Bloodline Archivist

"How should I put that mare's pedigree? When I first saw one of her foals listed in an auction catalog a few years ago, even I was taken aback."

"Because it looked like an impressive pedigree at first glance."

"Exactly!"

As they headed toward one of the stables, he chatted with Kawakami about the horse that had caught his attention.

Bloodline Archivist—that was what Kawakami called the dam of that bay filly.

As for why he called her an archivist rather than a collector, it was probably because the bloodlines involved were simply too ancient for modern racing.

"Free X-rays and throat endoscopy examinations?"

He noticed the contents of a stable's promotional poster beside him and read them aloud.

"Oh, at Australian auctions, those details normally aren't made public. If you want to know, you can only pay a veterinarian fifty Australian dollars per horse for an advance examination."

Kawakami, who had been walking ahead, stopped and turned around to explain.

Another difference from Japanese racing.

They continued onward and arrived at a stable tucked away in a remote corner.

"This is the one."

Kawakami pointed at the small crowd gathered ahead.

It somehow seemed even more popular than the horse that had just made such a splash.

"What a nostalgic pedigree."

"To think I'd run into a horse like this in Australia."

Amid such murmurs, they moved to a spot where they could clearly see inside the stable.

Because Australian auctions generally did not release conformation measurements, at this stage one largely had to rely on one's own eye.

Still, as with auctions in Japan, Europe, and America, the most immediate thing was the horse's size, something one could judge at a glance.

"She's tall—"

That was his first impression.

Although this was classified as a yearling sale by