Foals in the Stable

September sunlight slanted through the high windows of the stable, spilling across the straw bedding.

Zhang Jun crouched outside Foal Stall No. 1, holding a carrot as he softly called, "Chasing Wind, come here."

Breezy Red Hound 2021—following the naming method he had settled on earlier, Zhang Jun had named her Wind-Chasing Hound, with Chasing Wind as her nickname—timidly poked her head out from the depths of the stall.

This chestnut filly had moved from her original ranch to Jianzhou Ranch more than a month ago, yet she still retained the shyness she had shown when they first met.

Her long ears stood upright and pointed forward, while her large eyes warily studied Zhang Jun. Although they had seen each other many times over the past month, Zhang Jun still had not managed to get along with the youngster.

"Don't be afraid. It's me. We've met so many times already." Zhang Jun lowered his voice further, placed the carrot in the feed bucket, and stepped back two paces.

Chasing Wind hesitated for several seconds before cautiously approaching. She sniffed the carrot first, then looked up at Zhang Jun. Only after confirming that there was no danger did she swiftly seize the carrot and retreat to the back of the stall, turning her back on Zhang Jun as she chewed. Bits of carrot kept falling from her mouth onto the ground.

Zhang Jun smiled. This youngster was rather sensitive. She had been at Jianzhou Ranch for over a month and had only formed a bond with the stablehand assigned by the ranch, remaining wary of everyone else. Although Zhang Jun visited her often, he could not compare to the stablehand's constant companionship.

Zhang Jun was in no hurry. He had plenty of time, anyway. Luo Fei simply believed that Chasing Wind's temperament might make her desensitization training at one year old and her training after entering the stable at two difficult to carry out, delaying her debut far beyond that of her peers.

But Zhang Jun did not care. He had bought her to be Shadow Hunter's child bride in the first place, so what if she was late?

Zhang Jun took out another small sugar cube, returned to the front of the stall, and called softly a few times. When Chasing Wind turned back alertly, he tied the sugar cube with a cleaned rope right in front of her, hung it from the edge of the feed bucket, then headed to the neighboring stall.

Living in this stall was Urgent Lightning Colt 2021, whom Zhang Jun had snapped up at a bargain during the select sale. He had also given her a new name, Lightning Chaser, with Chasing Lightning as her nickname. Together with Chasing Wind, they made the Chasing Wind, Chasing Lightning pair.

This youngster was even more timid than Chasing Wind, but she became familiar with strangers she saw often far faster. In just over a month, she had grown accustomed not only to the stablehand and Zhang Jun, but also to Luo Fei, Luo Heng, Luo Yong, the ranch's breaking trainer, and the exercise riders.

Her excessive timidity did slow the progress of her desensitization training, but for the same reason, Zhang Jun was not in a hurry.

The moment Zhang Jun entered Stable No. 1, Chasing Lightning recognized the man who often brought her tasty carrots and sugar cubes. She had been waiting at the front of the stall, stretching her dark bay head over the wooden railing and staring at Zhang Jun while continuously bobbing her head up and down.

Zhang Jun approached with a smile, reaching out to stroke Chasing Lightning's fluffy head and ears. He then took the prepared carrot from his bag, along with an apple he had specially brought for her.

Chasing Lightning's ears flicked back and forth several times before she opened her mouth and bit into the apple—she preferred this red thing to carrots.

Zhang Jun slid open the wooden gate to the stall and walked inside. He ran his hand over Chasing Lightning's neck and mane. They felt warm and smooth, superbly cared for and gleaming with healthy luster.

The stablehands at Jianzhou Ranch were exceptionally professional. In just over a month, the coats of Chasing Lightning and Chasing Wind had become far glossier than before they arrived at the ranch.

"You have to work hard in the coming desensitization training and pre-race conditioning." Zhang Jun stroked Chasing Lightning's mane with one hand while holding out a carrot for her with the other.

After Shadow Hunter won first place in her maiden race, Zhang Jun received six points. In local maiden races, the total prize money was uniformly 120,000 yuan: 60,000 for first place, 24,000 for second, 18,000 for third, 12,000 for fourth, and 6,000 for fifth.

In proportion, that was fifty percent, twenty percent, fifteen percent, ten percent, and five percent of the total purse respectively. The money was then divided among the owner, trainer, jockey, stablehands, exercise riders, stable assistants, and other personnel at a ratio of seventy, twelve, eight, and ten.

As the owner, Zhang Jun received 42,000 yuan in prize money. After a twenty-percent personal tax deduction, 33,600 yuan reached his account. However, the system calculated points according to the horse's total prize money, so there was no discount.

After receiving the points, Zhang Jun immediately spent them to investigate the attributes of Shadow Hunter, Chasing Wind, and Chasing Lightning. Two points per horse revealed two unknown attributes. He was quite lucky: he uncovered the breeding traits of Shadow Hunter and Chasing Wind, as well as Chasing Lightning's foaling attribute.

The currently known attributes of the three horses were as follows:

Shadow Hunter: [Racing Attributes:

Speed: D

Track Adaptability: Turf ◎, Dirt ◎

Running Style: Versatile

Distance: 1200–1800 meters

Breeding Attributes:

Foaling: 7

Inherited Traits: Health (Silver Foal).]

Wind-Chasing Hound: [Racing Attributes:

Speed: E+

Competitive Grit: B

Distance: 1200–1800 meters

Breeding Attributes:

Foaling: 6.

Inherited Traits: Speed (Bronze Foal), Health (Silver Foal)]

Lightning Chaser: [Racing Attributes:

Explosive Acceleration: B+

Health: A

Track Adaptability: Turf ◎, Dirt: X

Growth Type: Early (three years eight months to four years ten months)

Breeding Attributes:

Foaling: 7.

Inherited Traits: Health (Gold Foal)]

Other than Lightning Chaser, both Shadow Hunter and Wind-Chasing Hound unexpectedly possessed inherited traits, and both had reached the Silver Foal level in health. This surprised Zhang Jun, since he had originally chosen them for their foaling ability.

But to Zhang Jun, this was a good thing. All three horses possessed the health trait, with at least a medium chance of passing it on. This meant that once his ranch opened, the foals it produced would be healthier than those from other ranches.

Moreover, the attributes of the three horses showed that they were highly compatible with one another.

Wind-Chasing Hound and Shadow Hunter both raced over 1,200 to 1,800 meters, and both possessed the inherited health trait.

Combined with Shadow Hunter's excellent adaptability to any track and running style, as well as Chasing Wind's low-probability speed factor, they could produce foals with outstanding speed over that distance and healthy bodies.

Lightning Chaser and Shadow Hunter both had a foaling ability of seven and both possessed health factors. Since both horses also had excellent turf adaptability, they could produce outstanding turf foals whose bodies would have a high chance of being extremely robust.

"Once the ranch opens and you and Shadow Hunter have all retired, the foals you produce will definitely be healthy," Zhang Jun said softly, a trace of longing and anticipation flashing through his eyes.

He had long since mapped out the blueprint for the future ranch in his mind: Shadow Hunter would be the ranch's core stallion, while Chasing Wind and Chasing Lightning would both be excellent broodmares. But two were far from enough. Zhang Jun envisioned a whole group of outstanding broodmares, at least ten or more.