Chapter 23. Fleeting Thought
Time quickly arrived at Sunday. Unlike the Dream World, in the real world, Mejiro McQueen's classes hadn't ended yet, so it wasn't time for her retirement. As expected, she easily achieved her consecutive Spring Tenno Sho victory.
After watching Mejiro McQueen's race at Kyoto Racecourse today, Tokai Teio and Rice Shower were also preparing to return to Central Tracen Academy.
Shuta An's work, on the other hand, hadn't changed. He was still debating whether Rice Shower could maintain her competitiveness in the race while also taking on the task of being the "blade."
Ultimately, if this race wasn't the Japanese Derby, Shuta An would grit his teeth and definitely let Rice Shower try it. But it just so happened that the next race was the Japanese Derby.
For some Twinkle Series enthusiasts, Derby Uma Musume are both lucky and unlucky; with the exception of a few, the previous generations of Derby Uma Musume can be said to have had difficult fates.
Sakura Chiyono O, Ines Fujin, Sirius Symboli—
Anyone who sees their experiences would lament. "Did the Derby consume all their luck?"
To other Twinkle Series enthusiasts, the Japanese Derby is just a Classic Race G1; its status is higher among Classic Race, but that's it. It holds no special meaning.
But having truly engaged in the profession of Trainer and stepped into the world of the Twinkle Series, especially after winning the Japanese Derby for the first time, Shuta An's perspective was completely different from theirs.
Although the young man reassured Rice Shower that "time is on our side." and even though he was already looking ahead to the Kikuka Sho in the autumn, there wasn't a Trainer at Central Tracen Academy who didn't want to win the Japanese Derby.
The young man's father publicly stated that his proudest achievement wasn't training Secretariat, but becoming the Trainer who had won the Kentucky Derby the most times in history—the underlying logic was the same.
"After she returns, let's have Rice Shower undergo a physical examination first."
Shuta An pushed the keyboard away, tapped the ground with his toe, and his office chair slid back to the wall.
"To stake a Japanese Derby performance as a gamble, I can accept it, but can Rice Shower?"
The young man was unsure about this question for a moment.
—
By the time Tokai Teio and Rice Shower returned to Central Tracen Academy, it was already evening.
Shuta An had left work briskly two hours earlier and driven home.
"Rice will adjust for a week, then it'll be time to prepare for the Japanese Derby."
Tokai Teio, walking ahead, spoke first.
"Relax. Mihono Bourbon should be more nervous than you right now."
"What was your mood like, Teio-senpai, when you challenged the Derby?" Rice Shower asked softly, looking at Tokai Teio's back.
"I'm very curious."
"Nothing special." Tokai Teio continued walking without looking back. "I just felt a sense of trepidation thinking that the race I had been waiting for since childhood was finally upon me, but once I actually stepped onto Tokyo Racecourse, I forgot all about it."
"At that time, only one thought remained in my mind: to win."
The Undefeated Triple Crown stopped, turned, and looked at Rice Shower.
"What kind of result would do justice to my years of unwavering effort? What kind of result would do justice to the Trainer's dedication to me? What kind of result would do justice to the earth-shattering cheers of the fans in the stands?"
"There is only one answer." Tokai Teio extended her index finger. "First place—only first place will do."
"The rest, Rice, you can see in the replays."
—
Late at night, Rice Shower clutched her blanket, tossing and turning in bed, unable to sleep.
She dared not close her eyes; as soon as she did, the imagined disastrous defeat in the Japanese Derby would appear before her.
Rice Shower had already truly experienced one failure in a Classic Race, but precisely because it was only one, the pressure it brought was so evident. If it were a Uma Musume accustomed to losing, it would just be a G1, and she'd eat and drink as usual, with a carefree attitude.
Tomorrow, I'll ask the Trainer if there's any tactic that has a chance to defeat Mihono Bourbon, even if the probability is very small. If I run normally, I'm not Mihono Bourbon's opponent right now.
Rice Shower deliberated for a while, and this thought emerged in her mind.
Immediately after, by imagining the Trainer in her mind as a solution, Rice Shower was finally able to fall asleep peacefully.
—
After Shuta An returned home and further researched the other Uma Musume participating in the Japanese Derby, he took a quick shower and went to bed.
In tonight's Dream World, the young man was to ride Rice Shower at Hanshin Racecourse, facing off against Biwa Hayahide.
Because Rice Shower had already achieved an overseas G1 victory, even though everyone considered Biwa Hayahide strong, Rice Shower still secured the top favorite, with odds soaring to 2.1. In contrast, Biwa Hayahide, as the second favorite, only had odds of 5.7.
"Today, I have a reason I cannot lose."
Shuta An stated bluntly while sitting in the Hanshin Racecourse jockey's lounge, chatting with Yutaka Take, who had temporarily returned to partner Narita Taisei for the Spring Tenno Sho challenge.
"I know." Yutaka Take patted Shuta An's shoulder. "I feel the same way. That guy's Horse Owner looks down on us; we absolutely have to teach him a lesson this time."
"Indeed. And I haven't even finished getting revenge on the other one."
Shuta An said, a smirk playing on his lips.
"I hold grudges."
"That's right, I don't recall Ann-san ever riding for the Nishiyama Horse Owner."
Yutaka Take raised an eyebrow.
"But that guy was out of line; openly discriminating against Ann-san was too much."
"As for Biwa Hayahide's Horse Owner—"
Shuta An twirled the riding crop in his left hand.
"If I win today, he can comfort himself by saying Rice Shower was too strong."
"You have to ride weaker horses and upset him a few times for people like that, then he'll realize how ridiculously wrong he was."
Yutaka Take pouted.
"But today, Ann-san, you should also watch out for me, as I've been riding in Europe recently and learned a lot from the local jockeys. Especially in France, when they heard Ann-san and I were friends, wow, those French jockeys were so enthusiastic."
"Then you haven't been to England yet, have you?" Shuta An retorted. "After we go out for dinner tonight, I'll recommend a few top jockeys there for you, so Take-san can train with them when he goes back."
"Sounds great!"
Yutaka Take was very much looking forward to it. His friend's achievements and strength were increasingly leaving him behind, and he felt a strong sense of urgency. Yutaka Take naturally didn't want to miss the opportunity to learn from world-class jockeys.
—
Rice Shower was assigned starting gate number 12, the outermost gate, for this Spring Tenno Sho. Biwa Hayahide, meanwhile, would start from gate number 11.
Upon receiving the results of the gate draw, the young man had already made up his mind,
"Just follow directly behind Biwa Hayahide and mark Biwa Hayahide throughout the race."
There was no easier tactic than this. Even Yuichi Fukunaga, who had just entered JRA Jockey School a year ago, could understand how to ride it.
As a racehorse starting from the far outside, Rice Shower was the last to enter the starting gate. But Shuta An didn't need to soothe him as he circled behind the starting gate, as Rice Shower's mental state appeared quite normal.
It would be better if he were a bit more active and livelier, though, the young man mused inwardly.
At the same time, Yukio Okabe, sitting in the saddle of the already-gated Biwa Hayahide, glanced back at Shuta An and Rice Shower.
Undoubtedly, in the pre-race strategy meeting, Biwa Hayahide's camp considered last year's Spring Tenno Sho winner to be their biggest rival. Especially considering the terrifying skill of his jockey, Yukio Okabe was prepared for a tough battle today.
But to Yukio Okabe's surprise, Shuta An, as he and Rice Shower entered the starting gate, greeted him with a smile.
"Good afternoon, Okabe-senpai." the young man waved. "I hope we can put on an exciting race."
Yukio Okabe didn't respond. He had a feeling that this formidable junior harbored some hidden intentions.
I need to be very wary; who knows what Shuta An wants to do. Is he trying to mark me?
He frowned after turning back around.
This race is one I cannot lose either.
It wasn't that Yukio Okabe would be replaced if he lost; he simply knew how he had become Biwa Hayahide's main jockey. As a senior, Yukio Okabe didn't want to lose to Shuta An here; otherwise, it would be too embarrassing. Of course, the most embarrassed would be Biwa Hayahide's Horse Owner.
But Yukio Okabe didn't care about their feelings; he only cared about himself.
—
With a "click." all the starting gates flew open, and all 12 racehorses burst out.
Yukio Okabe pushed Biwa Hayahide forward immediately after the gate opened, accelerating him to the front of the pack.
"We must keep up with the leader, Roubles Act; it can set the pace that Biwa Hayahide likes!"
This was the consensus reached by Yukio Okabe and Trainer Hamada Mitsumasa.
Shuta An did the same. After Rice Shower broke from the gate, Shuta An also pushed him vigorously a few times, making Rice Shower accelerate fiercely, then easily cut into the inner lane behind Biwa Hayahide—Roubles Act was leading, Biwa Hayahide was in second place, and Rice Shower followed closely in third.
"The turf 3200 meters at Hanshin Racecourse and the 3200-meter course at Kyoto Racecourse have different requirements for racehorses. Here, compared to Kyoto Racecourse's traditional 3200-meter course, it places more emphasis on long-distance sprinting ability, which is an absolute advantage for Rice Shower. The pace of the race will also be fast—slow—fast. Roubles Act in front is clearly going at a fast pace, but when it turns out of the first bend and enters the final straight before the grandstand for the first time, it will inevitably slow down. That will be a good opportunity for Rice Shower to conserve energy."
The Slope Road on the final straight at Hanshin Racecourse is quite extreme, capable of stopping many racehorses that lack stamina in the final sprint. The terrain there also means that trying to make a final burst of speed on the final straight to overtake all opponents is basically unfeasible.
"That's why Rice Shower needs to keep up, following behind Biwa Hayahide. When Biwa Hayahide starts his long-distance acceleration and sprint, Rice Shower and I can completely come from behind to win."
Shuta An said, keeping an eye on Biwa Hayahide's gray rear in front, while also noticing Yukio Okabe's clear action of pulling back on the reins.
"Biwa Hayahide has a very strong desire to move forward, doesn't he?" Shuta An smirked. "It seems Okabe-senpai is having a bit of trouble holding him back?"
The young man thought with a touch of mischief,
Should I reach out and give Biwa Hayahide a little stimulation to make his desire to move forward even stronger?
However, for safety reasons, Shuta An ultimately did not act on it.
—
As Roubles Act entered the uphill section of the final straight, Shuta An's internal clock told him that Roubles Act had, as expected, chosen to slow down.
"Jockey Kiyoyama Hiroaki on the saddle is too formulaic in his strategy for the Hanshin 3200-meter course. In the more than ten Hanshin 3200-meter races he's led before, he's always slowed down here to recover stamina. While this is reasonable given the terrain, it's also good news for the opponents behind."
At least Rice Shower can now conserve his stamina well and prepare to compete with Biwa Hayahide later.
After the first 1000 meters, Yukio Okabe, estimating the passing speed at 64 seconds, also confirmed that Shuta An intended to mark him and Biwa Hayahide.
"It's a marking tactic, as expected. Biwa Hayahide's agitation is clearly due to the pressure from behind."
Yukio Okabe frowned.
"It's not just because the race pace is slow. Now I have to keep holding Biwa Hayahide back and prevent him from overtaking Roubles Act. Otherwise, the race tempo will accelerate in a direction unfavorable to Biwa Hayahide and me."
After confirming this, Yukio Okabe glanced back as Biwa Hayahide was about to enter the second bend.
Shuta An noticed his gaze and smiled into the wind.
"Okabe-senpai isn't just now feeling the crisis, is he?" the young man muttered to himself. "Biwa Hayahide is very displeased with this slow pace. If I push Rice Shower a few times on the bend, making him close the gap by half a length, can Biwa Hayahide still maintain his composure?"
Yukio Okabe himself wasn't sure of the answer to that question.
But Shuta An really wanted to see.
So, as Rice Shower also entered the second bend, Shuta An increased the force in his arms, pushing Rice Shower to accelerate forward. In just a dozen meters, Rice Shower shortened the gap between himself and Biwa Hayahide to within half a length.
And Yukio Okabe could feel Biwa Hayahide becoming increasingly difficult to control at this point—the culprit for all of this was Shuta An, who was following behind him.
But Yukio Okabe couldn't find a suitable solution other than tightening the reins even more. Unless he used all his strength to directly pull Biwa Hayahide to slow down—but that seemed like the most foolish choice imaginable.
So, there was really only one path left before him—to grit his teeth and continue to resist Biwa Hayahide until they turned into the final bend, at which point he would unleash Biwa Hayahide, who had been suppressed for the entire race.
The gamble was that Biwa Hayahide's efforts over the preceding 2000-plus meters wouldn't affect his sprint performance in the final 1000 meters.
But the problem was that if Rice Shower ran at the same pace, Shuta An, whose control was clearly superior to Yukio Okabe's, would most likely enable Rice Shower to unleash even greater power.
Should I swerve to interfere?
This tactic immediately popped into Yukio Okabe's mind.
But he dismissed the idea almost instantly. Because Yukio Okabe couldn't imagine the public reaction he would face if he intentionally interfered with Shuta An and something went wrong.
Having ridden racehorses for half his life, Yukio Okabe didn't want to tarnish his reputation in his later years.
I can only believe that Biwa Hayahide is stronger than Rice Shower right now!
He gripped the reins tightly, unable to spare any more attention for the watchful Shuta An and Rice Shower lurking behind him.
—
Shuta An carefully held the whip, ready to deliver a right-hand whip at any moment; as soon as Yukio Okabe made Biwa Hayahide move diagonally, he could immediately avoid her with Rice Shower.
At this point, the gap between the two racehorses was one horse length, which didn't seem like much, but for the fully focused Shuta An, it was enough time to react.
It's hard to guarantee that Senior Okabe won't lose his head in a panic.
Shuta An didn't entirely trust the moral character of jockeys; after all, the guys around him privately indulged in quite a bit, and in the traditional sense of a "good person." at least at JRA, Shuta An believed he was the only one.
Even for Yutaka Take, the young man had vaguely heard some things about his private life.
No matter what the real world was like, in the Dream World, Shuta An was someone whom gossip magazines had never found any scandals about, and JRA was quite satisfied with his private life.
Upon entering the straight stretch opposite the stands, Roubles Act accelerated again.
Biwa Hayahide and Rice Shower also followed suit, accelerating under the instructions from their saddles.
"There are still over 1000 meters left to the finish line; it's time to start conserving strength now." Shuta An calmly began to plan his next moves.
"Regardless, maintaining the third-place position now is very convenient for positioning later. When it's time to accelerate and pull out, just give a right-hand whip; no special maneuvering is needed to move forward. For the rest, I can trust Rice Shower."
As his thoughts turned here, Shuta An felt a bit helpless for a moment.
If in the real world, I could trust Rice Shower this much now—
But the young man also understood that neither he nor Rice Shower should be blamed for this situation.
Forget it, let's focus on the present.
Shuta An squeezed his racehorse's flanks, staring intently at Biwa Hayahide's movements ahead, ready to give the signal whip to urge Rice Shower to accelerate.
—
Entering the final bend, Shuta An concentrated, switching his grip on the whip from backhand to forehand.
Then, he first glanced back to see that the closest rival, Monsieur Siecle, was more than two horse lengths behind Rice Shower, before he shook the signal whip to the right of Rice Shower's head, making Rice Shower veer slightly outwards by one step—first confirming the distance could prevent Rice Shower from affecting the opponent behind him after veering.
As for why he chose to further widen the gap despite already having space, it was still Shuta An's cautiousness, fearing that an excited Biwa Hayahide might accelerate and veer, completely cutting off Rice Shower's path.
The subtext was—as long as Rice Shower could pull out smoothly, Shuta An didn't care about the lost ground from veering on the bend.
This was the confidence the young man had in Rice Shower for long-distance races.
With a wide acceleration path, Shuta An no longer hesitated, directly turning the whip half a circle and then delivering a right-hand whip.
Feeling the sting, Rice Shower immediately understood she needed to accelerate, her stride frequency instantly quickening, and her stride length immediately widening.
As they were about to exit the final bend, Biwa Hayahide overtook Roubles Act, and Rice Shower was already almost neck and neck with Biwa Hayahide.
"Indeed!"
Seeing this, Yukio Okabe was not surprised at all.
Ever since he confirmed that Shuta An and Rice Shower were marking Biwa Hayahide in this race, Yukio Okabe had already envisioned this scene.
However, seeing it unfold, he still felt a bit emotional.
"It's a straightforward strategy; even knowing what they would do, I couldn't defend against it."
Shuta An didn't know what Yukio Okabe was feeling emotional about, but he knew this was the decisive moment.
As long as I can overpower Biwa Hayahide here, the Spring Tenno Sho victory will be mine!
The young man thought of this and suddenly increased the intensity of his push.
Yutaka Take, who was behind, vigorously whipping, also noticed that as Narita Taisei began to unleash his proud final spurt, Rice Shower's speed was in no way inferior to his partner's.
It's no surprise that Rice Shower could overturn Mihono Bourbon, and Mejiro McQueen.
Yutaka Take thought as he continued to push.
—
With 100 meters left to the finish line, Biwa Hayahide had been completely caught up by Rice Shower.
Seeing this, Shuta An pushed even harder, his whole body rising and falling on Rice Shower's back, exerting all his strength on his partner beneath him.
Executing his technique with a standard European style, Shuta An was almost in a different league from all his peers on the racecourse.
Yukio Okabe's brilliance beside him was completely overshadowed.
"Truly terrifying."
Yukio Okabe was convinced that before last year, Shuta An would never have made him feel such an emotion.
But he also had to admit that the junior, now half an Uma Musume length ahead and brimming with talent, was worthy of the title of the current number one.
It's my complete defeat, he gradually eased his effort, certain that the placings would not change, and sighed silently in his heart.
"AS EXPECTED, THIS HORSE IS MADE FOR LONG DISTANCES! RICE SHOWER CROSSES THE FINISH LINE! A MAGNIFICENT CONSECUTIVE VICTORY IN THE SPRING TENNO SHO! MEJIRO MCQUEEN WOULD BE VERY HAPPY TO SEE THIS. MAY THIS YEAR'S EXPEDITION ALSO GO SMOOTHLY!"
On the commentary stand, the commentator looked at Shuta An, who was already celebrating, and Rice Shower, who was gradually slowing down, and sincerely offered his blessings.