Super Zoo-Chapter 742 - 724: The Queen’s Star
Huangniyong Racecourse, in the last few weeks of the horse season, was bustling instead of quiet. People who won money wanted to ride the wave of victory, and those who lost were grasping at the last few weeks to turn their luck around.
Certainly, there were also true equestrian enthusiasts.
"Cheer up, brother. We're out to have fun, so why the long face?" Suming patted Hou Longtao's shoulder.
Today, Lin Mu had a prior engagement and couldn't make it, so Hou Longtao and Suming came to the racecourse to bet on horses by themselves. At the entrance, they "coincidentally" bumped into Cui Bijia. Whether it was truly a coincidence didn't matter to Suming, since both he and Hou Longtao were not very familiar with Xiangjiang, having a local beauty as a guide was pretty nice.
Moreover, Suming had a plan for the day, and having Cui Bijia there would serve as a witness and indirectly help him out.
After all, having lost years of a relationship, Hou Longtao was still somewhat depressed and hadn't fully emerged from the shadow of the heartbreak, looking sickly as he said, "I don't understand horses, I'll just follow your bets."
"Suming, which horse have you got your eye on?" Cui Bijia asked eagerly, looking over the horse guide in her hands and mumbling to herself, "This issue's favorite is 'Queen's Star', wow... I didn't realize until I read it, but this horse is actually a descendant of the purebred that Princess Anne rode to win the World Championship! Suming, this is something big!"
"Princess Anne? What's her deal?" Suming asked.
Zara Anne Elizabeth Philips, a princess of England, world equestrian champion, the BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2006, and the grandchild of Queen Elizabeth II of England, is thirteenth in line to the throne of the sixteen Commonwealth realms..." Cui Bijia, who seemed to be an equestrian enthusiast too, rattled off a lot of information.
Suming remembered two things: First, as the thirteenth in line to the throne, unless the twelve people in front of her were to meet with collective misfortune, the throne had virtually nothing to do with her.
Like Japan, England practices a constitutional monarchy, but the British Queen holds much more power than the Japanese Emperor in legal terms. The constitution states that the British Queen retains the final decision on appointing the Prime Minister and managing state affairs, and to this day, each Prime Minister meets with the British Queen in the afternoon every week.
Of course, what the two discuss, whether it's state affairs or their afternoon tea and naps, and whether the British Queen truly has any actual power, nobody knows. At least according to the law, the British Queen always has the right to take complete control of the country at any time.
The second point: Married.
A married woman didn't hold much attraction for Suming.
Since Big Happy and Lion Fort Dragon weren't in the races today, Suming didn't have a personal favorite to support. Last time he had won tens of millions betting on horses, but that news was kept within a certain circle, and of course, Cui Bijia had no idea that the Suming in front of her was a master of 'betting arts', persistently recommending racehorses to him.
Ranked first was 'Queen's Star,' the horse with world championship bloodline.
"Come on, let's go have a look at the horses before deciding," Suming said loudly, for the roar of the crowd at the racecourse made it impossible to hear softer voices. The trio sidled from the edge of the bleachers, inching their way down to the pre-race walking ring.
The place was packed with people squeezing against one another. Before placing their bets, many horse enthusiasts liked to come and see the horses they had picked, each believing they had the eye of a connoisseur.
Cui Bijia led the way with her full-chested Sea Mimi, causing people around to step aside and gaze in astonishment.
This woman had returned from England, not like the delicate beauties from the mainland who looked as if a gust of wind could carry them away. She went to the gym regularly in England, an embodiment of healthy beauty with no shortage of strength.
Remarkably, they managed to carve a path through the crowd and leaned on the rail, looking in the direction Cui Bijia pointed, where Suming saw 'Queen's Star'.
A pure black racehorse, its coat glossy and flawless, stood out instantly among the twelve horses, drawing attention at first glance.
However, it seemed somewhat aloof, standing alone at a distance from the other horses, with not a single one within several meters around it.
"Suming, this horse is clearly different from the rest, trust me, I'm not wrong!" Cui Bijia said proudly.
Suming squinted at the horse, pretending to 'size up' the animal, while secretly using his spiritual power to communicate subtly with 'Queen's Star'.
A few seconds later, Suming withdrew his spiritual power and, like casting a wide net, made brief contact with the other eleven horses present.
"Beauty, are you sure you want to bet on Queen's Star?" Suming asked.
"Yeah," Cui Bijia said confidently, "There really isn't any other choice."
Suming nodded, "Alright, place a bet on Queen's Star for me too, ten thousand on the win only."
"Is Mr. Hou betting on this horse too?" Cui Bijia took the Horse Club betting card from Suming and asked Hou Longtao.
Hou Longtao, distracted, said, "Whatever Suming buys, I'll buy the same. Help me place a bet, um, five hundred should do."
Just as Cui Bijia was about to agree, Suming laughed and patted Hou Longtao on the shoulder, "Betting on horses is all about the thrill. There's no fun if three people all bet on the same one. How about you pick another horse?"
Hou Longtao was indifferent, "Alright, then you tell me which one to bet on since I don't know a thing about horses."
Suming casually pointed, "That White Rose over there looks pretty strong."
"Then White Rose it is, five hundred." Hou Longtao said.
Cui Bijia was all smiles, yet inwardly, she felt a tinge of disdain for Suming.
This young boss has many good qualities but one thing he shares with many mainland bosses is that he can't escape the nouveau riche stereotype - his background is too shallow.
Take horse racing, for example. Those who don't know the business would look at whether the horse is strong or muscular.
It's like fighting, being the bigger doesn't necessarily mean you'll win.
Any horse that makes it to the race is physically fit. The most direct and effective way to choose a horse is to look at its bloodline. The bloodline signifies the horse's overall quality and potential.
Then there's the jockey's skill level. Queen's Star's jockey is also a British professional rider.
As for White Rose, it's not even purebred, and its jockey is just an ordinary local.
Of course, Cui Bijia wouldn't say these things outright. The three placed their bets – Suming ten thousand, Cui Bijia two thousand, Hou Longtao five hundred.
Hundreds of meters away from the regular stands, in the VIP stand on the opposite side, Princess Anne and Princess Eugene were also present in a private box.
"Sister, is Queen's Star really a descendant of your toy chest's purebred? But I feel there's something off about that horse. It seems too aloof, and such horses actually have poor capacity to handle pressure. They can only perform well in favorable races, but tend to fall apart under adversity," Eugene said, watching the horses from hundreds of meters away on the big screen in the box, which showed them in close-up via camera.
Princess Anne laughed and said, "Little Eugene is all grown up now, you can even tell that? Haha, you're absolutely right, that horse is merely hyped up; it has, at most, one-eighth of the Toy Chest bloodline."
"No wonder," Eugene said proudly, "Then I'll bet on White Rose."
"White Rose? Nobody favors it though," Princess Anne said curiously.
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"There's no absolute favorite in this race, and underdog horses like this have a chance to pull off a surprise. Let's take a gamble," Eugene said while placing a thousand British Pounds on the betting machine.
