When Tokai Teio entered the final straight, Shuta An's heart finally settled.
From experience alone, he sensed it clearly—Tokai Teio would win this race with ease.
"Although she's on the inner lane, she's completely in the clear now," Miss Secretariat murmured, eyes fixed on the track. "Flawlessly is visibly struggling. Being pressured by so many Uma Musume takes a toll on mental stamina, she is lacking in experience"
She paused, then shook her head lightly.
"Grass and dirt races truly are different. If it were me, I'd have taken the lead before the straight and left everyone staring at my shadow."
Almost immediately, she corrected herself.
"I can't use myself as the standard for these juniors. Still…Tokai Teio's momentum suggests her earlier high-speed cruising hasn't become a burden."
Miss Secretariat glanced toward Shuta An, who stood by the window, calm and steady.
"Is it luck," she wondered, "or something more? Maybe Shuta really does have a chance to challenge that place—with that child."
On the track, Tokai Teio felt no fatigue as she charged down the final straight. If anything, her body felt lighter than it had at the start.
"So this is the feeling of getting into rhythm," she realized. "Before hitting the wall of distance."
Her condition continued to rise. She poured on the power, overtook Flawlessly—and accelerated yet again.
"She can still accelerate? You're joking—" whispers spread among the Trainers in the box.
"To be honest," Symboli Rudolf reflected silently, "West Coast Uma Musume tend to favor leading strategies. Tokai Teio has done the same—but by maintaining a high-speed cruise, she forced the front runners into an unsustainable rhythm. Those behind her now look as if they're stuck in the middle of the pack."
"At this moment," she concluded, "Tokai Teio's overall completeness surpasses all her opponents."
A brilliant smile bloomed on her face.
Miss Secretariat noticed it and found it entirely understandable.
"If a West Coast Uma Musume ran like that," she thought, "I'd be smiling even brighter."
"Still…conserve your energy," Shuta An murmured softly. "Know when to stop. Protect your body. That's what you promised me, Teio."
As if hearing his words, Tokai Teio suddenly widened the gap. After pulling two lengths clear of Flawlessly, she stopped accelerating and returned to a cruising pace.
Seasoned Trainers—and Miss Secretariat herself—recognized it instantly.
She was holding back.
This realization made the West Coast Trainers silently breathe a sigh of relief. Losing too badly could damage future evaluations for their Uma Musume. Unless Tokai Teio later achieved dazzling results on the world stage, even an undefeated Japanese Triple Crown might not be enough.
Once an evaluation fell, reaching the Dream Trophy stage after retirement would become extraordinarily difficult—unless one accumulated overwhelming honors in the Twinkle Series.
From their perspective, Tokai Teio easing off was the best possible outcome.
Miss Secretariat, however, cared little for that. She rose from the sofa, walked to Shuta An's side, and spoke slowly.
"Are you planning to use the opportunity I promised you…on Tokai Teio?"
That 'opportunity' referred to the Breeders' Cup entry she had offered when Shuta An assisted with Easy Goer's research alongside Sunday Silence.
"In Japan's Twinkle Series system," she continued, "a debut-year Uma Musume can only run two G1 races. But the Breeders' Cup has five debut-year-limited events."
"If Tokai Teio debuts early, comes to America, and secures a Breeders' Cup G1 victory, her Classic Year schedule would gain tremendous flexibility."
"That depends on Teio's maturation," Shuta An replied evenly. "And she likely won't consider going abroad before completing her Classic Season."
"Is that so?" Miss Secretariat raised an eyebrow, saying no more.
Such thinking was common among South American Uma Musume—secure glory at home first, then seek greater honors abroad.
As they discussed Tokai Teio's future, the protagonist herself was already within fifty meters of the finish line. As she ran, her thoughts drifted. Unconsciously, her stride changed—slightly slower, yet longer, each step carrying her forward in a gentle leap.
Already using the Stride gait, Tokai Teio now looked as though she were bounding lightly across the turf.
"That's like a slow jump during morning training," Shuta An murmured.
Almost as soon as he spoke, the commentator's voice echoed through the box.
"Tokai Teio is slow jumping!"
"It really is," Oguri Cap nodded. "I do that sometimes during training to slow down. But this is a race—"
"It's fine," Shuta An said, shaking his head. "The race is already over."
Tokai Teio crossed the finish line with light steps. Thanks to the slow jump, she shed her inertia quickly and came to a stop.
Standing on the turf, she turned back to look at the opponents behind her. Only then did she truly realize how exhilarating it was—to win a real race.
"So this is the scenery the President wanted to see in America?" she thought. "Even if it's just a simulation—it's wonderful."
"One day, I'll stand on the track of a true G1 race and enjoy this view as the victor."
With that thought, she turned toward the VIP seats and waved.
"But for now—let's enjoy this small victory."
For Shuta An, Tokai Teio's victory in this simulation race meant that $520,000 of his one-million-dollar investment had been recovered.
"A loss of four hundred eighty thousand dollars is acceptable," the young man calculated calmly. "Given the caliber of the opponents in this race, this result is already ideal."
A smile crept onto his face, spreading unconsciously.
"Miss Tokai Teio is truly strong," several Trainers said as they came over to chat. After all, Tokai Teio was unlikely to participate extensively in America's turf Twinkle Series after her debut, so she was not considered a future "enemy." With the race concluded, the atmosphere had relaxed considerably.
"Thank you," Shuta An replied politely, smiling. "Teio's talent is indeed exceptional. And everyone performed very well today."
"Her finishing time for two thousand meters was under one minute fifty-nine seconds," Miss Secretariat said, offering her assessment. "And that's without her having fully matured yet—this child may truly have the potential to become a world-class Uma Musume."
Shuta An froze for a brief moment before bowing respectfully.
"Thank you for your evaluation, Miss Secretariat."
An appraisal from this legendary Uma Musume carried a weight entirely different from that of anyone else. With those words alone, Shuta An was confident—Tokai Teio would become an overwhelming favorite from her very debut.
"For her, the most important thing is injury prevention," Miss Secretariat continued, her gaze following Tokai Teio, who was happily bouncing about and chatting with the other Uma Musume from the simulation race. "That is the task you must focus on, Shuta. If she stays healthy and fully realizes her talent, Tokai Teio will certainly deliver performances that disappoint no one."
She paused slightly, then spoke again, her tone softer.
"Just like how my Trainer met me—Ann, I have a feeling she may be the kind of Uma Musume you only encounter once in a Trainer's lifetime."
"If I asked my dad," Shuta An muttered with a pout, "the most unforgettable Uma Musume in his Trainer career would definitely be my mom."
Miss Secretariat rolled her eyes.
"But Aunt Alice wasn't trained by Trainer," she shot back.
"That's true," Shuta An fell silent for a moment, conceding the point.
"Let's go pick up Miss Tokai Teio later," Miss Secretariat said. Speaking of her own Trainer had dampened her mood slightly. "What are you all planning to do next?"
"We'll hold a celebration party today, then let Teio rest for a few days," Shuta An replied. "After that, we're planning a short summer training camp somewhere cool here in California."
As he spoke, he glanced toward Oguri Cap, who was happily enjoying the complimentary desserts in the private box.
"Oguri doesn't need to go to the research institute every day anymore. If Dr. Grace weren't insisting on personally checking her recovery regularly, we could have returned to Japan for rehabilitation training."
"There's no helping that," Miss Secretariat sighed at the mention of Dr. Grace. "The board of directors won't allow her to return to Japan with you, so you'll have to make do."
"It's fine," Shuta An said easily. "It's like a vacation anyway. Oguri's injury has healed, so the biggest burden on my mind is gone. Taking a break and relaxing isn't a bad thing."
"Must be nice, being able to take a vacation," Miss Secretariat muttered under her breath.
That evening, at the celebration party held in the apartment, Shuta An announced his plans to the three Uma Musume. Their reactions were almost identical.
"Where are we going to escape the summer heat?" they asked.
"We can't go too far," Shuta An considered. "Otherwise, it'll be troublesome to return to West Coast Tracen Academy for regular check-ups. How about Malibu Beach in Southern California?"
"Anyway, none of us know this place better than you do, Trainer," Tokai Teio quipped. "You don't really need to ask for our opinions in situations like this."
"I've only heard of the Malibu Stakes," Oguri Cap added thoughtfully. "That's a G1 dirt sprint Twinkle Series race. I don't know anything else about the place."
"If the Trainer thinks it's good, then let's go there," Berno Light said calmly. "Your arrangements in France last year were all pretty good."
And so, the decision was made.
From West Coast Tracen Academy, it was only about an hour's drive to Malibu Beach. With no need for excessive luggage, Shuta An drove the three Uma Musume away from the academy.
Watching their figures disappear into the distance, Maruzensky turned to Symboli Rudolf and complained bitterly.
"We're stuck here while Teio and the others are out having fun. I want to go to the beach too!"
"Don't even think about slacking off," Symboli Rudolf retorted, puffing out her cheeks. "If you hadn't volunteered to help me, I wouldn't have brought you to America in the first place."
"Ugh—" Maruzensky pouted. "But we don't even have any work right now. Miss Secretariat keeps saying the board of directors is 'discussing it.' I think she's just stalling."
"That's not necessarily true," Symboli Rudolf said, wagging a finger. "Miss Secretariat isn't the type to give perfunctory answers. Perhaps the West Coast board truly has other plans."
"Then why don't we talk to Shuta-kun?" Maruzensky suggested, raising an eyebrow. "He's close to Miss Secretariat, right? If he intervenes, maybe she'll help."
"No," Symboli Rudolf refused firmly. "Shuta-kun has already done more than enough for us by making Tokai Teio famous on the West Coast. Asking him to use his connections further—he doesn't owe us anything."
Maruzensky fell silent, only pouting as she gazed at the willow trees swaying gently in the summer breeze.
Meanwhile, Shuta An and his group checked into a resort hotel roughly a hundred meters from Malibu Beach. After stepping into the lobby and surveying the surroundings, Tokai Teio asked her first question.
"Is this accommodation fee coming from the team's budget?"
"That's right," Shuta An nodded. "Because Teio won the simulation race, ten percent of the five hundred twenty thousand dollars in prize money has been allocated to the team's budget. This hotel fee will be paid from there."
"Don't worry," he added. "Even if it's not enough, I can cover the rest myself."
"The team's budget won't run short," Oguri Cap said calmly. "I won quite a bit of prize money from races last year."
Hearing that, Tokai Teio remembered something—
The gray senior behind her held five G1 victories.
"I still have a long way to go," Tokai Teio reminded herself quietly.