Parallel Trajectories Beneath the Cumulonimbus

Cumulonimbus clouds towered overhead, reaching toward the rising Hidaka Mountains at the end of sight.

Freshly washed horse blankets were being hung indoors, while the hum of dryers and the sharp scrape of boots against the damp corridor gradually grew more frequent.

The penultimate week of July was about to end today.

In other words, both Shadai Farm and Hokkaido's Select Sale had already been several days ago.

"No more auction purchases this year—"

A few days ago, half due to pressure from the club members and half out of personal consideration, such a message had been posted on social media.

Although there were still plans to attend next month's Summer Sale as an award-presenting guest, there was no intention of making any more bids.

—At least, not under this year's circumstances.

After last week's visit to Miho, Noah's retirement date had finally been confirmed with Uchida's understanding.

Saturday, August 11th, the day of the CBC Cup.

Since she was a G1 winner, the Chukyo Racecourse side of JRA would cover all expenses for this retirement ceremony.

Even so, there were still many problems to resolve before the year was out.

Aside from the already precarious balance of income and expenditure, manpower at the farm remained a major issue even after expansion.

As of now, Japan's actual foal crop for 2029 stood at 8,421, an increase of at least five hundred compared with 2024 five years ago, and more than a thousand compared with 2019 ten years ago.

Over the past decade, the number of racetracks nationwide, including local tracks, had not increased, yet the number of registered racehorses continued to grow.

Especially over the past five years or so, breeding commissions from owners—particularly new owners—were said to be increasing as well, which was another contributing factor.

Meanwhile, the number