Hokkaido Horse Racing Story.

Chapter 68 After the Trip
Passing through the thick gray-white clouds, the plane leaned down to land at New Chitose Airport.

When landing, there was a vibration coming from the fuselage.

Kitano took off his eye mask, revealing his slightly red eyes.

As a horse owner's base, Hokkaido is indeed an inconvenient place.

After the plane stopped, I picked up my luggage while yawning.

In addition to the coats and handbags I brought with me, I also brought several bags of local specialties.

Most of them are things like yokan, dorayaki and daifuku, which can also be bought in Hokkaido.

Then there were a few horse puppets that I bought at the Oi Racecourse.

Open the ride-hailing app and set your home as the destination.

While there are cheaper options, enduring at least three hours of shaking on a bus is an experience that's enough.

After getting in the car, I couldn't help but yawn again.

My eyelids grew heavy without my permission.

When I opened my eyes again, the scenery in front of me was quite familiar.

Between the mountains and the sea is an asphalt road that separates the two like a paper cutter.

Another 10 minutes later, a notification sound came from the phone indicating that the order was completed.

The moment I opened the car door, I felt the chill coming towards me.

Although we can still feel the warmth of the sun, Hokkaido is indeed moving towards winter.

"Time to get some cocoa."

Kitano thought so as he picked up his luggage.

In front of the door, the trees planted by the previous owner have almost lost all their leaves, and only the low shrubs still have traces of green.

Walking into the hallway, two huge packages were piled at the end of the aisle.

Inside are all commemorative T-shirts and acrylic key chains that Kitano had customized from across the sea through a shopping platform a few days ago.

Even taking into account the transportation costs, it is still much cheaper than here in China.

The patterns on the keychain and T-shirt are the Q-version images of Mejiro Hirama and Mejiro Sakuya that have been circulating on the Internet for a long time.

At a low price, he successfully bought the copyright from the designer.

The other party seemed quite easy to talk to.

However, it is not intended for commercial use.

At least not yet.

The T-shirts and key chains prepared were also suggested by Kanna Ogawa, and they are free "peripherals" prepared for horse fans before the next race.

On December 17, the All Japan 2-year-old Excellent Horse Championship was held at Kawasaki Racecourse.

There are less than three weeks left.

However, I feel a little more relaxed than when JBC was 2 years old.

On the camp side, although they also received inquiries from Ogawa Jō and Tanaka Shiji on "whether the training should be strengthened", Kitano gave a negative answer after considering it.

Mr. Caesar, a two-year-old stallion from Yoshito Yahagi's stable, currently has a record of two wins out of two.

After being confirmed as the best 2-year-old in the All Japan Championships, he immediately became a hot favorite with a double-digit score.

Facing an opponent of this level, although he would not have pessimistic thoughts such as giving up or being afraid of fighting, Kitano also did not think that a short period of high-intensity training could change anything.

“Just prepare for the game at your own pace.”

This is exactly what Kitano hopes to convey to the camp.

Because of Stringhalt, Mejiro Sakuya's recovery and adjustment period after the race is longer than that of a normal racehorse.

Rather than rashly breaking the existing mature plan to carry out intensive training, he hoped that Mejiro Sakuya could participate in the competition in an orderly manner.

However, other people in the camp inevitably developed relatively negative emotions.

I packed my luggage and changed into lighter clothes.

It was almost noon and I felt a little hungry.

While waiting for the water to boil, I made some toast.

The technique used is to bake cheese on toast.

"Easy cooking class that even single middle-aged men working in other places can master in three minutes." I saw this on the flight back from Tokyo.

I didn’t expect that it would come in handy right away.

Thinking of this, my mood, which had originally become heavy due to the prospects of the game, felt a little relieved.

The bread sizzled in the non-stick pan, and soon the aroma of cheese and wheat filled the air. Although the edges were slightly charred, it was still a beautiful golden brown overall.

The hot water on the other side also boiled.

He picked up the kettle and poured himself a cup of hot tea.

I sipped the slightly burning barley tea and started to work on the toast.

Compared to toasting the toast first and then putting cheese slices on it, it has a more crispy flavor.

However, cheese has also become more difficult to deal with.

Just as Kitano was struggling to chew the cheese that was longer than he imagined, his phone started to vibrate.

"Mr. Kitano, could you please come to the ranch this afternoon?"

It was a call from Grandma Takamura.

Today, the clinic hasn't opened yet.

Such words were not spoken.

It would be bad if something serious happened.

Thinking of this, Kitano agreed to the patient's request.

After finishing his toast in a few bites, he picked up his medical bag.

On the table, the barley tea was steaming slightly.

When we arrived at the ranch, Grandma Takamura was waiting in front of the grazing area with Aru-chan by her hand.

"What's wrong, Grandma Takamura?"

Kitano asked after getting off the car.

"Oh, Shibata. No, Mr. Kitano."

Grandma Takamura was stunned like a jerky machine, but soon she enthusiastically took Kitano's hand.

"Aru-chan seems a little uneasy lately."

Grandma Takamura said, pulling the leash a little nervously.

"That's it-"

Kitano nodded, then leaned over to observe Aru-chan's front hooves.

There was no obvious abnormality in the standing gait, and the temperature on palpation appeared normal.

"When did you notice something was wrong?"

Kitano asked, standing up.

"Probably around April or May."

"April or May?"

Kitano's expression turned a little strange.

Speaking of which, there's something a little off about the way Grandma Takamura dresses.

It's already November, but I'm still wearing out-of-season, light clothing.

It looks a bit like a precursor to Alzheimer's.

"Um. Aru-chan's footwork really doesn't look good."

Grandma Gaocun held his hand and emphasized it repeatedly.

"Ah, I see."

Kitano nodded repeatedly, then bent down and checked it again patiently.

It really seems like there's no problem.

"Does Grandma Gaocun have any relatives we can contact?"

Kitano asked seemingly casually while helping to lead Aru-chan back to the stable.

"Relatives?"

Grandma Takamura frowned slightly, but then raised her finger with a cheerful look on her face. "My son is a lawyer in Osaka Prefecture!"

"I see. That's really remarkable."

After undoing the buckle of the leash, Kitano nodded slightly.

Since there are relatives who can be contacted, there shouldn't be any big problems.

But to be on the safe side, let's talk to the town's self-governing committee.

(End of this chapter)