After returning to Tokyo, Yasui Makoto stopped dwelling on his earlier thoughts.
Instead, he quickly pulled himself together and set them aside for the time being.
After all, no matter what he felt, those feelings were not something he ought to dig into as a trainer.
What he needed to do now was, first, give Almond Eye his full support so she could pass Tracen Academy's extraordinarily strict entrance exam.
Second, he needed to work with Kitasan Black and throw himself back into their tense, orderly training as they tackled their next race target.
Tracen Academy's entrance exam was held a little over a week before the start of term and was divided into two parts: an academic assessment and a physical evaluation.
For the former, Almond Eye's parents had hired private tutors, and its weighting was relatively low, so there was no need to worry too much.
The latter, however, had been left entirely to Yasui Makoto. That alone made it obvious that the couple had placed complete trust in this rising star of the trainer world.
Yasui Makoto did not refuse. On his first day back in Tokyo, after spending the morning getting some simple rest, he called both Kitasan Black and Almond Eye to the academy training grounds that afternoon.
He had already prepared the field-use application and special training plan during the break. After having Kitasan Black take Almond Eye through her warm-up, he stood by the track, keeping an eye on their condition while organizing the training plan.
The basic items in the physical evaluation included physiological indicators like height, weight, and lung capacity, as well as elementary tests such as the high jump, long jump, and seated forward bend.
The advanced items consisted of several test races and one mock race.
Among the basic items, height and the like were not things that could be changed in a short time, and Almond Eye was already outstanding in those areas, so there was not much to worry about.
The high jump and similar events all had techniques that could be mastered in a short period. Yasui Makoto had done his homework, and Almond Eye had practiced them before, so from here on, they only needed to train step by step.
The advanced items were the key.
Yasui Makoto looked at the two of them jogging around the track to warm up. His brows drew together slightly as he sank into thought.
Each test race was a different length, and the range was enormous: five races in total, spanning from 800 meters to 2,500 meters.
What they examined was the speed most necessary in a race, as well as adaptability to different distances.
A newcomer's performance in this part of the test would have a major influence on her recommended campaign after enrollment.
Kitasan Black, for example, had been advised by quite a few trainers and teachers to run short distances after her debut because her short-distance results in the entrance exam test races had been quite impressive, while her middle- and long-distance results had been nothing worth mentioning.
Almond Eye, however, did not need to worry about that.
Now that her talent at mile-to-middle distances had been confirmed, and since they had already scheduled the assigned-trainer agreement, all she needed to do in the test races was make sure she finished.
The mock race was the real problem.
Judging from that event race before, as well as their later interactions and observations, Almond Eye still had very little in the way of tactical literacy, strategic awareness, or the ability to adapt on the fly.
Granted, the same was true for every entrance examinee, but anyone who could pull ahead in this area and stand out in the entrance exam's mock race would, without question, gain a sizable advantage after debuting.
For example, taking first place in the entrance exam's mock race would bring in more fans before her debut race, meaning she would not need to arrange too many Pre-OP or OP-level races for that purpose and could focus her energy on higher-level graded races instead.
The races of the Twinkle Series were all extremely intense, and the vast majority of Umamusume could not race back-to-back.
From that perspective, one could say that the number of races any Umamusume could run in her career was actually limited.
If she could run graded races, then graded races naturally took priority.
So, if they wanted to win the mock race... Yasui Makoto pondered for a moment, took out his phone, pulled up a list he had compiled earlier, and unconsciously frowned.
Lucky Lilac, Lily Noble, Satono Walkure, Sayakachan, Mikki Charm, Cantabile...
These were the opponents he had repeatedly investigated and confirmed as the ones most worth watching after checking the entrance exam announcement.
Just like Almond Eye, these Umamusume were all outstanding figures at their respective schools. Otherwise, they would not have signed up for Tracen Academy's exam in such numbers.
In particular, before he had even gone to look up the relevant information, Yasui Makoto already knew that Lucky Lilac and Lily Noble would be hard to deal with.
In his memory, Almond Eye had won the Triple Tiara.
The Oka Sho, the Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks), and the Shuka Sho.
Like the Classic Triple Crown, all three races were G1s. The difference was that the former was restricted to female Umamusume.
Also like the Classic Triple Crown, an Umamusume who could win all three G1s would be called a "Triple Crown Umamusume."
As for the Triple Tiara specifically, up to the present, only four Umamusume had accomplished it: Mejiro Ramonu, Still in Love, Apapane, and Gentildonna.
In the parallel world, Almond Eye had been the fifth.
And Lucky Lilac and Lily Noble—plus, it seemed, Satono Walkure and Sayakachan as well—were, if Yasui Makoto remembered correctly, Almond Eye's opponents on the Classic campaign. Her powerful rivals.
Yasui Makoto was very confident about the races to come. With his own unique advantages, his steady learning and progress, and his experience guiding Kitasan Black, he would absolutely be able to help Almond Eye win her Classic campaign.
But if the Almond Eye of now were to immediately race against those opponents, it was honestly hard to say who would win and who would lose.
More importantly, there were many Umamusume participating in the entrance exam, so the mock races had been divided into many heats.
The opponents, race distance, and course for each heat would be decided entirely by lottery.
And the race conditions would not be announced in advance. The draw would only be confirmed on the day before the mock race began.
This undoubtedly made preparation almost impossibly difficult.
After all, never mind guiding Almond Eye, whom he had only just officially taken charge of.
Even if he were guiding Kitasan Black, who had already been working with him for a full year, Yasui Makoto still would not be confident about winning a race with unknown opponents, an unknown distance, and an unknown course.
For example, if Kitasan Black were thrown into a race like that, forget the distance—if the lottery drew dirt, then all they could do was leave it to fate.
Kitasan Black was completely unsuited to dirt races. Unless every opponent was a turf Umamusume just like her, she might have a chance to win, but if even one of them specialized in dirt, then there would truly be no hope of taking first.
That said, this kind of setup also took into account the large number of applicants and the use of the facilities.
And it was fair to every examinee.
So rather than waste time worrying, what he needed to do most right now was raise Almond Eye's race awareness with everything he had and try to secure first place in that unknown race.
As Yasui Makoto rapidly turned the matter over in his mind, Kitasan Black and Almond Eye finished their warm-up.
The two Umamusume ran back full of energy. Almond Eye's cheeks were flushed from the exercise, and her eyes brimmed with anticipation as she called out loudly,
"Trainer, we're good to go! What are we training next?"
Kitasan Black shook out her sweat-damp ponytail and looked at Yasui Makoto with a smile as well.
Yasui Makoto quickly came back to himself. Looking at his two Umamusume, he thought for a moment, then pointed to the nearest starting line.
"First, let's do a simple partner run. I want to check a few things."
"Turf, 1,800 meters."
"Kita-chan, just take a normal controlled lead."
"As for you, Almond Eye, do everything you can to catch your Kita-senpai."
"Of course, if you can win, I won't mind. I don't think Kita-chan will, either."
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