Sorryyyy, it's my bad.... I forgot that El Condor Pasa is from the same generation as Special Week, I was rushing to update at 4:00 AM before bed, so I made a human error lol. I mentioned Symboli Kris S because I was looking at veteran horses each generation in Takarazuka Kinen (Mid-year), Arima Kinen (End-of-year).
BTW, I'm checking out each horse's info here.
https://umamusu.wiki/IRL:Symboli_Kris_S , That's why my brain said her name, so my mistake XD.
I'm also searching for participants for the upcoming Tenno Sho(Spring), and it turns out the opponents are Sakura Laurel and Narita Brian within this era.
By the way, I've already fixed the previous chapter. Thanks for the reminder.
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"Trainer, I'm saying, aren't you worried at all about the other races?" Seiun Sky leaned back in her chair, arms crossed over her chest.
Hayato didn't even look up from the forms spread across his desk. The pen kept scratching away. "No need. Just completely crush through them." He waved his hand like he was brushing away a fly. "Set your goals farther as uma musume. Your targets are the Japan Cup, the Arc de Triomphe, and being world number one."
"Whoa!" Seiun Sky's mouth fell open.
Being world number one? Did he call G1 races something to play around with?
She puffed out her cheeks, trying to find words. Her tail swished behind her, agitated. But nothing came out.
This guy was completely insane.
After a moment, Hayato pulled out another form from the stack. "Suzuka, you participate in the Triple Tiara, the Queen Elizabeth II Cup, and the Japan Cup."
Seiun Sky's ears perked up at that. The Triple Tiara. The female equivalent of the Classic Triple Crown. The absolute peak for fillies(Horse 'girl' irl) in their generation.
"If you can win the Triple Tiara, that means you're the strongest of your generation." Hayato tapped the form with his pen. "If you then take the Queen Elizabeth II Cup, you'll stand at the top among elite runners at that distance as a legendary horse girl(This cup for horse girl/fillies irl, that's why we call 'queen'). And if you go on to win the Japan Cup after that—congratulations. You'll be recognized as one of the strongest runners across generations."
Silence Suzuka looked up from where she'd been sitting quietly by the window. The evening light caught her dark hair. "Okay."
Seiun Sky stared at her. How could she be so calm about this? Did Suzuka even understand what Hayato was asking her to do?
"Give the Tenno Sho Autumn, Tenno Sho Spring, and Arima Kinen to Seiun this year. Besides, it's her favorite aptitude distance. Suzuka, you can wait until next year to challenge the Tenno Sho Autumn."
"Wait, what?"
Seiun Sky straightened in her chair. Those three races...
"Y-yes." Silence Suzuka nodded. She didn't really understand all these race names yet, but something about Hayato's confidence made her trust he knew what he was doing.
Seiun Sky was the only one who looked troubled. Her tail kept swishing back and forth. The Tenno Sho Spring was a brutal 3200-meter marathon. The Autumn was 2000 meters of pure speed. And the Arima Kinen—the Grand Prix, the fan-selected year-end championship.
Hayato made it sound so easy, like he was just dividing up practice laps instead of the most prestigious races in the country.
"The racing world's highest nine honors—you're saying you'll sweep them all this year?"
"That's way too much, right?"
Her voice came out smaller than she intended.
Should be impossible. The doubt gnawed at her, but she kept her mouth shut. She'd already complained enough for one day.
Hayato glanced at her, something unreadable in his expression. "You worried about the competition?"
"I—" Seiun Sky's ears flattened. "That's... King Halo's running the Triple Crown this year, right? And you're putting me on the Tenno Sho path instead?"
She got it now. He was dividing up the major races between them. Making sure they wouldn't have to face each other.
"That's right." Hayato set down his pen. "You, King Halo, and Suzuka are on the same team. No point in having you compete against each other when you can each dominate your own division."
King Halo, who'd been quiet this whole time, finally looked up from her own form. Her expression was curious but calm.
"The nine major races," Hayato said, leaning back in his chair. "You know what those are?"
Seiun Sky knew some of them, but hearing them all laid out...
"Classic Triple Crown, Triple Tiara, and what people call the Autumn Double Crown, plus the Spring Single Crown." Hayato ticked them off on his fingers. "Win three of those nine in a single year and our team will be basically a legend."
Seiun Sky's breath caught. "Really?"
"Yeah. Most horses never even win one." Hayato's expression was serious now. "The Classic Triple Crown is Satsuki Sho, Japan Derby, Kikka Sho—2000, 2400, 3000 meters. That's King Halo's path this year. Triple Tiara mirrors that for fillies—that's Suzuka. Then you've got Tenno Sho Autumn and Arima Kinen as the autumn pair, and Tenno Sho Spring standing alone."
King Halo leaned forward slightly. "So if we win all three Classic races..."
"You'll have done it," Hayato confirmed.
"And I could run the Triple Crown too, technically," Seiun Sky said slowly. "But you're not putting me there."
"No point in this year." Hayato's response was immediate. "King Halo's got the build and speed for those distances. You're better suited for the longer races. Why waste energy competing against your own teammate when you can both become legends in different divisions?"
"So the spring side is just Tenno Sho Spring?" King Halo asked.
"For now, yeah. But don't let that fool you." Hayato's expression shifted, something almost reverent crossing his face. "Tenno Sho Spring is special."
Seiun Sky watched him carefully. She'd never seen him look like that about a race before.
"Tenno means Emperor," Hayato said quietly. "Shō means Prize. The Emperor's Prize. Back in the day, winners weren't even allowed to run it twice, it was considered too sacred to defend."
The room went silent.
Silence Suzuka tilted her head. "But horses can run it now, right?"
"Yeah, they changed the rules. Now everyone wants back-to-back wins." Hayato smiled slightly. "Tamamo Cross did the first Spring-Autumn sweep. Changed the game completely. But nobody's managed to win the same Tenno Sho three times in a row yet."
"Yet?" Seiun Sky's ears perked up.
Something clicked in Seiun Sky's head.
Hayato wasn't just avoiding a conflict with King Halo.
Hayato was giving her a clear path to dominate an entire division. One that perfectly matched their aptitude distance strengths.
Hayato paused, his gaze shifting to the window for a moment. Super Creek just retired. Mejiro McQueen hasn't been raced yet. The 3200-meter division is wide open, and that's Seiun Sky's specialty distance.
"The Shūka Shō—that's the last Triple Tiara race—runs around the same time as Tenno Sho Autumn," Hayato explained, glancing at Suzuka. "Plus, there's that six consecutive graded stakes requirement for certain achievements. That's why you're not doing Tenno Sho Autumn this year, Suzuka. Next year, after your foundation is solid."
Silence Suzuka nodded slowly.
"Which means," Hayato continued, turning back to Seiun Sky, "you've got a clear shot at the Spring-Autumn Tenno Sho sweep this year. King Halo dominates the Classic Triple Crown. Suzuka takes the Triple Tiara."
Seiun Sky's tail had stopped swishing. Her mind raced through the implications.
Three teammates. Three different paths to legendary status. No wasted effort fighting each other.
"You really think I can do it?" The words slipped out before she could stop them.
Hayato picked up his pen again, that casual confidence back in his expression. "I don't waste time on horse girls who can't."
Heat rushed to Seiun Sky's face. She looked down at the form in front of her, at the races listed there in neat handwriting.
The nine major races G1. All within their aptitude range. All with enough spacing to recover between them.
"Look these over and sign," Hayato said, sliding the forms across the desk.
King Halo leaned over hers immediately, reading carefully. Her finger traced down the page, eyes scanning each race name with the intensity of someone memorizing battle plans. The Classic Triple Crown.
Seiun Sky picked hers up. The paper felt heavier than it should. This wasn't just a schedule, it was a roadmap to becoming a legend. Her own legend, separate from but equal to her teammates'.
Silence Suzuka stared at hers for a long moment, her ears twitching. Then she nodded to herself, reached for the pen, and signed without hesitation.
One by one, they all signed their names.
Seiun Sky's pen hovered over the signature line. Her hand trembled slightly.
No more second-guessing. No more doubts.
She signed.
"You go to the training grounds first. Today we're doing straights. That thousand-meter straight track." Hayato gathered the signed forms and tucked them under his arm. "Run once every fifteen minutes."
The three horse girls stood, chairs scraping against the floor.
Hayato headed for the door, already mentally composing the registration paperwork. "I'll submit the registration forms to the school."
The registration process was simple enough.