Hokkaido Horse Racing Story.

Chapter 28 Before the Selection Meeting
That afternoon, Kitano and Ogawa Kanna returned to Nishiken Ranch.

After the court is established, the Queen of Resistance will stay in the new ranch for a while.

The official entry into the stable will have to wait until Kitano completes the horse name registration and racing registration, and submits the application for departure to the Hokkaido Racing Association.

During this period, the staff of Xinsheng Ranch will continue to train the Resistance Queen in the new horse ability test.

The content of the ability test mainly focuses on items related to gate opening and race walking ability.

"Mr. Kitano, what's the situation?"

After greeting everyone, Ogawa Jō asked first.

Behind him, Masaru Ogawa also cast a curious look at him.

Judging from his complexion, the boy seemed to have almost recovered from his cold.

"The acquisition was completed. Ms. Xuhe was really helpful."

Kitano handed out the yokan and matcha daifuku he bought on the way as a thank you gift.

"No need to be so polite! I just did some small things."

Taking the gift box with both hands, Xuhe Zhang said with a smile.

On the other side, the brother and sister also started communicating.

"You owe me a favor."

Ogawa Kanna clearly had this look in her eyes.

"It's just a matter of talking!"

"I went there for you~"

Ogawa Kana raised her chin slightly, revealing a somewhat smug expression.

There's really no reason to refute it.

Xuhe Sheng had no choice but to nod helplessly and was defeated in this duel.

"Mr. Kitano should also be attending the selection meeting tomorrow, right?"

"That's right, but I don't have anyone in particular to focus on at the moment."

Kitano said truthfully.

Although he received the entry list for this year's auction early like other horse owners, he has not put too much effort into it so far.

On the one hand, it is out of "trust" in one's own eyesight, and on the other hand, the [detector] must be used in the field.

Moreover, with the bids at select auctions often reaching tens of millions of yen, Kitano's available funds of just over 10 million yen are really nothing.

Not to mention that a considerable portion of this money has other uses.

"That's it"

Xuhe Zhang nodded, with no intention of asking further questions.

Is the target kept secret for now?
However, I can somewhat understand Mr. Kitano's difficulties.

In the past, the relationship between horse owners and producers was closer than it is today, with trainers acting as a bridge between the two parties.

But that was a long time ago.

The introduction of the auction system completely broke the tacit understanding between "horse owners, trainers and producers".

Even new horse owners have the opportunity to buy racehorses with excellent pedigree and outstanding physique through auctions.

There doesn't even need to be contact between the producer and the horse owner.

In this case, if the target is exposed before the auction, it is likely to cause unnecessary trouble.

The two of them nodded at the same time as if they understood.

Kitano did have the idea of ​​making a small investment for a big gain.

However, there won’t be many opportunities to find bargains at the upcoming Hokkaido Select Auction.

Compared to the wealthy individuals who spend lavishly at the Shetai Select, the horse owners who participate in the Hokkaido Select tend to be more experienced and pragmatic.

It is not easy to take advantage of them.

Therefore, it is better to focus on the summer auction in a month and the subsequent auctions in September and October.

"There should be over 500 yearlings and yearlings at the auction this year. Now Kitano-kun will have a lot to choose from."

Ogawa Katsutan looked at me with some curiosity.

Sighing, Xuhe Zhang resisted the urge to swing his crutch.

This idiot who can't read the air!

"After removing the first and last horses, the ones left are my choice."

After saying that, Kitano himself started laughing.

Generally speaking, the first horse to appear and the last horse to appear are the best in the entire auction in terms of pedigree and body.

Even if they cannot become the highest bidder, their prices will not be cheap.

With Kitano's meager ten million yen, he most likely couldn't even afford a single horse leg. As for finding a needle in a haystack among the remaining five hundred-odd horses—

He has no such ability.

Although it sounds a bit irresponsible to leave the difficulties to tomorrow's self.

However, when there is a [detector], it is a different matter.

The next day, Kitano set off early.

The target was the Hidaka Light Stallion Cooperative Business Division located in Shizunai Asahi-cho, a ten-minute drive away.

A place commonly known as "Hokkaido Market".

Most horse owners from outside Hokkaido often arrive in Shinkansen-cho a day in advance. In addition to being able to enjoy the local customs and culture that are different from those in big cities, they also want to recharge their batteries for the selection meeting the next day.

Kitano, who can be considered half-local, has no such awareness at all.

He drove his pickup truck into the Hokkaido market like a redneck rancher going to the market and strode into the venue of the selection meeting.

On the way, I greeted several acquaintances from the Veterinary Association.

"Good morning, Branch Chief Arakawa."

Under the support tent with "Monbetsu Ranch" written on it, we found Mr. Arakawa preparing various tools.

Although the weather was very hot, Mr. Arakawa was still wearing full veterinary equipment.

"It's Kitano—"

Arakawa nodded slightly, then smiled and said, "You're here today as a horse owner, right? How about I hope you can buy a Derby horse?"

"Thank you for your kind words. Thank you for your hard work."

After that, he wandered around aimlessly for a while.

When the gentle female voice of the host began to sound on the radio, Kitano picked up the auction book that each horse owner had and started to look through it.

"The first one is from the Northern Black Colt. The next one is next."

He turned the manual to the next page with an expressionless face.

"Father is an iron bird soaring in the sky, mother and father are auspicious signs. Next one."

Another page turned.

"The next one is the father's high love."

The speed of turning pages began to increase.

To explain, Kitano does not have any prejudice against the famous horses mentioned above.

He was just poor.

"To avoid unnecessary mistakes, we will explain the horses that are absent today in the order they appeared."

On the radio, a female voice began to read out a long string of numbers.

Kitano followed the example of other horse owners and began marking the absent horses in the manual.

well.

They all look like they can't afford it.

Then, when he thought the selection meeting was about to begin, the host introduced the achievements of the horses in last year's selection meeting.

It seems like it will never end.

Kitano pretended to listen attentively, but it lasted less than two minutes before he secretly took out his cell phone.

After discovering that everyone around me was doing similar things, the subtle sense of guilt in my heart instantly eased a lot.

I have accumulated a lot of private messages on X, most of which are veterinary consultations.

It’s a good time to answer it now.

"Mr. Kitano."

At this time, a familiar voice came to my ears.

I raised my head and saw the three members of the Xuhe family dressed in formal attire.

"If you don't mind, how about we go in together?"

Ogawa Jō smiled and pointed to the aisle of the venue.

"Of course, let's go together."

Kitano nodded, his eyes narrowing slightly.

Shouldn't they take the producer's side of the channel?
As if sensing his hesitant gaze, Xu Hesheng explained in a low voice, "Strictly speaking, our ranch is both a horse owner and a horse producer, and we're also here to participate in the auction today."

"Maybe we'll become rivals, Mr. Kitano."

Ogawa Jō also made a joke.

(End of this chapter)