Chapter 84. Relieved Teio
This year's Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe saw a massive influx of Uma Musume entries.
To manage the numbers, the French URA Association ranked them according to their IFUA scores, eliminated those with lower ratings, and finally gave priority to Uma Musumes who had won designated preliminary races and registered in advance. Only then was the final, elite roster of eighteen confirmed.
Tokai Teio, riding high with 136 points earned from her victory at the Epsom Derby, effortlessly secured her place on the final roster as the highest-ranked Uma Musume by score.
Truthfully, Shuta An had never been worried about Tokai Teio missing the cut.
If the French URA Association had somehow barred her from participating, it would have been their own catastrophic loss. The global fanbase of the Twinkle Series, who had been eagerly anticipating her appearance at this year's Arc, would never have forgiven them.
"I'm about to step onto the Longchamp Racecourse as the mastermind behind the overwhelming favorite, aren't I?"
The young man murmured to himself shortly after boarding his flight.
For Shuta An, this was an entirely novel experience.
When Oguri Cap had participated in the French 2,000 Guineas, she hadn't been considered a major favorite. But Tokai Teio's popularity was currently so stratospheric that Agence France-Presse (AFP), France's premier news agency, had dedicated an exclusive special report entirely to her.
It was worth noting that since the inception of the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, Tokai Teio was the first non-European Uma Musume to ever enter the race as the consensus favorite.
Furthermore, every single past winner of the Arc had been an Uma Musume registered and competing out of Europe. If Tokai Teio managed to win, the history she would forge wouldn't just belong to Japan; it would represent a monumental breakthrough for all non-European racing regions.
One AFP report even featured a rather sensationalized headline:
"Who Can Stop the Asians from Conquering Paris?"
When Tokai Teio first saw the headline, she had panicked, momentarily convinced she was being accused of imminent war crimes. She only relaxed after Shuta translated and explained the actual contents of the article.
"That was terrifying. It turns out they were just analyzing which local Uma Musumes had the best chance of beating me."
She had pouted after finishing the report.
Shuta An had arranged for Tokai Teio to stay at the Molitor MGallery Hotel, located a convenient two kilometers from Longchamp Racecourse.
The primary reason for booking such an exorbitant hotel was its world-class training facilities specifically designed for Uma Musumes. It boasted a turf track that perfectly replicated the unique conditions of Longchamp, as well as a historic, top-tier spa for recovery. So, even though it cost more than double the rate of comparable hotels, the young man had paid the invoice without a second thought.
At 5:55 PM local Paris time, Shuta An landed at Charles de Gaulle Airport and was immediately whisked away in a private car provided by the hotel.
I need to adjust to the time difference immediately. Teio is already entering the final two weeks of her pre-race prep, and I need to be in peak working condition as soon as possible.
Shuta An reminded himself, leaning back against the plush leather seat, drowsily registering the chill of the air conditioning.
Although he had struggled to keep his eyes open during the ride, Shuta An sobered up the moment the car passed through the Bois de Boulogne and pulled up to the Molitor MGallery.
Stepping out of the vehicle, the young man was greeted by the sight of Tokai Teio waiting for him at the main entrance, a radiant smile on her face.
"I kept you waiting, Teio."
His luggage was already being handled by the hotel staff, allowing Shuta An to walk up to her empty-handed.
"I hope I didn't make you impatient?"
Like a swallow returning to its nest, Tokai Teio crashed into her lover's arms, happily rubbing her cheek against his chest.
"I only came down a few minutes ago. Besides, I was waiting for you—how could I ever be impatient?"
She looked up at him, her eyes shining.
"Seeing Ann here makes me feel so much more at ease."
"Did something happen to make you feel uneasy?" Shuta An gently met her gaze. "Tell me about it."
"It's actually nothing serious."
Teio replied, sticking her tongue out playfully as she shifted her gaze.
"It's just that the French newspapers and media have been running such scary headlines lately. They even print them in grammatically awkward Japanese, as if they want to make absolutely sure I see them."
"They're using those tactics to disrupt your mindset." Shuta An concluded immediately. "But now that I'm here, you don't have to waste a single thought on their ridiculous tricks."
"Right!"
Teio beamed, her smile so incredibly sweet it practically melted the young man's heart.
If it weren't for the bellhops and guests bustling around the hotel entrance, Shuta would have seriously considered kissing her right then and there.
After enjoying a simple dinner together at the hotel restaurant, Shuta retired to his room—he had booked a spacious suite well in advance, meaning he was essentially rooming with Tokai Teio.
After taking a hot shower, Shuta An, now dressed in his pajamas, quickly succumbed to exhaustion and fell fast asleep.
Teio, after taking a short evening walk to aid digestion, headed down to the gym. She was determined to break a new record on one of the weight machines—a new hobby she had recently acquired.
The Molitor MGallery gym had been utilized by countless elite Uma Musumes over the years, and Teio intended to have her name emblazoned across every single equipment record board before she left. So far, her progress had been exceptionally smooth.
But she also knew that the moment Shuta An officially resumed his duties as her Trainer, her days of casually breaking gym records would end.
The young man would design a highly personalized training regimen for her, and the workload would be meticulously scaled. Based on her deep understanding of Shuta's methodology, he would absolutely forbid her from burning excess energy in the gym after completing her scheduled daily training.
Well, I'll knock out half of the remaining records tonight, and finish the rest tomorrow. Ann should be fully adjusted to the time zone and ready to take over my training in two days anyway.
Tokai Teio reasoned to herself.
—
Meanwhile, Shuta An, deeply entrenched in the Dream World, had returned to Japan from the United States. Just as he had anticipated, his schedule dictated that he would have to fly back to America the following week.
Despite the grueling international travel schedule, Shuta An still firmly held the number one spot in Japan's JRA jockey standings for the year, currently leading the second-place rider, Yukio Okabe, by exactly fifteen wins. As for Yutaka Take, who was currently studying abroad, he had slipped down to fifth place.
Take-san mentioned he would wrap up his European training and return to Japan in early September to make a late push. I wonder if he can catch up to Okabe-senpai and steal second place this time?
Shuta An pondered the question but found it difficult to predict.
Yukio Okabe truly was an unlucky man.
Generally speaking, if a veteran jockey happened to collide with a supernova talent near the twilight of their career, they might at worst drop from first to second place. But Okabe had the immense misfortune of colliding with two generational anomalies simultaneously. Failing to crack the top two in the jockey standings for several consecutive years was a rather tragic fate for the reigning top jockey of the Kanto region.
If the trainers in Kanto can't match the caliber of those in Kansai, and their jockeys are also falling behind, the industry trend of 'West dominant, East declining' is only going to become more pronounced.
Yukio Okabe was acutely aware of this reality himself. Broadly speaking, it wasn't just about his personal fame and honor anymore; for the sake of the entire Kanto region's prestige, he had to fight tooth and nail just to maintain his current position in second place.
As for actively challenging for first place—
Yukio Okabe had abandoned that impossible dream a long time ago.
—
Three days later, Shuta An, now fully adjusted to the time difference, officially resumed his duties as Tokai Teio's Trainer. Every day settled into a comfortable rhythm: they would wake up together, wash up, share breakfast, rest briefly, and then head down to the hotel's exclusive training grounds.
With just over half a month remaining until the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, the vast majority of the overseas Uma Musumes had already arrived in Paris to acclimate. However, only Tokai Teio had chosen to lodge at the Molitor MGallery; the other competitors were scattered across various luxury hotels throughout the city.
In Shuta An's professional opinion, this isolation was a massive tactical advantage.
It prevented Tokai Teio's training routines and current physical condition from being scouted by rival teams. Furthermore, hotel management had issued strict gag orders to their staff, forbidding them from disclosing any details of Tokai Teio's training to the press or outsiders.
The hotel had a vested interest in her success; if she performed well, the MGallery would cement an impeccable reputation, practically guaranteeing that future elite Arc contenders would choose to stay there, thereby ensuring a massive return on their investment in the specialized training grounds.
For the first few days, the training intensity Shuta An prescribed for Tokai Teio was surprisingly moderate. When she tentatively suggested hitting the gym for some extra conditioning, the young man readily agreed.
Ugh—I really wish I hadn't spent all my free time over the last two days trying to break those gym records.
Tokai Teio thought glumly as she pedaled furiously on the exercise bike, regretting her past enthusiasm.
Because she had proactively requested the extra training, Shuta An hadn't stayed in the gym to supervise her.
However, he wasn't resting either. Instead, he had returned to their suite, settled into a chair overlooking the outdoor pool, and booted up his laptop to meticulously aggregate and analyze the data profiles of their seventeen opponents.
Just as his mother had always drilled into him, Shuta An had zero intention of underestimating any rival on this stage—not even User Friendly, whom Tokai Teio had already defeated.
He needed to re-evaluate what kind of performance she might deliver on Longchamp's unique turf and formulate Tokai Teio's exact counter-strategy.
Having finished her grueling spin-bike session, a sweaty Tokai Teio returned to the suite. She was about to head straight for the bathroom to shower when she noticed her lover sitting intently at his laptop, typing rapidly.
Curious, she padded over and stood silently behind his chair, peering over his shoulder to see what he was working on.
What greeted the Undefeated Triple Crown winner's eyes was a dizzying, monolithic wall of data.
Tokai Teio couldn't even decipher what half the metrics represented. Noticing how deeply immersed her lover was in his work, she decided not to interrupt and ask for an explanation. Instead, she quietly backed out of the study.
"I can't afford to break Ann's concentration."
Tokai Teio whispered to herself as she stepped into the bathroom.
"Even though I really wanted to drag him in here to take a bath with me."
The young man was so hyper-focused on his statistical models that he hadn't even registered she had entered and left the room.
More than half an hour later, he finally leaned back in his chair, exhaling a long, weary breath.
"Ha... the preliminary analysis is complete."
Over the past hour, Shuta An had cross-referenced Longchamp's recent weather data, future meteorological forecasts, the racecourse's publicly announced track maintenance schedules, and the historical track condition preferences of all eighteen Uma Musume participants.
By synthesizing these variables, he had mathematically deduced the exact turf conditions the French URA Association was intentionally cultivating for this year's Arc.
His final conclusion: there was an over 80% probability that the track would be rated as 'Heavy'.
In the young man's assessment, this projection was an absolute godsend for Teio. Not every European Uma Musume could physically adapt to the grueling, stamina-sapping heavy track conditions specific to Longchamp. If the track was indeed declared heavy, it would brutally expose any underlying stamina deficiencies among the competitors.
Tokai Teio, who had already delivered a masterclass performance on heavy turf during the Epsom Derby at Ascot, would naturally thrive in these conditions.
"Furthermore, the heavy going will naturally suppress the overall pace of the race. Even if User Friendly decides to run a suicidal lead, I highly doubt she'll push a pace faster than 63 seconds for the first 1,000 meters."
Considering the harsh tactical lessons User Friendly had been forced to swallow at the Epsom Derby, Shuta An was confident that her trainer, Whiteley, would heavily emphasize a controlled, slow-escape strategy this time around. And User Friendly would likely follow those instructions to the letter, rather than attempting any reckless, unproven tactics on this stage.
Having firmly established his baseline assumption—the pace of this Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe will be exceptionally slow—Shuta shifted his focus to dissecting the resumes of the other participating Uma Musumes.
"I suppose this truly is a lineup worthy of the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe."
The young man couldn't help but sigh in genuine respect as he skimmed the primary victories of their rivals.
Setting aside Tokai Teio, the Undefeated Triple Crown winner, the remaining field was nothing short of spectacular:
User Friendly: Her primary victories included three G1 Oaks titles.Subotica: Her resume boasted this year's G1 Prix Ganay and last year's G1 Grand Prix de Paris.Vert Amande: Her defining victory was the historic French G2 Grand Prix de Deauville.St. Jovite: She had famously won last year's Epsom Derby by a staggering margin of more than six lengths, leaving Opera House completely demoralized in her wake.Saganeca: Her crowning achievement was last year's G1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud.Dr. Devious: Her primary victory was last year's International Stake.
Even the least decorated Uma Musumes in the field had claimed historic G2 titles. It was safe to say that this year's roster was flawlessly befitting the prestige of the Arc.
Yet, Shuta An remained absolutely steadfast in his belief that Tokai Teio would be the most dazzling star to grace Longchamp that day.
We absolutely must win.
Shuta An reminded himself, his previous resolve hardening. As long as Tokai Teio secured the victory, he would gain the leverage required to confront a specific individual at the awards ceremony and demand answers.
Given the circumstances surrounding my maternal grandmother, I highly doubt the Panthéon will ever open its doors to her. Therefore, I am perfectly justified in relocating her remains to America, so she can rest in peace alongside my parents.
His grandmother, Sea-Bird, widely hailed as the "Strongest Uma Musume in Europe" during her prime, had naturally transitioned into the Dream Trophy Series following her retirement from the Twinkle Series. But a few short years later, before she had formally retired from the Dream circuit, the French URA Association abruptly issued a public statement declaring that she had "died of a sudden illness."
Being an orphan raised in the shadow of that tragedy, Allez France had never believed the official narrative for a second, and that deep-seated skepticism had naturally been passed down to Shuta An.
But unlike his mother, who had dedicated her life to uncovering the elusive truth behind the tragedy, the young man had a simpler, more pragmatic goal.
He simply wanted his grandmother's remains removed from the country that had so callously denied her the happy ending she had earned.
He would gladly smile and exchange pleasantries with the French URA Association, the media, and the racing experts for Tokai Teio's sake. But beneath that diplomatic veneer, he would never abandon the quiet, burning resolve that had taken root within him so long ago.
"Besides, Teio has already made it perfectly clear that if she wins the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe this year, she has zero intention of ever returning."
Shuta An muttered to himself, a cold smile touching his lips.
"So, it doesn't really matter if I end up burning a few bridges on our way out."