Chapter 25. Satsuki Sho in the Dream World (Part 1)
That evening, in the Oka Sho of the Dream World, Shuta An exhausted every ounce of his thinking and skill, finally guiding Scarlet Bouquet to a third-place finish.
Before the reporters, he maintained a courteous and composed confidence. "I believe she'll perform better in the Oaks. I'm very much looking forward to the next race."
But once alone with Scarlet Bouquet's Trainer, Ito Yuji, his tone shifted to weary honesty. "At this stage, Scarlet Bouquet has already done everything she can. I truly can't think of a way to make her perform better. As for the Oaks…aiming for a top-five finish would be more realistic."
"So Shuta-kun isn't very optimistic about her?" Ito Yuji's expression darkened slightly.
Shuta An, however, had no intention of softening his stance. "I'm just stating the facts. If Trainer Ito believes my riding is the issue, you're free to suggest to the owner that I be replaced. I won't complain publicly."
"…" Ito Yuji fell silent.
Replace Shuta An? And replace him with whom? More importantly, the patriarch of the Yoshida Family was among Scarlet Bouquet's owners. If Ito Yuji truly made such a suggestion, the most likely outcome would not be Shuta An losing the ride—but Ito Yuji losing his position.
Realizing this, the gloom on his face quickly dissipated, replaced by an ingratiating smile. "Then I'll entrust the Oaks to Shuta-kun as well."
"I'll do my best."
Seeing that Ito Yuji had no intention of changing jockeys, Shuta An felt a trace of helplessness. He would have liked to switch mounts and challenge the Oaks with another partner, but such a suggestion could never come from him. With the Yoshida patriarch among the owners, voluntarily relinquishing the ride would be seen as discourteous. In this industry, relationships mattered as much as results.
Although he hadn't won, the third-place prize money from the Oka Sho was already sitting in Shuta An's account the next morning. He kept his personal funds and the team's finances strictly separate—so strictly that even Oguri Cap, Berno Light, or anyone else on Team Sadalsuud knew nothing of his "private stash."
"Just leave it in an overseas account and don't touch it," he muttered after glancing at the balance. "In this economic climate, not investing is safer than investing recklessly."
One week after the Oka Sho, the first leg of the Classic Triple Crown, the Satsuki Sho, arrived.
During that week, Tokai Teio grew visibly more animated. Her anticipation for the Satsuki Sho was so intense that the very next day after the Oka Sho, when Shuta An went to the academy to prepare her training, she eagerly asked him to take her to watch the race live.
Shuta An agreed without hesitation. He had already taken Mejiro Dober to watch the Oka Sho—there was no reason to refuse Teio's perfectly reasonable request.
"I'm really looking forward to what this year's Satsuki Sho will be like!!"
For the next five days, Tokai Teio repeated this line whenever she had a free moment.
"She really has a special attachment to the Classic Triple Crown," Mejiro Dober remarked.
Hands planted on her hips, Tokai Teio replied confidently, "Of course! One of my dreams is to become an undefeated Classic Triple Crown Uma Musume!"
"One of?" Mejiro Dober raised an eyebrow.
"That's right! I also want to be the Uma Musume with the best team results, and I want to surpass the president, and I want to win more honors than Oguri-senpai" Tokai Teio began counting them off on her fingers.
"First, you need to be fully developed," Mejiro Dober said with a smile, poking her lightly.
For this year's Satsuki Sho, Shuta An kept his promise and took Tokai Teio to Nakayama Racecourse to watch the race in person. Tokai Teio had originally planned to stand outside with her Trainer, but Shuta An once again managed to enter the stakeholder area. It wasn't a private box this time—the group chose to watch from close range, standing near the course instead.
"So the latest member to join Team Spica, Miss Special Week, is the first to officially fight for them?" Shuta An asked, genuinely surprised. Though he knew Special Week was among the favorites, he hadn't expected her to be the only representative in the Twinkle Series.
"There's nothing we can do," Nishizaki Ryu said helplessly, spreading his hands. "The others haven't fully developed yet."
"It's similar to our situation," Shuta An said, understanding all too well. Team Sadalsuud at least still benefited from Oguri Cap's remaining influence and accumulated points, but Team Spica had nothing of the sort.
The outcome of the Satsuki Sho dealt Nishizaki Ryu a heavy blow. Special Week finished third, while Seiun Sky led from start to finish, dominating the opening race of the Classic Triple Crown.
"Don't be too discouraged," Shuta An said calmly. "Whether it's Seiun Sky or King Halo, both will learn from this race. When the Derby comes, they'll develop into front-runners that push each other to the limit."
"That means the race will naturally shift into a situation favorable for late closers. Nakayama is already unfriendly to that style, so for Special Week to chase down third as a stalking Uma Musume speaks volumes about her ability. Train her well—I can see you becoming a Derby-winning Trainer."
"Thank you for the advice, Shuta-kun." Nishizaki Ryu shook his head, visibly reinvigorated. "I know what to do. I won't let this get me down."
"The Japanese Derby is still waiting for us!" He clenched his fists and pumped them into the air.
After the race, Shuta An and Tokai Teio politely declined Nishizaki Ryu's invitation to the post-race celebration and drove back to the academy.
"Trainer~ just watching someone else lose a Classic Race already feels so heavy," Tokai Teio said quietly from the back seat.
"Because it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," Shuta An replied. "If you lose, there's no chance for revenge. Even if you later achieve honors that eclipse every generation to come, there will always be people who bring up the Classic Race you lost."
"Then to make everyone shut up, and to have a flawless Twinkle Series career, I have to win every Classic Race!" Tokai Teio's fighting spirit flared. "I don't want to be the one who gets comforted!"
Shuta An immediately diverted her attention. "So, what do you want for dinner tonight? We did turn down Team Spica's invitation."
"I want macaroni!" True to her nature, Tokai Teio's focus shifted instantly.
Before going to sleep, Shuta An stared at the ceiling and let out a long, heavy sigh. "The Satsuki Sho in the Dream World…"
The reason his expression had looked so grim while riding Tokai Teio was simple: her draw luck in the Dream World was atrocious. On a clear day, on a track in decent condition, out of eighteen Uma Musume, JRA had handed her gate 18—the absolute outermost lane.
"From the far outside at Nakayama Racecourse, the winning rate is nowhere near high. Calling it a desperate gate isn't an exaggeration."
As he closed his eyes, Shuta An was already constructing the ride in his head, step by step.
"In short, I absolutely cannot be passive. I have to believe in Tokai Teio's ability."
That became the premise he imposed on himself. Perhaps because his mind was constantly circling around the Satsuki Sho, in the five races he rode before it, he managed to win only one.
"Is his condition really fine?"
Tokai Teio's owner asked with visible concern. He had originally scheduled a routine company meeting for today, but at the Trainer's and ranch's persuasion, he chose to come to Nakayama Racecourse to watch his beloved Racehorse's Classic Race in person.
Though he hadn't named anyone, Matsumoto Shoichi understood immediately. "It's fine," he said calmly. "Shuta-kun never loses his head in big races."
"I hope so. I didn't come all this way for nothing," the owner said, spreading his hands. "I even postponed the meeting until tomorrow. Naturally, I'm hoping for a good result."
From the owner's perspective, if Tokai Teio could win today despite the handicap of the far outside gate, the prize money alone would be enough to give his company a noticeable boost.
At this moment, Shuta An, having returned to the jockeys' waiting room, simply closed his eyes. He used the brief interval to adjust his breathing and composure, ensuring he could bring out one hundred percent of his ability when it mattered.
Because they were drawn in gate 18, Shuta An and Tokai Teio were the last to enter the stalls. That meant there would be no time to settle in—once inside, the start would come immediately.
So he had already fixed the plan in his mind. "After the break, I move up immediately. I absolutely cannot stay behind. Even if After Me tries to run away behind me, I must force my way into the leading group."
Once in the gate, barely two seconds passed before—bang—the doors flew open.
Tokai Teio proved himself as genius yet again. Without a single urging from Shuta An, he burst out cleanly from the outermost lane, unflustered, his acceleration the sharpest on the track.
Shuta An glanced inward at once. Just as expected, After Me surged fiercely behind him, clearly intent on seizing the lead. No one contested him. The field tacitly allowed After Me to take command.
After guiding Tokai Teio smoothly into the leading group, Shuta An turned his head and met the gaze of Yutaka Take. Riding Shin Horisky from gate 9, Yutaka Take had chosen almost the exact same positioning—both of them settling into an ideal fifth-place spot, letting After Me run free while keeping themselves perfectly placed to strike later.
"Good grief—we really thought of the same thing," Shuta An chuckled inwardly.
Yutaka Take, momentarily tense, quickly relaxed.
"Ann-san and Tokai Teio started from the far outside. They had to climb the slope and fight for position right after the break—their energy loss must be greater than ours. There's no need to panic. In the final sprint, Shin Horisky and I definitely won't lose."
As Tokai Teio entered the turn, Shuta An narrowed his eyes, focusing on Shibata Masato atop After Me.
"Senior Shibata is easing up—is he trying to control the pace and save stamina?"
Shuta An had no intention of allowing that. He increased the pressure just slightly, nudging Tokai Teio forward by one more position.
"Isn't that too aggressive?" The owner's heart leapt into his throat. "Wasn't the previous position already perfect?"
Matsumoto Shoichi couldn't immediately grasp Shuta An's reasoning either. He could only shake his head.
"Shuta-kun must have his reasons."
"His reasons—" The stone weighing on the owner's chest lifted, only to sway unsteadily. Until the final result appeared, even his breathing grew cautious.
As they entered the straight opposite the stands, Shuta An felt a flash of surprise. Tokai Teio's response was excellent, and her stamina consumption was far lower than he had anticipated.
"In that case—" He gauged the pace set by Shibata Masato. "One kilometer in sixty seconds. Considering the slightly heavy track today, that's already on the fast side. But—"
He glanced back at Yutaka Take and Shin Horisky. Yutaka Take himself looked composed, but Shin Horisky's stride had begun to show faint irregularities—a clear sign that stamina was starting to dip.
"Everyone's condition is worse than I expected," Shuta An thought, as he kept Tokai Teio cruising at high speed. He cleared the opposite straight and swept into the final turn.
The entire field could see it now. Without any violent urging or heavy whipping, simply by maintaining that relentless cruising pace, Tokai Teio had climbed to third place—only a single horse length behind After Me, who was visibly fading, and Legacy of Zelda, who was preparing to take over the lead.
"After Me is losing speed after pushing that hard?"
Spotting Shibata Masato's vigorous whipping, Shuta An reacted on instinct. He guided Tokai Teio diagonally outward by a few steps, avoiding being boxed in by the slowing After Me and forced to decelerate.
Moments later, After Me began to drop back, slipping alongside Yutaka Take. It wasn't that the others couldn't match his pace—it was that everyone was deliberately saving their decisive move for the final straight.
But Shuta An's thinking diverged completely from the other sixteen jockeys.
"The final straight at Nakayama is only so long. If everyone accelerates there, it'll turn into chaos. Since I believe in Tokai Teio's talent and ability—"
Then there was no reason to hesitate.
As the big screen captured Shuta An and Tokai Teio in close-up, he gave a signal whip just before exiting the turn, and immediately increased the force of his driving.
"Whipping already?!" The live commentator caught it instantly, eyes widening. "Could it be—?"
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