Saving Money a Little Too Hard

They returned to Hokkaido on the very day they watched the races at Tokyo Racecourse.

For a horse owner, it might have seemed like a rather rushed itinerary.

But as breeders, trips like this had long since become part of everyday life.

Over dinner with Teacher Tanaka and jockey Ishikawa after the race, everyone felt it had been a race Pegasus could have won.

"Still, 1,800 meters on turf might be a little too long. Once he moves to the Central Racing Association, how about trying to shorten his distance a bit?"

They received that suggestion from the trainer and jockey, and accepted it gratefully as the owner.

After the fairly lively post-race discussion ended, they sang karaoke for nearly two hours at jockey Ishikawa's suggestion.

—You really couldn't tell Teacher Tanaka was a fan of idol groups.

Being terrible at karaoke, BOSS could only muddle through with some ancient standby songs while the trainer and jockey egged BOSS on from both sides, then fled back to Hokkaido in embarrassment that very night.

And so, Pegasus's final race before transferring to the Central Racing Association came to an end.

"The Chiba and Hokkaido auctions are both next week, right? President Kitano, aren't you attending?"

Everyone BOSS ran into at Tokyo Racecourse had asked that question. Even industry people BOSS barely knew looked extremely curious.

Perhaps because Derby Day was drawing near, the owners had recovered after merely one quiet winter and were ready to throw themselves into the auctions again.

As a horse owner who also worked as a breeder, BOSS naturally wanted to seek out more outstanding broodmare bloodlines and horses with potential at the auctions.

But on the other hand, there were practical concerns besides money.

"After Sakuya retires, we'll have to tighten our belts and live frugally."