Maturation Burst

It was the morning of May 2, before the Australian weanling sale began.

That morning, I woke up at Bang Bang Farm rather than the Inglis William Hotel.

The HTBA Yearling Sale had ended.

In Australia, horses underwent two months of rigorous training before a sale, but afterward, the youngsters did not immediately begin further ridden training and advanced development as they would in Japan.

Generally, they would spend the next two to three months turned out to pasture, and youngsters purchased at Australian sales had to be moved within two days of the sale's conclusion.

If a trainer had already been selected, the turnout farm would be chosen and transport arranged on the day of the sale.

If no trainer had been decided on, the organizers, Inglis, or the seller could recommend somewhere, but the destination still had to be settled as soon as possible.

However, since Dialta 2026 was to be imported into Japan, none of those options really applied.

The seller's sales agent was a farm in New Zealand, so temporarily boarding Dialta 26 at their farm was not an option either.

Although Kawakami wanted to help, Sunrise Farm, far away in Canberra, Victoria, was hardly a good choice.

Fortunately, immediately after the sale, Mahanya generously offered to board the youngster at nearby Bang Bang Farm until transport to Japan was ready.

Thanks to that, there was no need to rush Dialta 26 into another long-distance journey as soon as the sale ended.

"Good morning, Mr. Kitano. Ready to make another big splash today?"

On my way to the paddock where Bang Bang Farm's youngsters were turned out, a familiar figure called a greeting from a distance.

It was Rooney, the farm's communications officer, who had become a permanent employee last year.

"Good morning, Rooney."

I waved