On September 17th, after spending the day adjusting to the time difference, Shuta An devoted himself entirely to reviewing Oguri Cap's recovery training menu. When night fell, he took a bath, returned to his bedroom, pulled back the covers—and swiftly sank into the Dream World.
—
The moment he opened his eyes, Shuta An found himself firmly seated atop Oguri Cap's saddle.
There was no need for further thought. Today, he and Oguri Cap were challenging the Sankei Sho All Comers, a G3 stakes race.
Though classified as a G3—the lowest tier among stakes races—the Sankei Sho All Comers held a unique position in the racing world. Established over thirty years ago to allow local racehorses a path into Central competition, its prestige was no less than many G2 races. Among insiders, it was widely believed that an upgrade to G2 status in the future would not be surprising.
For Oguri Cap's camp, this race marked his autumn comeback, a crucial test to rediscover his form. If he won smoothly here, the next steps were already laid out: the Mainichi Okan, then a relentless charge from the Tenno Sho (Autumn) all the way to the Arima Kinen. To be honest, Shuta An harbored reservations.
In the Dream World, Oguri Cap had only just recovered from suspensory ligamentitis, yet his team had immediately arranged such a high-intensity racing schedule. No matter how he looked at it, the risk of reinjury felt uncomfortably real.
But he couldn't voice his opposition.
If he argued with the owner, he could be replaced without a second thought. And Shuta An was absolutely unwilling to let anyone else ride Oguri Cap in the Dream World. To protect his position as his main jockey, silence was his only option.
"Cowardly as it is—I have no choice," Shuta An muttered under his breath. "I can only be more careful—careful enough to make sure Oguri doesn't get hurt."
—
In the Sankei Sho All Comers, Oguri Cap drew gate eleven.
With only thirteen horses in the field, it was a clearly outside position. The Nakayama 2200-meter course was essentially the 2500-meter layout with the section from the start to the entrance of the grandstand straight removed. For Shuta An—who had already conquered the Arima Kinen with Oguri Cap—this configuration posed no challenge. Aside from the lingering uncertainty of Oguri Cap's recovery status, there was nothing else to worry about.
Because of that, Shuta An decided against any elaborate tactics.
"With Oguri's ability, there's no need for tricks," he thought calmly. "No clever maneuvers like when I rode Sunday Silence in the American Triple Crown."
His plan was simple and direct.
"I'll use a leading-edge tactic. Cut in from the outside, secure a good forward position, and stay there. Even if we go three-wide and waste some stamina, it doesn't matter."
"When we hit the final straight…I'll just let him run."
With the race plan firmly set, Shuta An lifted his gaze. Calm and composed, Oguri Cap stepped into the starting gate alongside him. They waited.
—
In the relations' box, Trainer Setoguchi Tsutomu showed no sign of panic. The reason for choosing the Sankei Sho All Comers was clear: there were no overwhelmingly powerful opponents. Every horse in the field fit squarely within G3 standards.
"If Oguri Cap can't beat these opponents," Setoguchi Tsutomu murmured, "then the entire autumn plan will need to be reconsidered."
"I just hope nothing unexpected happens."
Oguri Cap's owner, on the other hand, looked visibly tense.
"If we lose here, Oguri Cap's popularity will take a serious hit," he said anxiously. "I hope Shuta-kun can guide him to victory and keep his image intact."
Given Shuta An's status as an American Triple Crown holder, even if something went wrong, most fans would instinctively blame the Racehorse rather than the jockey. With his resume, even Oguri Cap's own supporters would struggle to argue otherwise. Of course, Shuta An himself was Oguri Cap's biggest fan.
—
Click.
All thirteen starting gates opened in perfect unison.
Despite his long absence, Oguri Cap burst out smoothly, his body responding instinctively as he accelerated forward with ease. After the first one hundred meters, he overcame the disadvantage of his outside draw, slid neatly into fourth place, and eased off—entering a controlled cruising pace.
Shuta An flicked his eyes toward the inside, assessing the situation.
"No one's fighting for the lead."
Seeing that, he raised the whip and made a feint just to the left of Oguri Cap's head.
He didn't strike him. Instead, he used the motion to guide his awareness—subtly prompting him to angle inward without mistaking it for an acceleration signal. This kind of unspoken coordination was something Shuta An only dared to attempt with Oguri Cap.
Because only Oguri Cap could understand him this well.
With a clean diagonal cut-in, Oguri Cap secured the ideal leading position—one Shuta An hadn't even expected to obtain.
"This is going easier than I thought," he muttered.
In the stands, Setoguchi Tsutomu's eyes lit up.
"To take a prime position even from the outside gate" he said softly. "It seems he hasn't lost his racing sense at all, even after more than half a year away."
Hearing this, Oguri Cap's owner finally let out a breath.
"Then the odds of winning should be quite high, right?"
"If he wins, my Oguri Cap dolls will sell like crazy," he thought with satisfaction. Unlike Setoguchi Tsutomu, economic returns mattered most to him. Honor and prestige could wait.
—
As they entered the final straight, everything unfolded exactly as hoped.
Oguri Cap accelerated. He surged past the pack, overtook the leader Mr. Brandy, and began pulling away with overwhelming force.
"Two lengths! Three lengths!" the live commentator shouted. "Oguri Cap is back! Oguri Cap is back!"
His voice was nearly swallowed by the thunderous cheers erupting from the grandstands.
Shuta An could hear the roar of the crowd—but precisely because of it, he could no longer hear the hooves behind him. He urged Oguri Cap onward, turning his head to glance back.
Black dots.
Nothing more.
Relief washed over him. Shuta An faced forward once again and pressed on without hesitation.
"Oguri Cap crosses the finish line! A dominant victory by five lengths!" the commentator cried. "Last year's Horse of the Year claims his first win after recovery! As expected—Oguri Cap will not be absent from this autumn's G1 series!"
———
Upon waking, Shuta An noticed that the rewards displayed in the attribute viewer for victories in the Dream World had changed—now, instead of abstract points, it directly awarded the prize money from the Dream Race itself.
"That works too." The Young man showed no particular resistance. "At least this way, I can earn quite a bit."
That said, his gaze flickered slightly.
"But I still hope Oguri runs fewer non–G1 races in the Dream World."
Shaking his head, he set the phone aside and got up to wash. After breakfast, he would supervise Oguri Cap's recovery training. Though more than half a year had passed since he last guided her race oriented training, Shuta An had no intention of letting that unfamiliarity linger—he needed to quickly re-establish his rhythm with the Gray Uma Musume.
There were still over two months until the Japan Cup. For Team Sadalsuud, that was more than enough time. Moreover, judging from Oguri Cap's performance the previous night in the Dream World, Shuta An could already draw a clear conclusion—
"There's no way Oguri's condition in the real world, after receiving even more advanced treatment and rehabilitation, would be worse than in the Dream World, right?"
—
That morning, Oguri Cap's recovery training began with gentle warm-up exercises.
"It's been so long since I've done proper warm-ups like this," the Gray Uma Musume muttered as she rotated her ankles.
Every word reached Shuta An's ears.
Smiling, he responded casually, "It's fine. We're still in the recovery phase anyway. Just take it slow and get your feel back. The training intensity will stay very low for now."
"And then we gradually increase it?" Oguri Cap interjected, smoothly finishing his sentence.
"If you still feel it's not enough after today's planned program," Shuta An shrugged, "we can always do some extra training back in the room."
"Heh." Berno Light's lips twitched. "Not like a few days ago, when you fled in complete disarray, huh?"
"Fled?" Shuta An pouted. "You're misunderstanding things."
—
The following morning, Berno Light did not appear at the training ground.
At present, for fans and industry insiders of the Japan Twinkle Series, the focus of attention was not Oguri Cap—who was still rebuilding her condition through recovery training—but the pinnacle event of the Autumn Middle-Distance Turf Series: Autumn Tenno Sho.
Because Shuta An had already announced that Oguri Cap's comeback race would be the Japan Cup, the position of top favorite for the Autumn Tenno Sho naturally shifted to last year's Kikuka Sho winner, Super Creek. This Uma Musume had also suffered an injury earlier in the year, and her comeback race was set as the Kyoto Daishoten, a preparatory race for the Tenno Sho.
"Honestly, I didn't expect the media experts to favor Super Creek more than Inari One," Mejiro Ramonu said as she visited Oguri Cap, sitting elegantly on the sofa and taking a sip of coffee. "After all, Inari One won both the Spring Tenno Sho and the Takarazuka Kinen."
"It's simple," Shuta An replied calmly, seeing straight through the logic. "In the first half of the year, there was no Oguri, no Super Creek, no Dicta Striker. The star power was thin. In that context, Inari One's consecutive victories were easily interpreted as taking advantage of circumstances."
"Then what do you think of Inari One herself?" Mejiro Ramonu smoothly returned the question to him.
"She's definitely not someone to underestimate," Shuta An admitted. "But she feels like the type who grows stronger as the distance increases. Super Creek gives me a similar impression." He shrugged lightly. "So the race where both of them truly pose the greatest threat to Oguri Cap…is the Arima Kinen."
"So during the Japan Cup," Mejiro Ramonu followed up sharply, "you don't consider them Oguri Cap's primary opponents?"
"Yes." Shuta An answered without hesitation. "In my view, the most noteworthy opponents in the Japan Cup are the overseas Uma Musume. On the Tokyo 2400-meter stage, the currently active domestic Uma Musume in the Twinkle Series simply can't match Oguri Cap."
"How confident," Mejiro Ramonu smiled faintly. "And what does Miss Oguri Cap herself think?"
"As for me—" Oguri Cap turned her head, met her Trainer's gaze, and reached out to gently clasp his hand.
"Ann trusts me. So naturally, I'll believe in myself."
—
In truth, Mejiro Ramonu was far from the only one curious about Shuta An's evaluation of the Autumn Tenno Sho contenders. With Oguri Cap absent from the field, countless Twinkle Series fans were eager to know how this two-time Trainer viewed the race.
Naturally, Twinkle Magazine—the mouthpiece of the Japan URA Association and the most authoritative media outlet in the industry—caught wind of this curiosity.
An interview invitation was sent out almost immediately.
After brief consideration, Shuta An accepted.
The interview was scheduled for three days later. As for the location, rather than inviting the reporter into his residence, Shuta An chose a small park nearby.
All reporters knew one thing well: that Shuta An lived together with the Uma Musume he trained was public knowledge—but letting reporters inside was a completely different matter. Shuta An understood that distinction clearly.
—
On September 25th, the day after the St. Lite Kinen and the Kobe Shimbun Hai—two major Kikuka Sho preparatory races—Shuta An appeared at the park wearing thick clothing and sunglasses.
Waiting for him was the Twinkle reporter.
"I didn't expect Shuta-san to choose a park for the interview," the reporter said with a polite smile as she sat down. "My name is Otonashi Shizuko. I'll be conducting today's interview. Please take care of me."
"No problem," Shuta An replied, returning the smile with a slight bow. "I'll answer everything I'm able to."
"Then let's begin," Otonashi Shizuko said—and to Shuta An's mild surprise, she did not immediately bring up the Autumn Tenno Sho. Instead, she shifted the topic to yesterday's two major races.
"There were rumors in the first half of the year that Shuta-san wasn't optimistic about this generation," she said evenly. "So I'd like to ask—after watching yesterday's prep races, how do you view this year's Classic generation now?"
"First of all," Shuta An said firmly, "the rumor that I'm not optimistic about this generation is false."
He paused briefly, then continued.
"However, even after watching those two races yesterday, I still believe this generation is somewhat weaker than last year's. That said, the true quality of any generation can only be judged over time. The coming years will reveal their real worth."