Chapter 9. Awards
As soon as midnight passed, the three—already bundled in thick winter clothes—rose immediately. Shuta An had scouted the location in advance; from his home, it was only a one-minute walk to Aikei Inari Shrine. Although it was even smaller than the shrine they had visited last year, it hadn't been abolished and could still receive visitors.
Just as the young man had expected, when the three arrived at Aikei Inari Shrine, the place was completely empty.
"Just like last year—neither the shrine maiden nor the priest is here," Oguri Cap muttered softly.
"But that's understandable, right?" Berno Light swept her gaze across the surroundings. "Who would come to a place like this for Hatsumode, other than people like us who want to be lazy!?"
"I guess…no one," Shuta An silently agreed.
After a brief, simple prayer, the three left the shrine together. Without saying it aloud, they all avoided asking one another what wishes had been made.
"Grumble—"
Just as they passed beneath the torii gate, the gray Uma Musume's stomach let out an unmistakable protest.
"We'll make another late-night meal once we get home," Shuta An said, glancing at his phone. "Restaurants at this hour definitely won't satisfy Oguri's appetite."
"Then I'll help too~" Berno Light chimed in cheerfully. "Oguri, you just focus on how to send New Year's greetings to your juniors."
"I know," Oguri Cap pouted. "I won't let other thoughts delay it. I'll draft everything first, paste it into the input field, and then send it all out as simultaneously as possible."
"I don't think they'll overthink it," Shuta An shook his head lightly. "Anyway, Oguri, don't overthink it yourself either. They're all your juniors—just interact with them normally."
"Normally interact, huh?" Berno Light cast him a sidelong glance, a knowing smile playing at her lips.
After returning home, they took care of Oguri Cap's hunger first. Then Shuta An took a quick bath.
Wrapped in a bathrobe, he lay down on the bed and casually picked up his phone—only to notice that Tokai Teio had sent a LINE voice chat invitation a few minutes earlier.
Shuta An paused briefly before typing a reply. "Teio, is something wrong?"
Almost immediately, another voice invitation came through.
The moment she realized her Trainer had responded, Tokai Teio exclaimed excitedly, "Trainer! I want Trainer's New Year's blessing! Oguri-senpai's blessing was nice, but I want Trainer's even more!"
When Tokai Teio acted affectionate, her voice was cloyingly sweet—yet never forced. For a brief instant, it sent a faint tingling sensation through Shuta An.
He cleared his throat at once. "No matter what, Oguri is the captain of Team Sadalsuud. It's perfectly reasonable for her to send New Year's greetings."
"I replied to Oguri-senpai too! But I really want Trainer's New Year's blessing…"
Shuta An could easily imagine Tokai Teio's nonstop mumbling on the other end.
"Then…" He relented. "I wish Teio a Happy New Year, steady and complete development, and excellent results in the future. How does that sound?"
"Hehe." Tokai Teio's laughter couldn't hide her delight. "Trainer! Happy New Year! Even though I can't step onto the track yet, you have to keep watching me! Otherwise, you'll definitely be shocked by how much I've improved!"
"Of course," Shuta An replied sincerely. "I won't ignore Teio."
After dealing with Tokai Teio's clinginess for a while, Shuta An grew thoughtful.
"Given Teio's personality, she'll definitely show off to Suzuka and Dober. This isn't about scarcity—it's about imbalance. If one is missing, it's hard to say what the others might think."
With that in mind, he decided to contact Silence Suzuka first. Based on what Tokai Teio had mentioned earlier—that she hadn't contacted Mejiro Dobern yet—Shuta An guessed the Mejiro family's Hatsumode was probably still ongoing.
Silence Suzuka accepted the voice invitation immediately, as though she had been waiting for it.
"Suzuka, Happy New Year," Shuta An said directly.
"Ann, Happy New Year!" Silence Suzuka blurted out before he had even finished.
"Well…" He paused, then added awkwardly, "You're not asleep either?"
"I always feel like I'll miss something if I sleep, so I've been watching TV dramas," Silence Suzuka replied. Even so, Shuta An could hear the sound of wind on the line—clearly, she wasn't in her room.
"The night view in Hokkaido is beautiful, isn't it? In Tokyo, you can't even see the stars," Shuta An said, glancing out the window as he searched for a topic.
"It's beautiful," Silence Suzuka answered softly, "but I'm more used to Tokyo's late nights and early mornings… more used to the feeling of sweating through daily training."
"When you return to the Academy, you'll have plenty of chances to experience that again," Shuta An said with a faint smile, shaking his head. "I just worry that you might find my training intensity a bit excessive."
"No." Silence Suzuka denied it without hesitation. "Because I know the person who wants me to do well the most…is Ann."
Faced with her words, Shuta An could only smile, unsure how to respond.
After ending the call, he hesitated briefly before tapping out a message to Mejiro Dober. The moment it was sent, the status changed to Read.
The very next second, Mejiro Dober called him.
"Happy New Year," Shuta An said first, not giving her time to speak.
"Ha—Happy New Year!" Mejiro Dober replied, then immediately hung up.
"That really is…exactly like her," Shuta An laughed helplessly as he set the phone down. He didn't mind her abruptness at all.
"That should be fine. When they talk among themselves, no one will feel left out."
Pulling up the covers, he closed his eyes. "Sleep. I've been running nonstop lately—my head's spinning. I'll rest properly for a few days, and then it'll be time to go through the Central onboarding procedures."
Shuta An slipped into the Dream World.
When he opened his eyes again, he found himself inside a hotel ballroom, standing alongside Trainer Setoguchi Tsutomu and Yoshida Katsumi, the second son of the Yoshida family.
"What's going on?" Shuta An asked, puzzled.
The next second, the host on stage answered his question.
"The JRA awards ceremony for last year's various categories…is about to begin."
The first award presented was Best Two-Year-Old Filly of the Year, which went to Northern Driver. Now a three-year-old, the filly was owned by the Shadai Race Horse Club and had claimed victory in last year's mixed G2 Daily Hai Nisai Stakes. However, Shuta An had not been her jockey at the time—he had been preparing for the Keisei Hai at another racecourse.
Even so, Yoshida Teruya, the representative of the Shadai Race Horse Club, had previously asked Shuta An whether he intended to take on the role of Northern Driver's main jockey after her victory was confirmed.
After personally observing the filly's physique and gait, Shuta An had politely declined. In his judgment, Northern Driver was an extremely precocious type—one that would likely struggle to maintain competitiveness through the Classic races.
Next came the award for Best Two-Year-Old Colt of the Year. The winner was Lindo Shaver, champion of last year's Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes. He had broken Maruzensky's long-standing record in that race and shone brilliantly, leading many to predict that he would become the central star of the upcoming Classic season.
Yet in Shuta An's eyes, Lindo Shaver's overall quality and potential were far inferior to that of Tokai Teio—his own main mount.
During his acceptance speech, Lindo Shaver's owner announced that the colt's next race would be the Yayoi Sho, a preparatory race for the Satsuki Sho.
Hearing this, Shuta An couldn't help but grin.
"Shuta-kun, did something interesting come to mind?" Yoshida Katsumi noticed immediately and asked in a low voice.
"Nothing special," Shuta An shrugged. "I just thought it'll be exciting to compete against such an interesting horse in the Yayoi Sho."
"Feeling excitement when facing a strong challenger…" Yoshida Katsumi murmured to himself. "As expected, top jockeys really do have extraordinary mental fortitude."
The Best Three-Year-Old Filly of the Year award was given to Agnes Flora. She had won the Oka Sho and finished second in the Oaks before retiring due to injury. Although her owner was not affiliated with Shadai, he readily entrusted Agnes Flora to Shadai Farm for care. Her future offspring would, naturally, still belong to her original owner.
In private, the owner had mentioned to Yoshida Zenya that if Agnes Flora's offspring showed promise, he hoped Yoshida Zenya could help commission Shuta An—the nominal main jockey of the Shadai lineage.
Yoshida Zenya had brought this up to Shuta An earlier that day, and the young man had agreed. After all, there was a clear precondition: he would not be bound as a compulsory main jockey.
By contrast, the Best Three-Year-Old Colt of the Year award went to Ines Fujin. There was nothing controversial about this—it was well deserved. However, Ines Fujin's owner did not attend the ceremony.
"What's going on?" Shuta An asked Yoshida Katsumi beside him, puzzled.
"The owner's company hasn't been doing well under the current economic conditions," Yoshida Katsumi replied quietly. "They're probably tied up with more pressing matters."
"The economy—" Shuta An sighed. As a jockey, this was largely beyond his concern. In fact, amid the downturn, horse racing itself was enjoying considerable prosperity.
Still, circumstances differed from owner to owner. Those whose primary business was horse racing were often faring well—but owners like Ines Fujin's were currently under severe strain.
"Ines Fujin's pedigree is only average," Yoshida Katsumi added. "At least, Shadai doesn't plan to participate in his syndicate recruitment. Even if he enters stud, the funds he brings in may not be enough to save the owner's company."
Faced with such a reality, Shuta An could only sigh again.
After the presentation of several miscellaneous awards—such as Best Dirt Horse of the Year and Best Steeplechase Horse of the Year—the penultimate award was announced: Best Older Filly of the Year.
The honor went to Passing Shot, who had caused a major upset by defeating Bamboo Memory in the Mile Championship. That victory alone was more than enough to secure her place.
"It's obvious that fillies of this generation are still weak when competing against colts," Shuta An murmured to himself. Years ago, before he had fully entered the Dream World, he had ridden Haiseko and witnessed many fillies whose strength rivaled—or even surpassed—that of colts. Compared to them, the current generation could only be described as lacking.
The JRA then announced the awards for Best Older Colt of the Year and Horse of the Year together.
After all, both honors belonged to the same horse—Oguri Cap.
Led by a waiter, Shuta An stepped onto the stage alongside the other representatives of the stable. After receiving his trophy and medal from the Director of the JRA Association, he swept his gaze across the audience.
Envy lay hidden in many eyes—but more often, there was a sense of relief.
Shuta An understood them well. With Oguri Cap's retirement, there would finally be one fewer overwhelmingly dominant force in the G1 turf middle- and long-distance races.
Yet his heart was filled with pity instead.
Tokai Teio will inherit Oguri Cap's banner, he thought calmly. And you'll all continue to experience what it means to face the unassailable.
He had that much confidence in Tokai Teio.
After several speakers finished their acceptance speeches, it was finally Shuta An's turn. He took the microphone from the host and cleared his throat.
"My encounter with Oguri Cap was the luckiest encounter of my entire jockey career," he said. "When I first saw him at the Kasamatsu stable, I knew he wasn't an ordinary horse. But at the time, my expectations were modest—I only hoped he might win something like the Tokai Triple Crown."
"I never imagined he would reach the heights he stands at today. When Oguri Cap transferred to Central, I was deeply grateful that the owner allowed me to continue as his main jockey. To be honest, I was very anxious then—I didn't know whether I would ever meet another horse like him if we were separated."
He paused briefly.
"In just over three years, Oguri Cap has become an indelible name in the history of Japanese horse racing. It is my greatest honor to have served as his main jockey throughout that journey."
Finally, before everyone present, he made a solemn vow.
"Everyone knows that Oguri Cap's absence from the Japanese Derby is a lasting regret for our stable. I swear here and now—I will win the Japanese Derby as soon as possible, and personally deliver that news to Oguri Cap with pride."
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