"Alright, I hope for everyone's support for this year's Hokkaido Select Sale, as always."
At last, it seemed the Select Sale was about to officially begin.
"However, before the first horse enters the Select Sale, please allow me to introduce some racehorses sold at this year's Select Sale that have achieved excellent results..."
So that had been a feint.
"Maybe next year they'll bring Gastrique out again to serve as the face of the event."
Ogawa Masaru yawned boredly.
The previous G1 horse to come from the Hokkaido Select Sale had been Jinjiki in 2019.
[For blocked milk, apply a hot towel compress. If that doesn't work, use a teat cannula to drain the milk, then administer Shuangding Injection intramuscularly. Remember to strictly control the dosage according to body weight.] [If cysts are widespread, try laying cushioning boards or padding cloth in hard areas that certain cattle herds can easily access.]
Tapping at his phone screen, Kitano opened his unread messages one by one.
"...And we would also like to thank those who have come from overseas, from the United States and Europe..."
Were there really people like that?
He raised his head.
Alright, there really were.
Sure enough, he spotted several scattered figures with blond hair in the venue.
"...The live broadcast is delayed by four to five seconds compared with the venue, so those participating online, please take note."
At last, all the notices had been read out.
"Now then, sorry for the wait."
"Before today's Hokkaido Market Select Sale of yearlings officially begins, we invite Furukawa, director of the Hokkaido Market, to deliver the opening remarks."
With a slight bow, Director Furukawa accepted the microphone.
He was not tall, and his hair was somewhat gray, but his voice was full of energy.
"...As last year, this year's Hokkaido Select Sale will continue for three days. The auction for the first batch of Select Sale foals will, as last year, be held on the first day."
"I hope for the support of everyone attending the Select Sale this year as well."
With that, Director Furukawa gave a slight bow.
Scattered applause rose around the venue.
The awards segment for last year's outstanding owners and trainers at the Select Sale ended quickly amid an awkward atmosphere.
Kitano could not help pausing slightly when he heard that the winning saddle had earned a G3.
Then he sincerely admired the MC for continuing the commentary without changing expression.
Both the owners and trainers seemed to breathe a sigh of relief when the awards ceremony ended.
Especially the owner still holding a trophy, whose face was the very picture of someone ready to retire from the horse-owning business.
The five staff members seated on the raised platform marked "HOKKAIDO HORSE SALE" nodded to one another. Once they had confirmed everything was ready, the female auctioneer in the center announced, "The auction for yearlings on the opening day of the 2025 Hokkaido Select Sale will begin with Horse Number One."
After waiting for a rather long while, until even the professional smile on the auctioneer's face had grown a little stiff, the first horse finally entered, somewhat unwillingly.
"Lot Number One, Magny Cours 2024. Colt, Chestnut Coat, foaled February 20. Sired by Kitasan Black. The dam, Magny Cours, possesses a long-established American dirt pedigree."
"Opening bid at twenty million yen. Twenty million—"
"Here!"
An older owner directly behind Kitano raised his hand and shouted loudly.
Was there really any need to shout that loudly?
And the bidding had entered an unaffordable range right from the start.
Kitano decisively lowered his head and began flipping through the catalog.
"Alright, twenty-one million—any higher bid? Twenty-one million—"
"Is there truly no other bid at twenty-one million yen—twenty-two million!"
A strange sense of déjà vu suddenly rose within him.
"Here!"
Not far to his left, another owner made a bid.
"Twenty-three million—currently twenty-three million! Twenty-three million yen—"
Though it had been packaged far more glamorously—
It was fundamentally no different from a gathering where livestock were auctioned in the countryside.
Adjusting himself into a more comfortable position, Kitano watched the competition as a spectator.
The first Chestnut Coat horse seemed to have a difficult temperament. Not only had it been somewhat uncooperative when entering, but during the auction it repeatedly showed restless signs of wanting to kick out.
Though Kitano did not know whether that would specifically affect the Chestnut Coat horse's market value, its final price only reached thirty million yen.
The expressions of the staff made it clear that it was still some distance from their expected price.
Still, that was an unreachable figure for Kitano as well.
His ideal price range was six million yen—
His targets were the lower-ranked horses that fell somewhere between failing to sell and selling at the reserve price.
Of course, it would not matter if he failed to find one.
He had not come to the Select Sale with thoughts like, "I have to buy a horse to prove my eye," or, "It would be such a waste not to make use of the Detector."
He would simply let things take their course.
"Are there truly no further bids at thirty million yen? A Kitasan Black offspring that inherited dirt blood from its dam's side—thirty million yen, no objections?"
The auctioneer was still making one final effort.
But the bid probably would not rise any further.
Even the older owner who had just shouted out thirty million yen seemed to be starting to regret it.
"Then the final hammer price will be thirty million yen from this guest."
After the crisp sound of the gavel, the sweating staff members finally let out long breaths and led the Chestnut Coat horse away.
Then came Number Two, Number Three, Number Four... Even after Horse Number Twenty, Kitano still had no intention of bidding.
"Mr. Kitano, you really know how to keep your composure."
Ogawa Joe rather admired Kitano's patience.
Among the first twenty lots at today's Select Sale, several yearlings had been quite good in both price and conformation. Even he could not help calling out several unplanned bids.
Yet Kitano, a novice owner who had only recently gotten into racing, had not said a word so far.
"I just haven't come across a target I like yet."
That was the more tactful way of putting it.
To put it more bluntly, the opening prices alone for the earlier horses had exceeded his budget.
"Then please keep it up, Mr. Kitano!"
It sounded entirely like consolation.
Until the Select Sale was nearly over that day, Kitano had still not called out a single bid.
Quite a few owners planning to compete for Equinox's offspring, which would appear as the final lot, had already secretly marked him as a formidable rival.
"Next is Lot Number 136, Ocean Fleet 2024. Filly, chestnut, foaled March 7. Sired by Kobayashi Rikki. The dam, Ocean Fleet, possesses a three-by-five Raise a Native cross."
The female auctioneer calmly introduced the second-to-last yearling to appear that day.
Yet Ocean Fleet 2024 was nowhere to be seen by the side of the presentation lane.