Chapter 26. Double-Edged Sword Skill
Everyone thought that Shuta An would continue to take an aggressive early position with Hokuto Vega, pressuring the leading opponents, and then win easily.
This included Patrick on the track and Nakano Takayoshi off the track.
But only Shuta An knew what information he had captured from Flight K's debut race.
"Click!"
The sound of the starting gate opening was crisp, and Shuta An pushed off in response, but he didn't immediately give clear instructions to go forward. Instead, he lightly handed over the initiative to Hokuto Vega for the time being.
Hokuto Vega herself wanted to go forward, but the jockeys on Teddy's Top Ten and Gray Cashmere, who started from her sides, unanimously chose to sandwich Hokuto Vega, preventing her from accelerating rapidly at the start.
Seeing this, Shuta An immediately tightened the reins, ensuring he wouldn't collide with the jockeys on Teddy's Top Ten and Gray Cashmere. He then made Hokuto Vega cut to the inside, feigning a posture of being unable to contend with the two cooperating opponents and being forced to stay behind.
Patrick watched with cold eyes, completely unconvinced by Shuta An's acting.
The guy who would actively take a whip from others at Belmont Park Racecourse to gain an advantage for Sunday Silence would choose to stay behind because of such a small bump? Too fake.
He pouted, deciding to follow Shuta An and observe, wanting to see what trick this guy was hiding.
Shuta An didn't care about Patrick at all. It wasn't that he looked down on Patrick, but that Patrick's partner's strength was truly mediocre.
Hokuto Vega staying behind was intentional on his part, while Re Toss, ridden by Patrick, was forced to stay behind—Re Toss had no desire to accelerate and started very calmly at the back of the pack. It was only through Patrick's strenuous pushing that she came alongside Hokuto Vega.
Facing such an opponent, Shuta An temporarily had no energy to observe—rather than observing Re Toss, the young man preferred to find a few more acceleration paths, which Hokuto Vega would likely need later.
I hope Trainer Nakano on the sidelines isn't too scared by me right now, Shuta An's lips curved upward.
—
Unfortunately, Trainer Nakano was indeed scared by the young man's audacious tactical design.
"What's going on?" He was puzzled. "Why is she staying behind? Didn't everyone say that leading is advantageous? Why didn't Shuta-kun forcefully push forward? Did she stay behind just because of a bump? Is Hokuto Vega throwing a tantrum?"
Having reached this point, Nakano Takayoshi felt like he was treading on thin ice. The praise for Hokuto Vega in Japan was quite fervent, and JRA had even specifically approached Nakano Takayoshi, hoping he would seriously train Hokuto Vega and maintain her good performance.
"Perhaps Hokuto Vega's existence can change the current situation where local dirt races are not valued and are considered inferior."
These were the exact words of the current JRA president.
When such a heavy task fell on Nakano Takayoshi's shoulders, seeing Shuta An's unexpected choice of position at this moment made his heart feel like it was about to burst.
"What on earth happened?!"
Nakano Takayoshi wailed.
The assistants standing beside Trainer Nakano also didn't know how to comfort him. Everyone couldn't understand Shuta An's tactics.
Although the old saying goes. "The onlookers see more than the players." at this moment, only Shuta An on the track could clearly explain his intentions. The grooms and assistants on the sidelines couldn't offer any explanation whatsoever.
—
Angel A. Penna, Trainer of Nine Keys, the fourth favorite in this Apple Blossom Handicap, looked at Nine Keys running in front of Hokuto Vega with a faint sense of unease.
What did I miss?
Penna furrowed his brow, really struggling to figure it out.
But he had no one to discuss it with at the moment, so he could only ponder it by himself.
When Shuta An and Hokuto Vega entered the backstretch, they were in eighth place in the pack, only half a length behind Nine Keys.
The leader, Mamselle Bebette, set a pace of 45.53 seconds for the first 800 meters, which was definitely a fast pace on the dirt track at Oaklawn Park. The change in pace from 22.24 to 23.29 clearly showed the fluctuation in Delahoussaye's mind, who was on Mamselle Bebette's saddle.
It feels like he went too fast, so he quickly tried to compensate, and coincidentally, the opponents behind didn't choose to come up and apply pressure. Everything was so perfectly timed—it looks like it aligned with Delahoussaye's pre-race plan.
However, Shuta An chose this tactic precisely to shatter the dreams of all his opponents in the same race.
After fully turning into the backstretch, Shuta An increased the force of his pushing, and Hokuto Vega responded to his instructions, charging forward fiercely.
In just a few dozen meters, Hokuto Vega continuously overtook Nine Keys, Teddy's Top Ten, and Gray Cashmere, moving into fifth place.
"Hokuto Vega is moving forward!"
Nakano Takayoshi's most trusted assistant exclaimed—though everyone could see it.
But only after he shouted it out did Nakano Takayoshi breathe a sigh of relief.
"It looks like Shuta-kun isn't planning to wait until the final straight to start accelerating. Good, good."
He said this while rubbing his chest.
"But it seems Shuta-kun doesn't intend to let Hokuto Vega slow down and conserve energy."
The assistant suddenly mentioned.
"Eh?!"
Nakano Takayoshi exclaimed, then looked up at the big screen, realizing it was indeed true.
—
While Nakano Takayoshi was relieved, Shuta An pulled out his whip and gave Hokuto Vega an instructive tap.
When I was riding Flight K, I already felt it—the Oaklawn Park Race Track today makes it easy to maintain speed after accelerating. Only a fool would think of slowing down to recover energy; you have to maintain speed and cruise after accelerating.
Shuta An pushed hard, gripping the whip in reverse, ready to use his left hand whip at any time.
But the current Hokuto Vega didn't need Shuta An to use the whip to stimulate her at all. After accelerating, Hokuto Vega, realizing that running felt more effortless than usual, didn't need any prompting and had already started galloping joyfully by instinct.
As they were about to pass the end of the backstretch and enter the final turn, Hokuto Vega mercilessly overtook Mamselle Bebette, moving to the very front of the pack. Patrick and Re Toss followed closely behind.
He instinctively made Re Toss follow, and as for what would happen next, he hadn't really thought about it.
In any case, by following Shuta An and biding my time, there will always be an opportunity.
Patrick thought to himself.
Behind Patrick, Nine Keys and Smith on her saddle watched intently.
From the moment he noticed Shuta An accelerating forward, Smith, who was quite familiar with the Oaklawn Park Race Track, realized there was a problem.
But he didn't follow Patrick's example and directly catch up; instead, he made Nine Keys steadily accelerate and slowly close the gap. Now he was confident that he could absolutely outmaneuver Re Toss on the turn, and as for Shuta An and Hokuto Vega, Smith was also confident he could contend with them.
Shuta An was unaware of the situation behind him. Now that he and Hokuto Vega had reached the front of the pack, there was only one thing left for him to do: maintain this position until the finish line.
On the bend, the young man directly used his right-hand whip to guide Hokuto Vega into the inner lane, saving as much ground as possible. The inner dirt track had also been trodden down more firmly, making it faster to run on compared to the outer parts.
Under these circumstances, Hokuto Vega's stamina consumption rate was far slower than everyone else's, except for Shuta An.
Now I can only trust Shuta-kun. He must have his reasons for using such a counter-intuitive tactic. He is the best jockey in Japan, and he has also won the American Triple Crown in America. Before the race result is finalized, there is no other option but to trust him.
Trainer Nakano Takayoshi muttered to himself.
Shuta An didn't care about anything else. His vigorous pushing had a remarkably significant effect. As Hokuto Vega was about to turn into the final straight before the stands, Shuta An and she had already opened up a three-length lead over the second-place Nine Keys—taking advantage of the bend, Smith had surged forward, leaving Patrick and Re Toss behind, and moved into second place, with victory seemingly within reach.
After Smith and his partner Nine Keys entered the final straight, he immediately started using a windmill whip, trying to stimulate Nine Keys to close the gap that Hokuto Vega had opened up.
Hokuto Vega maintained a progressively accelerating pace in front. I don't believe she can still maintain high-speed cruising now. Her stamina is not infinite!
Smith encouraged himself in his heart while wielding the whip.
Believe in yourself—I will definitely be fine!
But Shuta An only slightly increased his pushing after turning into the final straight, and the telepathic Hokuto Vega accelerated again, steadily and gradually widening the gap with Nine Keys.
"WTF?!"
The live commentator was startled.
"Shuta An didn't even take out his whip, and Hokuto Vega had already shaken off all her opponents. Unbelievable! Unbelievable!"
With 50 meters left to the finish line, Shuta An, unable to hear the sound of hooves behind him, turned his head and glanced at the large screen set up on the racecourse. The clear broadcast footage showed that Nine Keys, the closest to Hokuto Vega, could no longer reverse the outcome of this race.
So Shuta An twirled the whip a few times, reached out and rubbed Hokuto Vega's neck, and then Hokuto Vega slowed down.
Nine Keys did not have such a luxury and continued to pursue at full speed, but Hokuto Vega only had less than 50 meters left in the race, which was not enough for Nine Keys to catch up.
So, when Nine Keys and Smith shortened the distance to four lengths, Hokuto Vega easily crossed the finish line first.
"I'M SPEECHLESS. ANY WORDS USED TO DESCRIBE TODAY'S HOKUTO VEGA FEEL PALE AND POWERLESS."
The live commentator said, holding his head with a heavy tone.
"SHE OVERCAME THE NEGATIVE FACTOR OF A POOR START, MAINTAINED AN ACCELERATING OR CRUISING STATE THROUGHOUT THE RACE, AND SEEMED TO HAVE PLENTY LEFT IN THE TANK UNTIL CROSSING THE FINISH LINE. NINE KEYS, RE TOSS, MORNING MEADOW... HAD NO POWER TO RETALIATE AGAINST HOKUTO VEGA. THE FAVORITE FOR THIS YEAR'S BREEDERS CUP DISTAFF IS EMERGING! I LOOK FORWARD TO HER FUTURE SHOWDOWNS!"
After saying all this, the commentator noticed Hokuto Vega's finishing time—1:41.85.
"1 MINUTE 41 SECONDS 85! HOKUTO VEGA ALMOST BROKE THE RACE RECORD! AND WE MUST NOT FORGET—JUST BEFORE CROSSING THE FINISH LINE, HOKUTO VEGA HAD CLEARLY SLOWED DOWN! IT'S REALLY..."
The commentator truly didn't know how to describe today's Apple Blossom Handicap.
—
As for Nakano Takayoshi, after Hokuto Vega turned into the final straight, he completely forgot what "restraint" was, screaming and jumping around frantically.
As Hokuto Vega continuously widened the gap with her opponents behind her, Nakano Takayoshi could only wail, unable to utter complete words.
It wasn't until Shuta An and Hokuto Vega successfully crossed the finish line that Nakano Takayoshi seemed to come back to his senses, leaning against the railing, panting heavily, allowing the stable staff to gather around him and celebrate.
"It really is Shuta-kun, so strong. There's no need to try and fathom his tactical intentions; how can I understand a genius's ideas!?"
Nakano Takayoshi exclaimed.
—
While Shuta An was currently on the racecourse preparing to accept an interview from the host.
Noticing the host riding a horse catching up from behind, the young man tightened the reins, making Hokuto Vega walk slower to allow the host to catch up for the interview. After the interview, Shuta An also had to go to the stands with Hokuto Vega to greet the audience.
And after the host caught up, her first words were indeed as Shuta An expected,
"Congratulations, Mr. Shuta, on winning another G1 major stakes race this year! How do you feel right now?!"
Shuta An showed a brilliant smile, stroking Hokuto Vega's hind neck as he said.
"I'm very happy to have won the Apple Blossom Handicap this time. Hokuto Vega proved her absolute top-tier strength in this generation, and I'm also very fortunate that my tactics were not only successfully implemented but also achieved such beautiful results. If we had run according to the initial plan, I don't think Hokuto Vega would have won so beautifully."
"We could see Hokuto Vega didn't move forward to get position after the starting gate but stayed at the back." the host nodded politely, then asked. "We initially thought it was because she couldn't compete with her opponents, but now it seems that all of this was intentional on Mr. Shuta's part, correct?"
"That's right. After winning the previous race riding Flight K, I gained new insights into the Oaklawn Park Race Track. I believed Hokuto Vega could handle this tactic, so I decisively used it. I'm very pleased to see this tactic achieve greater success than I imagined. However, I think this tactic will only be used this one time. In the future, I will still choose to use tactics that Hokuto Vega is more accustomed to for other races."
Patrick secretly grumbled upon hearing this,
"Who would believe that? Who knows when Hokuto Vega will stay at the back again? Then everyone will have to accelerate vigorously to avoid the pace being too slow and you performing your mid-race acceleration magic again."
"We can see Hokuto Vega has stayed in America, so is she returning to Japan next, or staying in America to continue preparing? What are the plans for future races?"
The host's first question could be disregarded; the main purpose was in the second question.
"It is certain that Hokuto Vega will continue to stay in America to prepare for races. As for her next start, Trainer Nakano has already told me before the race that our goal is the Personal Ensign Stakes, a G1 major stakes race over 1800 meters on dirt, held at Saratoga Race Course in July. There, we want to compete against Sky Beauty, and I believe her connections are already eager for it."
"OHHHH!"
Hearing Shuta An's answer, a huge cheer erupted at Oaklawn Park Race Track. America's top mare this year versus Hokuto Vega—this was definitely a gimmick strong enough to attract all horse racing enthusiasts.
"Ah? Sky Beauty is also in the Personal Ensign Stakes!?"
Nakano Takayoshi realized belatedly.
But he immediately calmed down. "It doesn't matter—we have Shuta-kun. Sky Beauty was already a defeated opponent; we're not afraid of her!"
"Exactly, exactly!" The stable staff echoed. "We'll do our best to take care of Hokuto Vega, and everything on the racecourse can be trusted to Shuta-kun."
"That's right, Shuta-kun will bring us victory!"
Nakano Takayoshi scanned his assistants and said in a deep voice.
"In a couple of days, I'll have to take most of you back to Japan. Those of you staying here must not slack off."
"No one would dare!"
Everyone said in unison.
Hokuto Vega's honor was the honor of everyone in the stable. If anyone affected Hokuto Vega's pursuit of honor, they would become a common enemy of Nakano Takayoshi's stable. If problems arose, not only would they be expelled from the stable, but other stables, seeing the reason, would certainly not hire them, making it even more difficult to continue making a living in this industry.
—
Shuta An, however, didn't care about the thoughts of these stable staff. He was only responsible for matters on the racecourse.
But winning a race this way is really satisfying—no wonder Norihiro Yokoyama likes to stay at the back and then make a late run so much.
The young man muttered to himself.
But I can't be deceived by this illusion. I only need the sweetness of victory; other fleeting pleasures are false. Only the exhilaration of winning is real and lasting.
Yutaka Take, who had stayed up late to watch the race, couldn't bring communication devices into the jockey waiting room, so he could only send his congratulations to his friend in his heart.
I also need to work harder; I can't fall too far behind
He encouraged himself.
We two were always mentioned in the same breath a few years ago, and now I'm gradually being left behind, which is too embarrassing for me.
Naturally, Yutaka Take had to strive for his own "face" through his efforts.
——
Waking up, Shuta An opened the attribute viewer, intending to see what rewards this Apple Blossom Handicap had brought him and if he could use them.
"DECLARATION: After declaring the next start, specify an opponent that will be encountered in the designated race. If victorious, the physical fitness of the participating Uma Musume in training can be slightly improved. If defeated, the participating Uma Musume in training will fall into a weakened state for one week."
"There are both positive and negative effects."
Shuta An raised an eyebrow. He didn't plan to use this on Rice Shower.
"Anyway, the negative effect is a bit scary. I don't know what a week of weakness would entail. Should I try it on Dober? After all, Dober's next race after this is the Yasuda Kinen, and she wouldn't be training during the first week of that schedule anyway. If the weakened state is severe, we can just avoid the Yasuda Kinen."
But Shuta An genuinely didn't think Mejiro Dober could lose the Victoria Mile.
How could Air Groove on the Tokyo Turf 1600m racecourse possibly be Dober's opponent?
—
Shuta, who arrived at work on time, clocked in and went to the Central Tracen Academy's first training ground.
Mejiro Dober and Rice Shower had arrived early to prepare for their next race.
Tokai Teio, on the other hand, stayed on the sidelines to provide logistical support for Mejiro Dober and Rice Shower—there was still some time until her Takarazuka Kinen race.
Considering the potential physical burden of the Dubai Sheema Classic, Shuta decided to let Teio start her preparatory training a bit later.
"Sigh~ I also want to chase and race with Dober-senpai on the training ground."
Tokai Teio sighed.
Hearing this, Mejiro Dober secretly grumbled,
She just wants to make me sweat, right?
The undefeated Triple Tiara Uma Musume, who had trained with Teio many times, knew that Teio easily put silent pressure on her training partners.
Mejiro Dober herself was a frequent "victim."
As for Rice Shower, she had also been "affected."
Every time I run a chasing workout with Teio-senpai, at first she says to just run casually, and then silently, I start to feel a lot of pressure—
These words came from Rice Shower and Zenno Rob Roy during their late-night heart-to-heart.
However, Shuta and the three Uma Musume had different feelings.
He looked at the three active Uma Musume of the Twinkle Series, full of vigor.
At the tail end of spring, I will definitely make the name of Team Sadalsuud resound throughout Japan once again!