A group of people escorted Zhuang Rui toward the stables on the east side of the villa. To prevent the people in the villa from disturbing the horses that had been kept there, Old Master Qin had specially fenced off this area and left a small open space for the horses to exercise.
When they reached the stables, Shu Wen nodded and said, "Brother Qin, your horse farm is really nice. I can tell you're a horse lover too..."
In the prime Mid-Levels villa area of Hong Kong, where land is extremely valuable, it is already a remarkable achievement to have such a piece of land. Of course, if you want to conduct activities such as horse training, you still need to go to a professional horse farm.
"Hehe, it's been abandoned for several years. It was only when Xiao Rui brought his Chasing Wind that this stable was put back into use..."
While Old Master Qin spoke modestly, he was quite pleased with himself. He had visited the homes of several people present, and none of them had a horse stable like his.
The stables are not very big, and there are only two stables, but each stable is very spacious and has a temperature-controlled air conditioning system that can adjust the temperature and humidity at any time.
There are also two cameras that can monitor the horses' movements 24 hours a day to prevent them from falling ill without being aware of it and not receiving timely help.
During the time when Mr. Qin raised horses, he also hired a professional horse trainer and nutritionist. The horses ate three meals of rations and four meals of hay a day, and sometimes they also needed to be given carrots, apples, honey, eggs and oatmeal. The daily food cost for the racehorses alone was three to four hundred yuan.
It could be said that the monthly expenses of these two stables were equivalent to the annual expenses of many families. Although Grandpa Qin was usually very frugal, he did not feel any pain in spending such money.
In fact, there are many wealthy people like Mr. Qin in Hong Kong, especially those self-made businessmen who are often very frugal in their food and drink, but spend lavishly on their hobbies without batting an eye.
Just like that super-rich man in Hong Kong who is particularly fond of sports, he usually has very low demands on his family and himself, and his meals are not much different from those of ordinary people.
However, this tycoon spends countless sums on sports every year; his annual expenses for traveling the world in private jets to watch football matches are astronomical.
"Luffy..."
Seeing so many people suddenly crowding in, Chasing Wind in the stable became a little uneasy. After all, it had not been tamed from the wild herd for very long, and its wariness of strangers was still very high.
Upon hearing the horse's neighing, Li Chaoren stopped at the stable entrance and said, "Alright, don't come in. You don't want to scare the horse..."
Although they were somewhat dissatisfied, the young people dared not disobey Li Ka-shing's orders. Even prominent figures like Qin Haoran, a second-generation elite, obediently stopped outside the horse stable. Of course, Zhuang Rui was not among them.
Zhuang Rui took a few steps ahead, opened the stable door and went inside. He gently stroked Zhui Feng and said, "This horse of mine was galloping across the grasslands not long ago, so it's not used to being here..."
"Pfft..."
After seeing Zhuang Rui, Zhui Feng quieted down, but his intelligent eyes remained fixed on the group of people in the horse corridor.
"What a fine horse, what a fine horse..."
“That’s right, look at its pale golden fur, I’ve never seen anything like it before…”
"Dr. Shu, you have a knack for judging horses. Tell me what you think of this horse?"
All I can say is that Zhui Feng's appearance is simply too outstanding. When these old men saw Zhui Feng, they all showed expressions of admiration in their eyes, wishing they could replace Zhuang Rui, who was stroking Zhui Feng, in their place.
"This horse is truly exceptional. Its coat is glossy, its eyes are round, full, and bright, its ears are small, pointed, and move flexibly, its skull is well-defined, its neck is high and straight, and its limbs are strong, sturdy, and upright. It is indeed a rare and fine horse..."
Dr. Shu Wen truly lived up to his reputation as a horse connoisseur. After examining Zhui Feng for a while, he uttered many terms for judging horses, which Zhuang Rui listened to with great interest. It turns out there are so many intricacies to judging horses!
Apart from Shu Wen, the others could see that the horse was magnificent, but they couldn't say whether it was good or bad. So Guo Daheng asked, "Brother Shu Wen, do you think this horse is better, or is your recently purchased Thoroughbred English horse more impressive?"
"Let me take a look first..."
Shu Wen walked to the side of the stable to observe it, and even gestured for Zhuang Rui to open the horse's mouth so he could see its teeth. After a while, he finally spoke, "This horse was captured on the grasslands, so it might have decent stamina, but for racing, my Thoroughbred is still better..."
Although Shu Wen's eyes lit up, he didn't think much of Zhuang Rui's horse, because racehorses are different from ordinary horses, and thoroughbreds have a great advantage.
The term Thoroughbred refers specifically to a breed of horse whose ancestors can be traced back to three stallions who were transported from the Mediterranean and the Middle East to England in the 17th century to be bred with stronger but later-maturing English local breeds.
The result of mating was the birth of a new horse breed... the Thoroughbred, and at the same time, a new sport was born: horse racing. It can be said that world horse racing was driven by Thoroughbreds.
Moreover, the physique and appearance of Thoroughbreds fully demonstrate the typical characteristics of fast horses. Their nervous system is highly sensitive and flexible, and their reactions are extremely fast without being frantic. Surprisingly, the tendons of Thoroughbreds have a tensile strength that is almost similar to, or even exceeds, that of copper wire of the same diameter.
After hundreds of years of breeding, it can be said that all the tissues, organs, systems, and even the biochemical reactions of the Thoroughbred are specifically designed for racing.
It's important to know that the current world racing speeds are all achieved by artificially bred Thoroughbreds; there's no story of a wild horse ever winning a Thoroughbred race in an international competition.
So even though Zhuang Rui's Akhal-Teke was large and even better than some Thoroughbreds, Shu Wen still favored the British Thoroughbred racehorse he had bought for 30 million US dollars.
It's important to understand that the quality of a racehorse also depends on systematic training, which often begins when the horse is young. This training aims to maximize the horse's explosive power, enabling it to reach its speed limit in the shortest possible time.
Shu Wen observed from the horse's mouth that Zhuang Rui's horse should be around three years old. Although it was not yet fully grown, it had already passed the optimal training period. Based on his experience, he judged that it was impossible for it to win against his professional racehorse in a short-distance speed race.
"Sigh, I was hoping to find a horse that could beat you once..."
After hearing Shu Wen's analysis, Guo Daheng, who had a history of "grudges" with Shu Wen in horse racing, sighed.
"Heh, you still have a chance, but... this horse is no good, even if you train it now, it's too late..."
Shu Wen had high hopes for Zhuang Rui's horse, but unfortunately, the horse had already missed the best opportunity to be trained into a racehorse. If it had been trained from a young age, it might have had a chance to beat him.
"Luffy..."
Seemingly understanding Shu Wen's evaluation of him, Zhui Feng neighed angrily at Shu Wen. Horses are the proudest of all animals, and if Zhui Feng could speak, he would probably start cursing.
Not only was Zhui Feng dissatisfied with Shu Wen's words, but Zhuang Rui couldn't hold back either. It's one thing to underestimate your buddies, but it's another to underestimate Zhuang Rui's partners, something Zhuang Rui absolutely cannot tolerate.
Forgetting his previous modesty, Zhuang Rui patted Zhui Feng's neck to calm him down and said, "Dr. Shu, this isn't absolute, is it? Wild horses live in harsh environments with many natural predators. I think it's under these conditions that a horse's potential is truly unleashed. I believe... Zhui Feng will not lose to any horse in the world, whether in short-distance speed races or long-distance races."
Dr. Shu Wen was taken aback when he heard this. He was just making a judgment based on his own experience and did not say anything extreme, but he did not expect Zhuang Rui to react so strongly.
Chapter 1215 Horse Racing
“Xiao Zhuang, speed-type horse racing is different from Mongolian horse racing. Not only do the horses need to undergo specialized training, but the selection of jockeys is also very important. So when I said that your Akhal-Teke is not as good as a Thoroughbred in short-distance sprints, it wasn’t out of malice…”
Dr. Shu Wen was afraid that Zhuang Rui might misunderstand, so he explained it to him. This was only because of Zhuang Rui; if it were someone else, Dr. Shu Wen probably wouldn't have said a word more.
Many factors determine the outcome of horse racing, and with huge bets involved, there are bound to be behind-the-scenes manipulators. Malicious collisions that occur on the racetrack may well be the result of manipulation by certain forces.
Therefore, Dr. Shu and the others found Zhuang Rui's words somewhat amusing; they were clearly the kind of things a child would say in a fit of pique.
"So, all you've got to say is that you look down on my Chasing Wind skills, right?"
Zhuang Rui muttered to himself, but smiled and said, "Dr. Shu, you've misunderstood me. I'm not upset. I just wanted to say that no matter what type of racehorse it is, my Chasing Wind is definitely the best, without a doubt..."
"Young man, don't speak too confidently. Nothing in this world is absolute..."
Hearing Zhuang Rui say this, Dr. Shu Wen was also somewhat displeased.
Given his status, it was already quite a condescension for Dr. Shu Wen to come to Zhuang Rui's door today to apologize. However, his well-intentioned horse appraisal was misinterpreted by Zhuang Rui, which made Dr. Shu Wen feel somewhat embarrassed.
"Hehe, Dr. Shu, I can't speak for other horses, but Chasing Wind is definitely a good choice," Zhuang Rui retorted, not backing down an inch. "You can insult my buddy a bit, but you can't mistreat my partner. You're just taking advantage of the fact that it can't speak or fight back, aren't you?"
Zhuang Rui's attitude surprised the old men present. In fact, what Dr. Shu said just now was not excessive; it was Zhuang Rui who seemed to be taking it too seriously.
"Alright, what's the point of you two, one old and one young, talking like this? As the saying goes, you have to see what it's made of. Xiao Zhuang, why don't we just take it to the Macau racecourse this weekend?"
"Yes, yes, Lao Guo is right. Can't we tell who's good and who's bad just by comparing them?"
"That's right, let's have a competition this weekend and see whether the Akhal-Teke horses, with their thousand-year history, are better, or the foreign Thoroughbreds..."
Guo Daheng started the whole thing, and now this guy is trying to smooth things over. But his words have been unanimously agreed upon by everyone. No matter how much he says, it's useless. What really matters is running a lap around the racetrack.
"Alright, let's have a match then. How many matches are there this weekend?"
Zhuang Rui blurted out the words.
"It was originally supposed to be ten races, but since horse races from all over the world are participating, it was temporarily increased to 12 races..."
Someone nearby answered Zhuang Rui's question, saying that this Macau horse racing event was jointly organized with the Hong Kong Jockey Club, and all the decisions were made by the group of old men in the stables.
"Then my Chasing Wind will participate in 12 matches..."
As soon as Zhuang Rui uttered those words, he sensed something was wrong. Sure enough, after he said those words, the entire room fell silent. A group of old men, whose average age was definitely over eighty, stared at Zhuang Rui as if he were a child looking at Ultraman.
It's important to understand that speed horse racing aims to unleash the horse's full potential in the shortest amount of time, allowing it to exert all its strength over a short distance. However, after such exertion, the horse will be unable to engage in strenuous exercise for a period of time.
Like the world's fastest cheetah, it can reach an astonishing speed of 110 kilometers per hour, making it arguably the fastest land animal in the world.
However, a cheetah can only maintain this speed for a short period of two or three minutes. After that, regardless of whether it catches prey or not, the cheetah will have exhausted a lot of energy and will be unable to hunt again for at least a few hours.
Therefore, what Zhuang Rui just said was extremely amateurish. Not only did the group of old men look strange, but even the people outside were speechless with astonishment.
If such a horse really exists, it's probably the celestial horse that Marshal Tianpeng raised in mythology, right? Anyway, these people have been involved with horses for decades, and they've never seen a horse that can compete in several races in a row.
"Xiao Rui, you've never raced a horse, have you?"
Even Old Master Qin couldn't stand it anymore; if they continued, his grandson-in-law would lose even more face.
"It's better than..."
Zhuang Rui realized that his words were somewhat inappropriate, so he simply pretended to be ignorant and said, "I raced horses with Timur's sworn brothers on the grasslands, and their horses were no match for them..."
Sure enough, after hearing Zhuang Rui's words, a burst of good-natured laughter rang out from all around. Many of them had been to the grasslands and galloped on horseback there, but there was a big difference between grassland horse racing and speed-type horse racing.
Grandpa Qin coughed twice, both amused and exasperated, and said, "Xiao Rui, you can participate in the horse races this weekend, but you'll have to skip all 12 races. That would exhaust the horses. I think you should just choose one of them to participate in..."
“Okay, then I’ll choose the race with Dr. Shu’s horse race.” Zhuang Rui nodded in agreement. Although Bai Meng’an had told him yesterday that the horses used in the races had to be decided a week in advance, with so many directors of the Jockey Club’s board of directors in the stadium, he figured this little thing wouldn’t be too difficult for them.
"Alright, let's have a competition with Brother Shuwen, I support you..."
As soon as Zhuang Rui finished speaking, Guo Daheng, whose face was covered with age spots, immediately gave a thumbs up. It seemed that he had indeed been suppressed by Shu Wen for decades, and he would not let go of any chance to win.
"Thank you, Mr. Guo..."
Zhuang Rui smiled at the legendary real estate tycoon.
"Little one, I support you too..."
Even the gambling king, sitting in a wheelchair, gave Zhuang Rui a thumbs up.
However, Dr. Shu Wen was very dissatisfied with the gambling king's attitude and jokingly said, "Mr. Ho, you don't even trust my horse?"
"This little guy is good at creating miracles, I believe in him..."
The gambling king's words surprised everyone. You see, Mr. Ho has been a dominant figure in the gambling world for more than half a century. Although he himself never gambles, his ability to judge people is unmatched in the world.
"Alright, let's add a little something extra..."
Feeling slighted by his longtime friend of decades, Dr. Shu Wen was genuinely a little angry. "I may not be able to beat you at gambling, but I really don't believe that someone like me, who has been playing with horses for half my life, can lose to someone like you who collects antiques?"
"Okay, okay, add some prizes, that'll make it more interesting..."
"Yes, yes, Mr. Li, you won 20 million from me last time, this time I'm going to win it back..."
"That's not necessarily true. Maybe we're betting on the same horse..."
As soon as Shu Wen finished speaking, a chorus of agreement immediately rang out. The group of super-rich people beamed with joy upon hearing that gambling was allowed and began joking with each other.
"This...this works too?"
Standing in the stable, Zhuang Rui was speechless at the sight before him. This group of super-rich Chinese were actually discussing horse racing betting? What would the people who bought their motivational books think if they saw this?
In fact, Zhuang Rui was unaware that there were often competitions with prizes among Hong Kong's top tycoons, and the stakes were extremely high, but these were not known to outsiders.