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 called softly, "Chasing Wind, come here."
Breezy Red Hound 2021—following the naming method he had decided on earlier, Zhang Jun gave her the name Wind-Chasing Hound, with Chasing Wind as her nickname—timidly poked her horse head out from the depths of the stall.
This red chestnut filly had moved from her original ranch to Jianzhou Ranch over a month ago, yet she still retained the shyness she had shown when they first met.
Her long ears stood upright, and her large eyes watched Zhang Jun warily. Although they had met many times over the past month, Zhang Jun and this little one still had not built a good relationship.
"Don't be afraid. It's me. We've met lots of times already." Zhang Jun lowered his voice again, placed the carrot in the feed bucket, and stepped back two paces.
Chasing Wind hesitated for several seconds before cautiously approaching. She first sniffed the carrot with her nose, then looked up at Zhang Jun. Only after confirming there was no danger did she quickly seize the carrot and return to the depths of the stall, chewing with her back to Zhang Jun. Bits of carrot kept falling from her mouth onto the ground.
Zhang Jun smiled. This little one was rather sensitive. After coming to Jianzhou Ranch for more than a month, she had only formed a connection with the stable hand assigned by Jianzhou Ranch and remained wary of everyone else. Although Zhang Jun often came to visit her, he could not compare to the stable hand's constant companionship.
Zhang Jun was in no hurry. He had plenty of time anyway. Luo Fei, however, 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 mind. He had bought her to be Shadow Hunter's child bride in the first place, so a later debut was fine.
Zhang Jun took out another small sugar cube, returned to the front of the stall, and called softly a few times. Once Chasing Wind turned around alertly, he tied the sugar cube with a cleaned rope in full view of her, hung it from the edge of the feed bucket, and then headed to the neighboring stall.
The occupant of this stall was Urgent Lightning Colt 2021, whom Zhang Jun had snagged at a bargain during the select sale. He had also given her a new name: Lightning Chaser, with Chasing Lightning as her nickname. She and Chasing Wind made up the Chasing Wind and Chasing Lightning pair.
This little one was even more timid than Chasing Wind, but she became familiar with strangers she saw regularly much faster. Over the past month or so, she had grown accustomed not only to the stable hand and Zhang Jun, but also to Luo Fei, Luo Heng, Luo Yong, the ranch's breaking trainer, and the exercise riders.
Her excessive timidity had merely slowed the progress of her desensitization training, but for the same reason, Zhang Jun was not in a hurry.
Chasing Lightning had recognized the man who often brought her delicious carrots and sugar cubes the moment Zhang Jun entered Stable No. 1. She had been waiting near the front of her stall early on, poking her brown bay horse head over the wooden rail and staring at Zhang Jun while repeatedly nodding up and down.
Zhang Jun approached with a smile and reached out to stroke Chasing Lightning's fluffy horse head and ears. He also took out a prepared carrot and a specially prepared apple from his bag, holding them in his hands.
Chasing Lightning's ears flicked back and forth a few times before she opened her mouth and bit into the apple—she liked this red thing more than carrots.
Zhang Jun opened the sliding door in the stall's wooden rail and walked inside. His hand stroked Chasing Lightning's neck and mane, which felt warm and smooth, exceptionally well cared for and gleaming with healthy luster.
The stable hands at Jianzhou Ranch were extremely professional. In just over a month, Chasing Lightning and Chasing Wind's coats had become far shinier than before they arrived at the ranch.
"You need to work hard on your upcoming desensitization training and pre-race conditioning." Zhang Jun stroked Chasing Lightning's mane with one hand while feeding her a carrot with the other.
After Shadow Hunter won first place in his Debutant Race, Zhang Jun received six points—local Debutant Races had a standardized total purse of 120,000 yuan, with 60,000 for first place, 24,000 for second, 18,000 for third, 12,000 for fourth, and 6,000 for fifth.
The percentages of the total purse were fifty, twenty, fifteen, ten, and five percent respectively; it was then distributed among the owner, trainer, jockey, stable hand, exercise rider, stable assistant, and others at a ratio of seventy, twelve, eight, and ten.
As the owner, Zhang Jun received a prize of 42,000 yuan. After a twenty percent personal tax deduction, 33,600 yuan reached his account. However, the system calculated points based on the horse's total accumulated prize money, so there was no reduction.
After gaining the points, Zhang Jun directly used 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: Flexible Distance: 1200–1800 meters Breeding Attributes: Foaling: 7 Inherited Traits: Health (Silver Pony).] Wind-Chasing Hound: [Racing Attributes: Speed: E+ Will to Win: B Distance: 1200–1800 meters Breeding Attributes: Foaling: 6. Inherited Traits: Speed (Bronze Pony), Health (Silver Pony)] Lightning Chaser: [Racing Attributes: Explosive Acceleration: B+ Health: A Track Adaptability: Turf ◎, Dirt: X Growth Type: Early Average (August of age three to October of age four) Breeding Attributes: Foaling: 7. Inherited Traits: Health (Golden Pony)]
Aside from Lightning Chaser, both Shadow Hunter and Wind-Chasing Hound unexpectedly possessed inherited traits, and their Health traits had both reached the Silver Pony level. This surprised Zhang Jun, since he had initially chosen them for their foaling ability.
But this was good news for Zhang Jun. All three horses possessed the Health trait, with at least a medium chance of passing it down. This meant that once his ranch opened, the foals it produced would be healthier than those from other ranches.
Furthermore, the attributes of the three horses showed that they were highly compatible with one another.
Wind-Chasing Hound and Shadow Hunter both had racing distances of 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 within that racing distance and healthy bodies.
Lightning Chaser and Shadow Hunter both had a foaling ability of seven and both possessed Health factors. Combined with the excellent turf adaptability of both horses, they could produce excellent turf foals whose bodies would most likely be exceptionally resilient.
"Once the ranch opens and you and Shadow Hunter have all retired, the foals you produce will definitely be very healthy," Zhang Jun said softly, a trace of longing and anticipation flashing through his eyes.
He had long since mapped out the blueprint for his future ranch in his heart: Shadow Hunter would be the ranch's core stallion, while Chasing Wind and Chasing Lightning would both be outstanding broodmares. But just two were nowhere near enough. Zhang Jun's plan called for a group of excellent broodmares, at least ten or more.