In August 2023, while Ajman was moved to Kimura Farm and began his training, Kumo was still undergoing rehabilitation in a small paddock and stable.
I think it was around this time that I suddenly came up with the name "Kumo Hitotsu Nai" (Cloud Nothing). It was named after an American band. I hadn't even thought about the blue sky of Burano, so I realized later that it was related to his mother's name. I was lucky to have been given a good name even though I wasn't sure if he would be able to make his debut yet.
In October 2023, while Ajman was already training with people on board, Kumo was faced with a decision. The plan was for him to rest for the rest of the year, but he was to start training two months earlier than planned.
Farm advisor: "Even if we rest him until December, the injury may recur, and moving him now probably won't make a difference. If there is no recurrence, these two months will be crucial, and if not, we can give up early."
I also asked a vet for his opinion.
Veterinarian: "It's safer to let him rest until the end of the year, but that doesn't mean he can't exercise now. We won't know if he'll relapse until we try it."
I decided to move the spider ahead of schedule, even though I didn't think it would work. I started training the spider with the constant risk of recurrence. The more intense the training, the higher the risk of recurrence.
Horse riding clubs in Hokkaido
"He was fine during the training. We'll see how he goes after we go to Fukushima and start riding him properly. Thank you for letting me train such a good horse."
Fukushima training ground
"A furlong in 20 seconds, 17 seconds or even 15 seconds was fine, but we'll see how it goes when we run it in 12 seconds at the training center. We can't let our guard down yet."
Before debut...
Horiuchi Stable: "His legs seem fine, but he's still a kid. He walks slow and can't keep up with the other horses. But I think he'll get better in the future."
Jockey Matsuoka: "He's not strong enough yet, so I think his first race will be tough. He'll still have a long way to go before he gets better."
Finished third in debut race.
Everyone: “!?!”
I tend to forget what has happened up until now and ask for a lot, but the truth is that there is still a risk of the injury recurring. I wrote this to remind myself that it is a miracle that he is even able to run, and not to expect too much from him.
