Chapter 6: Pegasus Meteor Hammer
"These are the two-year-olds on the list."
"Oh, you've really worked hard."
"It's our duty. Tanaka, you're the one who works hard, managing so many racehorses."
"Haha, not at all."
Receiving a thin sheet of paper from the Japan Racing Association staff, Tanaka Junji immediately flipped through the list of two-year-olds about to enter the stable.
"A Horse from the Satomi family—"
"It's actually debuting in the local races."
"It seems there are a few more progeny of Jazz Blues."
Tanaka's gaze quickly scanned the list, occasionally muttering a few comments to himself.
Due to the shortage of manpower in the local racing circuit, Trainers like him are responsible for dozens, or even hundreds, of racehorses each.
Even Central inevitably has similar problems, but there is no doubt that the shortage of Trainers and Jockeys in the local circuit is much more severe.
Aside from the necessary "favor Horses" each year, Tanaka's selection of Horses entering the stable was quite casual.
Anyway, he wasn't short of racehorses that could win prize money.
Soon, only a small portion of the list remained.
"This is..."
Upon seeing a certain name, Tanaka frowned in confusion.
"Mejiro... Pegasus..."
"Is it really okay to give a Horse a name like that?"
Most local Horse Owners are quite playful when naming their Horses.
And to increase attention on local races, the local Racing Association often turns a blind eye during the initial review, allowing some rather unorthodox names to be reported to the JRA.
However, situations that are too outrageous are actually not allowed.
Even if it passes the Racing Association's review, it can easily lead to legal disputes.
But upon seeing "Kitano" written in the Horse Owner information column, Tanaka quickly relaxed.
He had heard of this new Horse Owner's name as early as last month.
"Then, you're the one."
Sired by Creator II, out of a dam by Casino Bus, the grey Horse named Mejiro Pegasus didn't have a particularly eye-catching pedigree.
But it didn't matter.
He randomly selected a few more Horses from the list.
Folding the list and tucking it directly into his pocket, the annual selection of Horses for the stable was thus completed.
Before the official stable entry, he still had to personally confirm the Horse's physical condition.
And while he was at it, he could meet the "Kitano" person.
"Nishiken Ranch seems to have been established only two years ago..."
With a new Horse Owner and a novice breeding ranch, the quality of the Horse shouldn't be very good.
In that case, there was no need to trouble Hattori.
With this thought, Tanaka called Ochiai Genta, another main Jockey at the stable.
While he was called a main Jockey, their relationship was actually closer to that of a master and apprentice.
"Genta, the Horses for this year's stable entry have been confirmed. Come with me to see them in a few days."
"Okay, Tanaka."
A reply quickly came from the other end of the phone.
The next day, Nishiken Ranch.
"I'm so sorry, Kitano!"
Having lost another tug-of-war between man and Horse, Ogawa Masaru fell heavily to the ground.
The weather in Hokkaido was gradually warming, and beads of sweat dripped in strings from the young man's face.
He tried to cover up his embarrassment with heavy gasps.
In three days, Flax2023, now renamed Mejiro Pegasus, would officially enter the stable.
According to the agreement between Nishiken Ranch and Kitano Yuki during their transaction, the ranch would continue to undertake the pre-stable training.
Initially, all the desensitization projects, gate training, and trial runs on flat ground and slopes were completed very well.
Although there was no particularly outstanding performance, it quickly remembered what it had learned and did not require repeated training like other foals.
It was a rather intelligent pony.
This was the impression Flax2023 gave.
Ogawa Masaru believed that no one understood Flax2023 better than he did, except for his father.
Even his foolish older sister, who also assisted at the ranch, was not qualified.
Although he was not yet twenty, he had been learning alongside Ogawa Take since childhood and was quite experienced in similar work.
So, when Kitano requested to observe the training process, he proactively took on the training task.
Mejiro Pegasus did not disappoint him, easily completing all the content.
Then, to maximize the display of the ranch's training results, after discussing it with his father, Ogawa Masaru decided to temporarily add a simulated race portion.
Although the ranch's track was only a hundred-meter short straight, it was sufficient for simulated practice.
Another two-year-old Horse was responsible for running alongside, with Ogawa Kanna serving as the Jockey.
The first eighty meters went very smoothly.
Mejiro Pegasus had excellent adaptability to races.
One could even say it was too excellent.
Just as it was about to cross the finish line, Mejiro Pegasus unexpectedly veered towards the Horse running alongside it.
Then—
It tilted its head and gave the parallel Horse a heavy headbutt.
By the time everyone recovered, the parallel Horse had already stumbled and fallen a noticeable distance behind.
Ogawa Kanna, on the saddle, also lost her balance and fell off the Horse's back.
As for Mejiro Pegasus, the Horse involved, it ignored everyone's stares and crossed the finish line as if nothing had happened.
Ogawa Masaru, who reacted first, subconsciously cracked a whip at Mejiro Pegasus.
He swore that he hadn't used any force in that whip, and it hadn't even touched Mejiro Pegasus's body, merely making a loud crack near its ear.
But after that whip, Mejiro Pegasus suddenly stopped, as if it had been wronged, and refused to move no matter how he pulled.
Ogawa Masaru's hand, gripping the whip, repeatedly lifted and then suddenly dropped, as if the strength had been drained from him.
Although his father was mostly responsible for the daily training and management, he was in charge of heavy physical labor such as cleaning the stable, feeding, and washing the Horses.
In terms of relationship, he was the one closest to Flax2023.
Moreover, the gaze from Horse Owner Kitano behind him made him hesitant to act rashly.
"Aren't you going to strike it?"
Kitano looked at the man and Horse locked in a struggle before him and asked.
"Huh?"
"Only when it understands that such behavior is wrong will it learn its lesson."
Seeing Ogawa Masaru still sitting there foolishly, Kitano continued with a hint of helplessness.
Such dangerous actions must be corrected immediately.
Thanks to the protection of her helmet, Ogawa Kanna had only suffered a few scrapes and wasn't seriously injured.
However, it would be uncertain in the more complex situation of an official race.
While he hoped his racehorse would win, he hadn't reached the point of being completely unscrupulous.
"I'm sorry for the trouble."
When Ogawa Take and Ogawa Kanna, whose wounds had been tended to, approached, Kitano bowed slightly to them with an apologetic look.
"It's just a minor injury."
Ogawa Kanna's lips curved slightly, and she replied calmly.
But it seemed to have pulled at her wound, and the girl's face twisted in pain.
"I apologize for making you witness such a spectacle."
Ogawa Take took the whip from his son's hand, lowered his head slightly, and said in a deep voice.
"But please rest assured, we will definitely train it well before it enters the stable!"