Shuta An did not care in the slightest what Yutaka Take, who had turned his head to look back at him, was thinking. He already knew—Shadai Kagura would be injured here.
Which meant one thing. He had to overtake her as fast as possible.
If he hesitated and became entangled with an injured horse in the final straight, being blocked would be inevitable. With that realization, Shuta An's whipping and pushing intensified yet again.
In the brief instant Yutaka Take turned his head back toward the front—
Shuta An and Cutting Edge slipped past cleanly along the inner rail.
Yutaka Take's heart jolted. Anxiety surged through him, and he instinctively raised his whip, urging Shadai Kagura forward.
Once. Twice.
Nothing.
Not only did her speed fail to increase—there was a clear deceleration.
"Could it be…a leg injury?!"
The veterinarian's warning before the race flashed through his mind. Without hesitation, Yutaka Take reversed his grip on the whip and stopped pushing entirely. By subtly shifting his center of gravity, he guided Shadai Kagura diagonally inward by a few steps, yielding space to the oncoming horses behind them.
He abandoned the fight for victory.
His priority became clear—prevent the injury from worsening, maximize Shadai Kagura's chance of safely finishing.
The entire sequence unfolded in an instant. Only after rival after rival streamed past did regret flood Yutaka Take's heart.
"She really is injured. Her gait—it's clearly wrong."
Three hundred meters remained.
"She should…be able to cross the finish slowly."
A bitter thought surfaced.
"Maybe we should have withdrawn when the leg discomfort was first mentioned."
He still didn't know the full extent of the injury. But his prognosis was grim.
"This…might be the last time I ever ride Shadai Kagura."
Wind roared past his ears as he swallowed that regret in silence.
—
Shuta An had no time to wonder why Yutaka Take had fallen behind. His attention was seized by another presence.
Sand Peeres. And the jockey on her back—Shigehiko Kishi.
They were charging powerfully down the far outer lane.
"So it's true," Shuta An thought calmly. "The one-to-one correspondence between the Dream World and the real world…it manifests here as well."
After confirming it was indeed Sand Peeres closing in alongside him, Shuta An's nerves did not tighten.
They relaxed. Refocusing, he brought his right hand down with a sharp whip, guiding Cutting Edge slightly leftward—closing the distance between her and Real Pretty, ridden by Seiki Tahara.
"Real Pretty's stamina is nearly gone. But Cutting Edge—after storing momentum on the downhill—still has plenty in reserve."
Closing the gap with Real Pretty would ignite Cutting Edge's competitive instinct without adding a new rival. The calculation was precise. Using this subtle maneuver, Shuta An wrung yet another sliver of speed from Cutting Edge—
—
"Inner-lane assault! Cutting Edge breaks away from the leaders!"
"Shuta An! The Triple Crown jockey!"
"Cutting Edge! The final crown of the Fillies' Triple Crown—this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"
"She's still accelerating!"
The commentator barely paused for breath.
"Is Oka Sho winner Shadai Kagura injured? She's fallen into the pack!"
"Oaks Queen Asairo is chasing hard—but her momentum isn't enough!"
"The filly who missed the Spring Classic due to injury refuses to miss this final crown!"
Then—
"But—Sand Peeres has also broken free from the pack!"
"Sand Peeres?!"
The commentator's voice cracked with shock.
"Unbelievable! Sand Peeres is chasing Cutting Edge!"
"Run!" someone screamed from the stands.
Cutting Edge's fractional owners were beyond screaming. They stood frozen, hearts pounding so loudly it felt as though nothing else existed in the world. Some clutched their heads, faces contorted in anguish, unable to watch any longer—
Because the gap between Cutting Edge and Sand Peeres was visibly shrinking. At this rate, the winner would not be decided until the very last stride.
"I can catch her!"
Kishi thought the same. This was his second G1. Even as the lowest-ranked favorite, his desire to win burned fiercely. In his eyes, Sand Peeres's pursuit was ferocious. An upset victory in the Queen Elizabeth Cup was no fantasy.
"Absolutely possible! Cutting Edge hasn't slowed—but we're just a bit faster!"
He pushed and whipped with everything he had. And Sand Peeres answered, relentlessly chewing away at the distance.
—
Half a horse length.
When Sand Peeres closed the gap to that margin, the corner of Shuta An's mouth curved upward. His whipping and pushing intensified once more—and that overwhelming momentum stirred a memory in Yutaka Take's mind as he watched from behind.
"Belmont Stakes…"
That's right.
"Shuta-kun right now…is exactly like that final straight at Belmont Park."
Yutaka Take was correct. Because at that precise moment—when the gap shrank to half a length—Shuta An activated that skill:
"Exhilaration."
While Kishi poured all his strength into pushing and whipping, much of his energy was lost to maintaining balance and brute exertion.
Shuta An's consumption, by contrast, was far lower. With every stride, a greater portion of Cutting Edge's power was transmitted directly and efficiently through the saddle.
And Kishi—still inexperienced—lacked the finesse to control that explosive effort. At this critical moment, his pushing worked against him.
That half-horse-length advantage—
Shuta An turned it into an impenetrable fortress. No matter how fiercely Sand Peeres chased, she could not breach it.
"She still can't catch up?!" Spectators hoping for a miracle bit their lips in disbelief.
The commentator gripped the microphone.
"Finish line! A perfect ride! Another G1 victory for the genius jockey! Cutting Edge crosses the line! Nine months of injury—none of it mattered!"
In the VIP box, Yoshida Zenya threw his arms high into the air. Behind him, Yoshida Katsumi watched silently, his gaze flickering with unreadable thoughts.
"My goodness!!!" Hideo Takahashi covered his mouth, voice trembling. "He… really won…"
This trainer—working with Shuta An for the very first time—felt an overwhelming impulse to bow down before the young man sitting tall in the saddle, raising his hand in victory toward the roaring stands.
——
The next morning, as he washed up, Shuta An calmly confirmed the reward he had obtained from his G1 victory in the Dream World—
Skill: "Brave Advance."
Its effect was concise and brutal:
Mid-race phase judgment — greatly increases speed, greatly consumes stamina.
"This really isn't suitable for Oguri," Shuta An muttered, brows knitting slightly. "Especially when she still has to challenge the Arima Kinen after the Japan Cup."
The 2500 meters at Nakayama Racecourse was already near Oguri Cap's upper limit. If this skill were to trigger mid-race, her stamina would be heavily drained, forcing her to rely on grit alone in the later stages. And when it came to stamina—
Inari One clearly possessed far deeper reserves than Oguri Cap.
Shuta An did not want—absolutely did not want—Oguri Cap to be dragged into a stamina contest against Inari One on Nakayama's final Slope Road.
"If it really comes down to that," he thought quietly, "Oguri's chances of winning would drop too much."
A head-on duel in the final straight. A one-on-one death match against Inari One.
That was the very scenario Shuta An most wanted to avoid in the Arima Kinen. He shook his head lightly.
"Forget it. No point overthinking now. Let's focus on the Japan Cup first—Oguri's comeback is only half a month away."
—
Shuta An had no intention of paying attention to this weekend's Mile Championship.
In the real world, Oguri Cap was not participating. In the Dream World, he hadn't received a riding assignment either. On the day of the Mile Championship, Shuta An would instead be riding at Fukushima Racecourse.
His main mount there would be Mr. Brandy, owned by Yoshida Zenya, in the G3 graded stakes—the Fukushima Kinen.
With three Central racecourses in action that weekend—Tokyo hosting the G2 Argentina Republic Cup, Kyoto hosting the G1 Mile Championship—Fukushima was, comparatively speaking, a beginner's track. And yet—
Shuta An had received fifteen riding assignments. Seven on Saturday. Eight on Sunday.
"I should win several races no matter what," the young man mused. "It'd be embarrassing to only win one or two on a track like this."
—
Without Oguri Cap in the field, the Mile Championship was cleanly taken by Bamboo Memory.
During the post-race interview, Bamboo Memory casually announced that she would run consecutively in next week's Japan Cup, making her first challenge at 2400 meters.
The reporters were stunned.
Her Trainer, Nase Hideto, could only shrug helplessly. Unlike Shuta An, he simply couldn't force her to change her mind.
Upon hearing the news, Oguri Cap showed no concern at all.
"Running consecutively into the Japan Cup isn't that easy," she said bluntly. "The lesson from Shadai Kagura feels like it just happened yesterday. These people all think the same way."
"I feel like Oguri's brain is way brighter than theirs," Berno Light added.
"I'm not stupid!" Oguri Cap pouted. "At most, I'd consider the Japan Cup followed by the Arima Kinen. I'd never think about consecutive races!"
"That's true," Shuta An nodded without hesitation. "Oguri definitely wouldn't schedule something like that."
He added quietly to himself:
"If I hadn't worked so hard to build connections in the Dream World… Oguri, you probably would've been forced to run like that too."
—
That evening, after entering the Dream World, Shuta An twirled his whip as he walked toward the display area, preparing to mount his horse.
A reporter called out to him along the way.
"Shuta-kun won four races yesterday—how many do you plan to win today?"
"As many as I can," Shuta An replied with a grin, raising his thumb.
He had eight rides today. And he intended to win as many as possible—after all, the prize money from these non–G1 races would be converted into the real world. Saving money was still important.
—
First race. 1200 meters on turf.
Riding the seventh favorite, Nanayo Zoa, Shuta An marked the frontrunner closely. In the final straight, he unleashed a windmill whip and cleanly overtook his opponent, securing a crisp opening victory.
"Feeling good today," Shuta An said with a smile to Nanayo Zoa's trainer, Yoshinaga Takeshi, after dismounting. "Feels like I can win more later."
He wasn't speaking lightly—he still had another ride that day for Yoshinaga.
—
Second race. 1800 meters on turf.
Partnering with the second favorite, Meisho Sayuri, Shuta An employed a front-running tactic once more. She lived up to her popularity, steadily pulling two lengths clear to claim the win.
"Two straight victories! The genius jockey is already on fire today!" The commentator sighed dramatically. "If Shuta An had won the final race yesterday, he'd be on a four-race winning streak!"
—
Fourth race. 1800 meters on turf.
Shuta An rode Tokai Dream, trained by Matsumoto Shoichi.
Notably, Tokai Dream was the half-brother of Super Creek, sharing the same dam—though his ability was far inferior. Even so, at the finish line, Shuta An squeezed out every last drop. With impeccable rhythm and powerful pushing, he won by a nose over Yuwa Matilda.
"Thank you, Shuta-kun," Matsumoto Shoichi said earnestly, gripping his hand. "If this horse stayed winless, it would've been a heavy blow to both me and the owner. I'll also entrust Teio to you next year."
"Since you've already designated me as Teio's main jockey," Shuta An replied with a smile, "I'll give it everything I have."
—
The wins kept coming. Race after race, regardless of popularity, Shuta An took them all. By the time the Fukushima Kinen approached—
"Seven wins in one day… he's already broken the JRA record."
Reporters who had chosen Fukushima buzzed with excitement. With Yoshida Zenya's horse as his mount, expectations soared.
And Shuta An did not disappoint. Riding Mr. Brandy, he put on a masterclass in pace control. After seizing the lead, he stretched the gap to three lengths, setting a deliberately slow 1000-meter split of 62 seconds.
Every opponent behind him was deceived.
When the sprint finally began, Mr. Brandy—still brimming with stamina—held off all challengers, crossing the line one length ahead, claiming his third major victory.
As he passed the finish, Shuta An thought calmly—
"Eight wins in one day…That's a first."
"I wonder what kind of reward I'll get when I wake up."