Chapter 15. Heading to Dubai
On the first day of February, Dubai, UAE officially sent invitation emails to selected Uma Musume, cordially inviting them to travel to Dubai on the last Saturday of March to participate in the inaugural Dubai World Cup Race Day.
Quite a number of Uma Musume received these invitations. At least nine overseas Uma Musume were invited for each race. Yet their Trainers' initial reactions were almost identical—they instinctively treated the emails as spam or outright scams.
Although the sender's address appeared impeccably official, every Trainer hesitated when faced with the conditions laid out in the letter.
All travel expenses, accommodation, and miscellaneous fees would be fully reimbursed by the Dubai URA Association. After the race, participants could opt to remain in Dubai for an additional month, during which accommodation expenses would also continue to be reimbursed. Moreover, the scope of reimbursement was not limited to the participating Uma Musume and Trainer alone. Each Uma Musume and Trainer was granted two additional reimbursement slots. In other words, for every Uma Musume who accepted the invitation, they could bring a Trainer plus up to four "friends and family" for a fully sponsored trip to Dubai.
Even more astonishing was the prize money for Dubai World Cup Race Day.
In the lowest-tier prize races, the winning Uma Musume could receive 580,000 US dollars. In the main events—the Dubai Turf, Dubai Sheema Classic, and Dubai World Cup—the prizes reached 2.9 million, 3.48 million, and a staggering 6.96 million US dollars respectively. Such figures far exceeded the imagination of every Uma Musume who had received an invitation.
"Six point nine six million—" When American Trainers laid eyes on that number, all lingering doubts about the Middle East vanished instantly.
After all, the Arlington Million, with a total purse of one million US dollars shared among the top five finishers, was already enough to lure even the most self-assured European Uma Musume across the ocean. By comparison, the Dubai World Cup's winner's prize alone was nearly seven million—enough to fund seven Arlington Million races outright. In the current economic climate, who could afford to ignore money like that?
Without Secretariat needing to say a word, the American Uma Musume on both the West Coast and East Coast who received invitations to the Dubai World Cup unanimously decided to give it a try.
In Japan, a total of three Uma Musume received invitations. Aside from the pre-determined Silence Suzuka, Shuta An made some inquiries and discovered that the Trainers of the remaining two were both his close friends.
One was Hayate Fubuki, who had claimed victory in the G3 dirt-graded Heian Stakes earlier that year. Her Trainer was Mr. Kitahara. She was the only G3-winning Uma Musume in his club, and naturally, her invitation was for the Dubai World Cup.
The last was Taiki Shuttle from Team Rigil. Unlike the others, her invitation was not for the Dubai Turf but for the Al Quoz Sprint, which carried a winning prize of 1.2 million US dollars. The reasons were straightforward. On one hand, Taiki Shuttle had no race record beyond 1600 meters. On the other, in the previous year's Sprinters Stakes, she had cruised to victory by one and three-quarter lengths. The Dubai URA Association judged her to be a pure short-distance Uma Musume and therefore sent her an invitation specifically for the Al Quoz Sprint.
After confirming the identities of the invited Uma Musume, the three Trainers agreed to meet on the third at a bar near the academy.
As before, Shuta An ordered a non-alcoholic cocktail. Trainer Tojo and Mr. Kitahara, mindful that serious matters were to be discussed, also chose soft drinks.
"Regarding the invitation from Dubai, what are your plans?" Shuta An asked bluntly once the drinks were served.
"What about you, Ann-san?" Mr. Kitahara replied with a wry smile. "Honestly, I'm a bit flustered right now and don't know what to decide."
"Me?" Shuta An grinned and pointed to himself. "I even gave the president of the Dubai URA Association some suggestions for the Dubai World Cup Race Day plan. I'm definitely going."
"Oh?" Trainer Tojo raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised. "Shuta-kun really does have a wide circle of connections."
"If you stay shut inside the academy and only let Uma Musume race domestically, of course you won't meet many people." The young man shrugged, the implication clear but not unkind.
"As for me," Trainer Tojo continued, "I've already asked Taiki Shuttle what she thinks. We were planning to run a prep race before the Yasuda Kinen as a warm-up, but since this invitation came, we'll just add another race instead." She wagged a finger lightly. "I'm preparing to accept it, then I'll see who from the team wants to travel and bring four of them along."
"I don't mind either." Shuta An shrugged again. "Oguri needs to prepare for the Dream Trophy, and Berno has to stay as her manager, so I can bring all the other Uma Musume from the team."
Mr. Kitahara hesitated, his expression troubled. "As for me…to be honest, even though the reimbursement is extremely tempting, racing for a prize of 6.96 million US dollars…" He sighed deeply. "I know Hayate Fubuki probably won't achieve good results there. I'm considering declining the invitation and focusing on the Teio Sho at Ōi instead. At least there, she has a much better chance of winning."
"Why not go?" Shuta An replied without hesitation. "Mr. Kitahara, haven't you noticed? In the Dubai World Cup, as long as you finish in the top nine, you still receive prize money. And Japan's enthusiasm for dirt racing is far weaker than for turf. Do you really want Hayate Fubuki to enter the Dream Trophy without anyone remembering her? As long as she goes to Dubai, she'll become the first Uma Musume in Japanese history to challenge the Dubai World Cup. That alone is enough for people to remember her name."
The words struck squarely at Mr. Kitahara's weak point. He could not deny that Hayate Fubuki's future had always weighed heavily on his mind.
"If going to Dubai can raise her profile…" He bit his lip, then turned his gaze to Trainer Tojo, who was calmly sipping her sparkling water.
Trainer Tojo gave a small nod without speaking. The meaning was clear: what Shuta An said made sense.
After a long silence—and after Shuta An had finished his non-alcoholic cocktail—Mr. Kitahara finally looked up and released a long breath.
"Phew…" He met his friend's eyes. "I understand. I'll accept the invitation. During this time, I'll do everything I can to train Hayate Fubuki and aim for a top-nine finish. With the Dubai URA Association covering the expenses, as long as she doesn't get injured, this trip is guaranteed to be worthwhile."
"Exactly. You should go out and see more of the world," Shuta An said. "If you stay in Japan forever, you'll never realize just how vast the dirt Twinkle Series truly is."
As he spoke, an image flashed through his mind—Secretariat charging down the stretch at Belmont.
Having made their decisions, the three Trainers left the bar and, almost in unison, hurried back to their offices to submit expedition applications to the academy leadership. Although such applications were little more than a formality, the procedures still had to be observed.
Symboli Rudolf froze for a moment when she received three applications listing the same destination. After a brief pause, she shook her head helplessly.
"So they've all agreed, then."
She did not bother to read the contents in detail. One by one, she approved them. Afterward, the "Emperor" picked up the phone and dialed the editorial office of the URA Association's Twinkle magazine.
"This is Symboli Rudolf. There's an expedition you'll need to report in your next issue."
—
Shuta An left work early after submitting his own application. With the invitation confirmed and no need to deliberate over who would accompany him, the young man planned to inform the Uma Musume on his team once the matter became public.
Before that, however, he still needed to notify Oguri Cap and Berno Light.
Although neither the gray Uma Musume nor Berno Light had ever been to Dubai, neither of them intended to go this time.
"The second round of the spring Dream Trophy selections begins in March, and Oguri has to head to Hokkaido to prepare," Berno Light explained. "As her manager, I'll be going with her."
"Then I'll take the other Uma Musume from the team to Dubai," Shuta An typed back. "Do you two want me to buy anything? Dubai has plenty of duty-free shops—I can do some shopping."
"Well…we'll see?" Berno Light complained. "If you make us decide this quickly, nothing comes to mind."
"Alright." Shuta An pouted slightly. "Just tell me whenever you think of something. This Dubai trip has accommodation and expenses reimbursed anyway, so our budget is much looser."
"Other than Dubai, it seems only Hong Kong offers treatment like this, right?" Oguri Cap interjected. "America doesn't."
"Hong Kong and Dubai both rely on incentives like this to boost their appeal. Europe and America don't need to—they're already attractive on their own," Shuta An replied. "If you ask me, the Japanese URA is just too poor. They should do the same for the Japan Cup and reimburse travel and lodging. That would definitely draw more overseas Uma Musume."
"If even stronger overseas Uma Musume come, wouldn't it just make it harder for domestic runners to win?" Oguri Cap muttered.
"That would only mean their own strength isn't enough," Shuta An said indifferently. "With home advantage, if they still can't win, what's there to complain about?"
Two days later, Twinkle magazine officially announced that three Uma Musume would be embarking on an expedition to the inaugural Dubai World Cup Race Day. That same day, Shuta An informed the three Uma Musume on his team at the training ground.
"Suzuka-senpai is going to Dubai…" Mejiro Dober murmured. "That's really nice." Even as a member of the Mejiro family, she had never been there.
"I want to go too!" Tokai Teio shot her hand into the air. "Trainer! If the budget isn't enough, I can pay for myself!"
"No need." The corner of Shuta An's mouth twitched. "This time, the team has four reimbursed slots. Dober, Teio—if you want to go, you both can. That still leaves two more slots. Suzuka, you can decide how to use them. Friends or family, it's up to you."
"I don't need any," Silence Suzuka waved her hand lightly. "Ann, you arrange it."
"Oguri and Berno are heading to Hokkaido for the spring Dream Trophy preliminaries, so they won't be going either…" Shuta An blinked, then turned to Mejiro Dober and Tokai Teio. "The two remaining slots—each of you can take one. Invite whoever you like."
"Late March is spring break, so I want to use mine to invite Digital-chan," Mejiro Dober decided after a brief thought. She avoided bringing family—no matter who it was, she would feel awkward.
Tokai Teio hesitated, then shook her head helplessly. "The President definitely won't go, so it can only be Maya-chan…"
"That's fine," Shuta An said. "It doesn't matter if they're not familiar with everyone on the team. It's just a free travel slot."
"Then I'll go invite Maya-chan!" Tokai Teio clenched her fist excitedly. "She'll definitely be thrilled to visit Dubai!"
Both Mayano Top Gun and Agnes Digital were delighted by the invitations and accepted immediately.
At Team Rigil, Trainer Tojo had also finalized her arrangements. Besides herself and Taiki Shuttle, she brought along several Uma Musume who had yet to achieve notable domestic results. She intended for them to see the overseas racing environment firsthand, hoping they might one day pursue glory abroad.
Mr. Kitahara, on the other hand, brought only Hayate Fubuki and Fujimasa March. The rest of his team remained at the academy. Unwilling to invite resentment or disputes, he chose not to allocate any additional slots.
"That really is Mr. Kitahara's style," Shuta An remarked lightly in the office.
"It was a necessary decision," Mr. Kitahara replied, calculating Hayate Fubuki's upcoming training plan as he spoke. "If I gave the slot to one Uma Musume, the others would surely feel dissatisfied. So I simply didn't give it to anyone. As for March, they all understand."
"I get it," Shuta An raised an eyebrow. "If Oguri and Berno were going, my four slots would be filled immediately. But if I added someone else, I couldn't bring Dober, Teio, or that extra person without problems."
"Exactly." Mr. Kitahara shook his head. "Uma Musume all think differently. Even though I'm just a Trainer, I still have to grasp their psychological states carefully. This job is exhausting. I really don't understand what those outsiders who admire Trainers are imagining."
"Then why did you choose to become a Trainer in the first place?" Shuta An asked casually.
"Because I admired those figures running on the racetrack," Mr. Kitahara answered without hesitation. After a brief silence, he sighed softly. "The gap between aspiration and reality is something you can't truly understand until you step into a Trainer's shoes."
"I understood that long before becoming one," Shuta An said with a smile. "I used to watch my mother flirt with my father because of the Uma Musume on the team."
Mr. Kitahara thought for a moment, shrugged, and said nothing.
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