirama and Mejiro Sakuya are very competitive in the horse racing of the same period.

However, the prerequisite is that Kitano, the horse owner, must agree.

"That's it-"

After resolving the issue of eligibility to leave, Kitano began to consider the situation of the horse itself.

A month is enough time for Mejiro Sakuya to adjust to the situation required for the competition.

Although Mudai Hirano is a little tired, it shouldn't be a problem for him to recover.

There is plenty of time.

Besides, the padding under your feet that costs 50,000 yen per kilogram should at least be of some use.

However, there is still a problem.

"Pegasus and Sakuya are currently both ridden by Ochiai, right? What should we do if both horses compete at the same time?"

Kitano raised his last concern.

"How about rider Hattori Shigeshi? He's quite capable, and he and Gentayama have a certain chemistry."

Tanaka took the opportunity to recommend another main rider in his stable.

"Hattori Rider?"

Kitano frowned slightly in consideration.

In my impression, he is indeed a very experienced rider.

"Then there's no problem on my end."

He nodded.

Thanks to the moon in the sea for the 500 starting coins, and thanks to Nanshan Lake Old Dream for the 100 starting coins.

Thank you for your support

Ciallo～(∠ω<)⌒★