The Return Journey Toward August

The bumpy ride home in the pickup after the celebration banquet.

Feeling the vibrations through the seatback, I thought.

About the paths ahead for the two-year-old generation.

Baozuo, who had just won his debut in superb fashion, would return to the farm for a week of turnout and rest before racing again once he had rebuilt his strength.

While the two-year-old stakes races at Niigata, Chukyo, and Sapporo were all within consideration for his next start, the feedback from the stable and jockey placed the Niigata Two-Year-Old Stakes at the top of the list.

Besides Niigata's relatively flat track, another major reason was that its distance already fell comfortably within his proven range.

Moreover, the Niigata Two-Year-Old Stakes rarely filled to capacity, so there was little need to worry about being excluded for insufficient earnings.

As for Monbetsu, although Spirit Colt had failed to escape maiden status in one go, he still had a long future ahead of him.

A horse capable of winning a debut race at Monbetsu at this stage could easily handle the central circuit's dirt tracks, so there was no need for an owner to rush things.

After discussing it with the stable, we decided to make another racing attempt in mid-August after further training.

Back on the JRA side, Chongli and Zhibao, assigned to Miho and Ritto respectively, would also depart next week for Tracen on Honshu to register as racehorses.

Thanks to his steadily increasing appetite, Zhibao, who had looked somewhat thin at the auction, had now grown to 429 kilograms.

The plan was for him to pass the gate test, then rest while turned out at a training farm on Honshu, before returning to the stable once he naturally put on more weight.

Matoba readily agreed to the request and introduced Higashiyoshizawa, a